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Neuroscience in court: My brain made me do it

8 Comments
By Kate Kelland

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© (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2012.

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Fascinating! This really does open some new debates, and reopen some old ones. I shall have to print this out.

0 ( +1 / -1 )

Thank you for good article.

Neurotransmitters plays a vital role in behavior changes. At last some one is talking good. Not Prison, Hospitals are solution.

-2 ( +0 / -2 )

The writer could really use a lesson in word choice for clarity. Pedophilia is not an act or legal charge, so what do these mean?

Now Domenico Mattiello faces trial for pedophilia

and

He was eventually removed from the family home for making sexual advances towards his step-daughter and convicted of pedophilia.

Then we have the bit about sexual advances, which makes no sense to me. Is that like an invitation to dinner, or an attempt to kiss or what? We are talking about a pediatrician who could make up random excuses for all sorts of unnecessary proceedures. Yet it sounds like he was really obvious about what he did, and that sounds rather unbelievable.

Also, when speaking of a tumor being a cause for certain behavior, its not a case of "my brain made me do it". Its a case of "my brain TUMOR made me do it".

And I don't know if the idea of "acquired pedophilia" came from the author or others, but that is not what happened. What happened in both cases is that because of brain tumors they lost the self control to not act on tendencies they already had, whether subconsciously buried or everyday waking thoughts. And that is all about the tumors the two men had and nothing to do with some sort of miraculous scientific discovery. You could probably get the same results with alcohol!

The author is really just trying to piggyback off the pedophile scare of late, to gain attention to the other cases which are less exciting. At least I hope so. Anyone thinking this is going to give us some new insight into pedophilia may as well go sit alongside the fools who thought they could cure homosexuality! No, a brain tumor did not cause thoughts to spring out of thin air and lead to behaviors!

2 ( +2 / -0 )

The trouble with a lot of this science is that it is so new, that what we have discovered is open to a lot of speculation and interpretation.

Its like the discovery that some people float in water and some sink, and jumping to the conclusion, for whatever reason, that the ones that float are witches!

Yes, I look at this and I see a Monty Python skit in a medieval setting! With the exception of the removal of tumors returning the two men to normal, none of this belongs in a courtroom yet. Those using it already are either of a throwback, medieval mindset or a rampage with agenda.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Lots of issues raised in this article:

Lie Detectors - Yes, we have made significant advances, and are now able to actually "read" memories (generate a grainy black and white image). However, memory is not 100%. If I asked anyone to tell me EXACTLY what they did 30 minutes ago, step by step they'd mostly fill in the blanks from old memories of when they'd done something similar before, in effect "fabricating" a lot of the story. Someone who knows they're going to be put through this sort of a test can rehearse their story, visualise it and create a false memory that is undetectable.

In short, we are making progress, but these tests are all too fallible right now.

The Brain and Human Behaviour - If someone suffering from dementia goes out without their pants on we tend to shrug, guide them back to their room and help them into some pants. Likewise is they go into a violent rage they're not charged with assault, they're simply not in control. I'm all for treating people with certifiable brain injuries/tumors/diseases with compassion. This isn't a new debate, it's an extremely old debate that's just been revitalised. I think that our humanity is judged on how we deal with the ill.
3 ( +3 / -0 )

right, wouldn't you prefer it says 'potential' killers ... or 'have more chance to be' ... its been a while going on and pretty certain that just a genetic disposition does not constitute a serial killer. If this ever gets to be the norm then what? abort kids if their brainscan says they deviate ? The environment (not ecology), upbringing and personal experiences define what makes a person who he or she is, the rest is something that gives them more chance to react. I won't submit until they scan the brains of all the worlds ceo's and leading politicians and look for correlation

0 ( +0 / -0 )

mrmaliceSep. 05, 2012 - 10:28PM JST right, wouldn't you prefer it says 'potential' killers ... or 'have more chance to be' ... its been a while going on and pretty certain that just a genetic disposition does not constitute a serial killer. If this ever gets to be the norm then what? abort kids if their brainscan says they deviate ? The environment (not ecology), upbringing and personal experiences define what makes a person who he or she is, the rest is something that gives them more chance to react.

Yes, no, maybe. Some things are nearly 100% genetic, for example gay men have brain structures more similar to heterosexual women than heterosexual men, and this starts as early as 3 years old. Clearly this is a good example of something that is genetic in origin and has little or no environmental stimulus.

However, some things are nearly 100% environmental, for example certain genetic markers found in serial killers were also found in top cops, and it was environmental factors that influenced how that genetic predisposition manifested itself.

1 ( +1 / -0 )

Let's keep an open mind and see where this goes.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

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