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Murderous Minds: Exploring The Criminal Psychopathic Brain: Neurological Imaging And The Manifestation Of Evil (2014)

by Dean A. Haycock(Favorite Author)

3.97 of 5 Votes: 5

ISBN

1605984981 (ISBN13: 9781605984988)

languge

English

genre

Nonfiction

publisher

Pegasus Books

review 1: Dean Haycock, PhD, is a science writer who has the ability to translate dense technical material into accessible language without sacrificing many of the nuances scientists must deal with, especially in the neurosciences. In this book Haycock traces the development of our understanding of psychopaths, those who are apparently born without the ability to feel empathy and compassion and are a terrifying mystery to the rest of us. There may be some standard features in the lives of these individuals--bed-wetting, cruelty to animals, lack of empathy for others, fire-setting--but many criminals engage in some of these behaviors without being psychopaths. Haycock relies on standard scales for identifying psychopathic individuals, and establishes grounds for comparisons across r... moreelevant studies.Some of the earliest case studies cited by Haycock date from the 19th century, including an Italian child and an Inuit hunter. Over the centuries scientists have tried various ways to identify and categorize, without success, people who engaged in horrendous criminal behavior, at one time called "moral insanity." With a greater awareness of the characteristics of the psychopath today, Haycock divides these individuals into two groups--the successful and unsuccessful psychopaths (unsuccessful are the ones who got caught and sent to prison).Haycock discusses the research of numerous figures involved in the developing understanding of what happens when parts of a brain fail to develop, which parts, and the consequences. Some but not all such children with brain developmental issues, raised in abusive homes, will become the criminals whose life stories give the rest of us chills, and others who are raised in loving and supportive homes will go on to have successful careers, moderating their psychopathic tendencies but sometimes creating miserable work environments or home lives. The tool for this new understanding of the brain of the psychopathic individual is the fMRI--functional magnetic resonance imaging--which has the ability to record areas of the brain that are active while patients are responding to verbal or visual images. Haycock spends considerable time on the fascinating results of groups of patients who agreed to have their brains scanned.Haycock discusses some of the most heinous crimes committed by psychopaths but throughout he is aware, and keeps the reader aware, of the damage that is done to those victimized by such people. In addition he explores the disturbing legal questions raised by our new understanding of brain development. Does being born with a psychopathic brain lead to questions of diminished legal responsibility for those who have committed horrible crimes?
review 2: Very fascinating and thorough exploration into the causes of psychopathy and how it can differ from mental illness. It was especially interesting to see the way the author not only gave detailed information about the physical abnormalities in the brains of psychopaths, but also explored how environmental influences could account for the differing degrees of criminality in these individuals. Highly recommended for those who are interested in learning about the correlation between the dysfunction in various areas of the brain and psychopathic traits. less

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