Tim Adams wrote a long yet fascinating piece about Adrian Raine for The Observer which was published May 11, 2013. Raine is a scientist who studies the brains of criminals. Raine moved to the United States in 1987, partly because he was doing research on the biological basis for criminal behavior. This is something of a taboo approach, because the source of crime is always supposed to be social and environmental.
Raine’s research has compiled 41 PET scans of convicted criminals and comparison scans against a control group of people with similar ages and biological characteristics. The scans are daunting because the criminal brains look like other criminal brains and unlike the normal brains of the controls (a picture is available at the link at the end of this summary).
Raine joins in repudiating the nineteenth century quack science of eugenics. But he says that the physical organization of the brain – and the social environment in which that person lives – and epigenetics – are all critical to understanding the complex nature of the criminal mind. This thoughtful, sobering article can be found at:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2013/may/12/how-to-spot-a-murderers-brain
Raine’s research has compiled 41 PET scans of convicted criminals and comparison scans against a control group of people with similar ages and biological characteristics. The scans are daunting because the criminal brains look like other criminal brains and unlike the normal brains of the controls (a picture is available at the link at the end of this summary).
Raine joins in repudiating the nineteenth century quack science of eugenics. But he says that the physical organization of the brain – and the social environment in which that person lives – and epigenetics – are all critical to understanding the complex nature of the criminal mind. This thoughtful, sobering article can be found at:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2013/may/12/how-to-spot-a-murderers-brain
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