The worst criminals, serial or mass murderers for example, we often call non-humans. It seems like a metaphor - well, of course, they are people who lived among us, similar to us, just their actions run counter to generally accepted ideas about good and evil. And yet the label "non-humans" contains a hint of biological dissimilarity. Something in these criminals is not right, not humanly arranged.
The question of whether there are natural-born killers and whether it is possible to identify a potential criminal by physiological signs was thought back in the 18th-19th centuries, when scientific ideas about the living that were making their way coexisted and competed with various exotic delusions.
Fortune telling by the skull
The Austrian physician Franz Josef Gall (1758−1828) created a doctrine called phrenology. Gall, it seemed to him, was able to determine which parts of the brain are responsible for certain spiritual abilities. Moreover, the presence and expression of these abilities were, in the opinion of the naturalist, reflected in the construction of the cranium. That is, it is enough to examine the skull with knowledge of the matter, and you can come to the conclusion who is in front of you: potential Mozart or potential Jack the Ripper. In fact, the skull was given more importance than the brain. Even in those ancient times, Dr. Gall was known as a scandalous person, and his contemporaries criticized his theories and love for skulls. But it is Gall who owns the ingenious guess that intelligence is associated with the frontal lobe of the brain. Phrenology, however, did not justify itself as a method for identifying socially dangerous individuals.
Promotional video:
Already in the second half of the 19th century, the no less scandalous Italian psychiatrist Cesare Lombroso (1835-1909) got down to business. He believed that human criminal inclinations were physiologically predetermined and looked for evidence of these inclinations in phenotypic features: sloping forehead, large ears, asymmetry of the face and skull, prognathism (protrusion of the upper or lower jaw), excessive arm length. Lombroso believed that all these signs indicate an underdeveloped, atavistic person close to wild primates. Such people, according to the Italian psychiatrist, are doomed to be sociopaths and criminals. Lombroso's ideas and research methods were also criticized, but for that time they were not at all something exotic or marginal. A contemporary of Lombroso and a relative of Darwin, Briton Francis Galton developed the theory of "eugenics"the essence of which is in the application of artificial selection to mankind of the type that is practiced in animal husbandry. People with good physical and intellectual abilities should reproduce. Those who, in Galton's opinion, fell into the category of defective, should be removed from reproduction. For the time being, all these were just theories, but when the Nazis came to power in Germany, they began to translate such ideas into practice. After the victory over Nazi Germany and the publication of data on the crimes of the Nazis, discussions about the biological foundations of antisocial behavior were not that prohibited in Europe, but passed into the category of not very desirable. The point of view prevailed that the offender is formed by the social environment, dysfunctional families, and childhood traumas.what is practiced in animal husbandry. People with good physical and intellectual abilities should reproduce. Those who, in Galton's opinion, fell into the category of defective, should be removed from reproduction. For the time being, all these were just theories, but when the Nazis came to power in Germany, they began to translate such ideas into practice. After the victory over Nazi Germany and the publication of data on the crimes of the Nazis, discussions about the biological foundations of antisocial behavior were not that prohibited in Europe, but passed into the category of not very desirable. The point of view prevailed that the offender is formed by the social environment, dysfunctional families, and childhood traumas.what is practiced in animal husbandry. People with good physical and intellectual abilities should reproduce. Those who, in Galton's opinion, fell into the category of defective, should be removed from reproduction. For the time being, all these were just theories, but when the Nazis came to power in Germany, they began to translate such ideas into practice. After the victory over Nazi Germany and the publication of data on the crimes of the Nazis, discussions about the biological foundations of antisocial behavior were not that prohibited in Europe, but passed into the category of not very desirable. The point of view prevailed that the offender is formed by the social environment, dysfunctional families, and childhood traumas.from reproduction must be withdrawn. For the time being, all these were just theories, but when the Nazis came to power in Germany, they began to translate such ideas into practice. After the victory over Nazi Germany and the publication of data on the crimes of the Nazis, discussions about the biological foundations of antisocial behavior were not that prohibited in Europe, but passed into the category of not very desirable. The point of view prevailed that the offender is formed by the social environment, dysfunctional families, and childhood traumas.from reproduction must be withdrawn. For the time being, all these were just theories, but when the Nazis came to power in Germany, they began to translate such ideas into practice. After the victory over Nazi Germany and the publication of data on the crimes of the Nazis, discussions about the biological foundations of antisocial behavior were not that prohibited in Europe, but passed into the category of not very desirable. The point of view prevailed that the offender is formed by the social environment, dysfunctional families, and childhood traumas. After the victory over Nazi Germany and the publication of data on the crimes of the Nazis, discussions about the biological foundations of antisocial behavior were not that prohibited in Europe, but passed into the category of not very desirable. The point of view prevailed that the offender is formed by the social environment, dysfunctional families, and childhood traumas. After the victory over Nazi Germany and the publication of data on the crimes of the Nazis, discussions about the biological foundations of antisocial behavior were not that prohibited in Europe, but passed into the category of not very desirable. The point of view prevailed that the offender is formed by the social environment, dysfunctional families, and childhood traumas.
Prison Science
Meanwhile, since the times of Gall and Lombroso, the science of the living has gone far ahead. Humanity has learned about genes, neurophysiology has made great progress. And the question of whether the innate predisposition to terrible crimes is not “wired up” in physiology could not but be raised. Sooner or later.
Adrian Raine presented the results of his research in the controversial book Anatomy of Violence. While insisting on the importance of his work, the author does not deny the influence of the environment on the formation of the criminal's personality.
In recent decades, the term "neurocriminology" has even appeared, denoting a subdiscipline aimed at studying the structural features of the brain, which could serve as the biological basis for antisocial behavior. Particular attention is focused on the causes of psychopathy - a mental anomaly that deprives a person of sympathy for the suffering of others, giving personality such traits as cynicism and resourcefulness. It is this disorder that is characteristic, as a rule, of serial killers, for whom the deprivation of a person's life is not a serious moral problem.
Whatever one may say, modern researchers have to follow the same path that Lombroso once moved. Go to jail. Of course, not in order to serve time there, but to be closer to the desired material for study. One of the founders of neurocriminology, Briton Adrian Raine, spent four years in two maximum security prisons as a psychologist in the early 1980s. From places not so distant, Raine took such ideas that in tolerant England he did not receive any grants, and in 1987 the scientist moved to the United States, where they are calmer about the study of biological predisposition to crime, and there is more material for scientific work. Crime in the United States is higher than in good old Europe, and there are many prisons in the New World.
In America, Raine was one of the first to use modern medical technology to study the brain of criminals, in particular positron emission tomography (PET). The scientist selected two groups: one consisted of 41 convicted murderers, the other of 41 law-abiding citizens. PET images showed significant differences between the brain of the prisoner and the brain of the inhabitant of will, primarily in metabolic activity. If we talk about the structure, the brain of the criminal showed an underdevelopment of the prefrontal cortex, which is responsible, in particular, for social interaction. All of these features can result in poor control over the limbic system, which generates such basic emotions as anger and rage, as well as a lack of self-control, an inclination to take risks. What are these if not the features of a criminal personality?
Brain explosion
Studies leading to similar results were carried out in a number of research centers, for example, at the University of Wisconsin in Madison (USA). A paper published in 2011 presents the results of brain scans of psychopathic criminals. Evidence suggests that psychopathy is caused by a weakened connection between the prefrontal cortex and the amygdala, part of the limbic system. At the same time, negative signals from the prefrontal cortex during processing by the amygdala do not lead to the emergence of strong emotions. Hence the lack of compassion and guilt, which is characteristic of a psychopathic personality.
Moreover, there are scientific works showing the connection of criminal biography not only with the structure of the brain, but also with certain genes. Last year, professor at the Karolinska University of Medicine in Stockholm, Jari Tiihonen, said that he was able to find in the genome of people who have repeatedly committed violent crimes, the alleles CDH13 and MAOA, the so-called gene of warriors.
The gene for monoamine oxidase MAO is responsible for the production of the reward hormone - dopamine, but in mutated variant A it can be very dangerous, in particular, because a person with this gene, when using alcohol or drugs, gets a sharp increase in dopamine production, which "blows up the brain" and leads to uncontrolled aggression. The CDH13 gene also has its harmful effects on behavior - in particular, it is associated with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.
Failed psychopath
Does all of the above testify to the correctness of Lombroso and the supporters of eugenics? Of course not, because if a biological predisposition to asocial behavior exists, then it is only one of the factors in the formation of a personality, and other factors can include the social environment, family environment, stress, trauma, etc. An interesting story in this regard is the story of the American neurophysiologist James Fallon, who has also been searching for the causes of psychopathy for a long time, studying brain scans of all kinds of asocial types. His life literally turned the conversation with his old mother, who told Fallon about his father's pedigree. It turned out that in the line of ancestors, which is known until the 17th century, there are at least seven killers. Then the researcher scanned his own brain and foundthat he has all the hallmarks of the brain of an inveterate psychopath. The same problem of underdevelopment of the prefrontal cortex and, therefore, a weak connection with the amygdala. The picture was very much like a snapshot of the brain of one of the serial killers. Fallon recalled that in his youth, perhaps his predisposition to psychopathy made itself felt. He was a real daredevil, detonated homemade bombs, stole cars, organized other risky activities and involved his friends in them. He was characterized by narcissism and devilish self-confidence. But his youth passed, and in the end James Fallon turned into a quiet family man and a successful neurophysiologist. So there is no doom. Fallon recalled that in his youth, perhaps his predisposition to psychopathy made itself felt. He was a real daredevil, detonated homemade bombs, stole cars, organized other risky activities and involved his friends in them. He was characterized by narcissism and devilish self-confidence. But his youth passed, and in the end James Fallon turned into a quiet family man and a successful neurophysiologist. So there is no doom. Fallon recalled that in his youth, perhaps his predisposition to psychopathy made itself felt. He was a real daredevil, detonated homemade bombs, stole cars, organized other risky activities and involved his friends in them. He was characterized by narcissism and devilish self-confidence. But his youth passed, and in the end James Fallon turned into a quiet family man and a successful neurophysiologist. So there is no doom. So there is no doom. So there is no doom.
Science or freedom?
Neuro-forensic research raises a number of questions of a moral, ethical or even political nature for humanity. If some genetic or neurophysiological traits are finally declared risk factors for their owner, how should society and the state relate to such an individual? Will they not become, these signs, a kind of stigma that, with the availability of modern means of disseminating and searching for information, will accompany him all his life, prevent him, for example, from choosing the desired field of activity. Is it necessary, when identifying anxious predispositions, to compel a person to participate in personality correction programs, to suppress what has become an unwanted gift of nature? How, from the point of view of the observance of individual rights, will it look like attempts to literally climb into the head of one of us,ostensibly for public safety reasons? It is difficult to predict what the answers to these questions will be, but the solution is unlikely to lie in the plane of prohibitions and suppression of scientific achievements in this area. We will still be interested in who we are and why.
Oleg Makarov