Inside an Evil Brain

Who knows what evil lurks in the brains of men? Increasingly, the neuroscientists do. Over the last few decades, they've made headway in discovering what makes violent criminal minds tick. No scientist claims complete comprehension. In fact, they like to say that if the human brain were simple enough to understand, we'd all be too simple to understand it. Yet their research has shown that bad-guy brains do tend to have a loose biochemical screw.

The average adult brain is 3 pounds (1,400 grams) of unrivaled processing power, with 1 quadrillion synaptic connections organized into various "maps" governing language, movement, vision, hearing, and more. Chemicals called neurotransmitters infuse the whole works and carry messages from one brain cell to another. Two of these neurotransmitters--serotonin and noradrenaline--tend to go wrong in violent people.

Members, read this article now

Get it as an easy-print PDF