attained a type of celebrity in neuroscience circles. His name appeared in more than 11,000 journal articles. He helped convince neuroscientists that the process involved in forming long-term memories is not distributed throughout most of the brain. If it were, damaging a small part of the brain would be expected to only partially interfere with the process. Molaison’s unfortunate experience identified a specific region of the brain that played a crucial role in the formation of long-term memories.
But the hippocampus, like all parts of the limbic system, is interconnected with the other key brain structures. It plays a role in more than long-term memory formation. For example, it is a key player in the processes that regulate aggression. And it plays a role in helping people learn when they should be afraid in particular situations. If the hippocampus or its connections are abnormal, it makes sense to wonder if such a deficit might not lead to impulsive behavior with antisocial consequences in unsuccessful psychopaths. Destroy the hippocampus completely and you end up with total short-term memory loss. But if you only impair its ability to participate in neural circuits underlying behavior, then you get more subtle deficits.
One explanation for the persistence of asymmetries in the brain such as these is that they are the result of developmental abnormalities. The findings do not prove this is the reason nearly all of the unsuccessful psychopaths showed signs of uneven hippocampi, but it is consistent with the suggestion that something went wrong somewhere during the development of their brains, as Raine and his colleagues contend. And this implies that this neuroanatomical abnormality might influence their behavior and personalities, specifically their criminal psychopathic behavior.
Based on the available neurobiological evidence, Yu Gao and Adrian Raine suggest that successful psychopaths have brains that function as well as or better than most people. 24 This explains how they are able to avoid prison and violence and still get what they want. Unsuccessful psychopaths appear to be hindered by abnormal brain structure and function. Their autonomic nervous systems, the neural wiring that influences their bodies’ response to stress, are also abnormal. These differences could account for the deficits in thinking and emotional responsiveness that lead to more overt and ultimately self-harming, violent, and other antisocial acts. These hypotheses are consistent with what we have learned about the psychopathic brain, but all we know for certain is that success in the realm of psychopathy is defined by lack of a criminal record. And despite the charm and charisma and take-charge attitude of many successful psychopaths, they share a key feature with their criminal cousins: they are never concerned about your best interests.
Further Reading
Columbine, by Dave Cullen (2009, Twelve, Hachette Book Group, New York). The definitive account of a school shooting and the shooters.
The Mask of Sanity: An Attempt to Clarify Some Issues About the So Called Psychopathic Personality , 5th edition, by Hervey M. Cleckley (1988, Emily S. Cleckley).
The Science of Evil: On Empathy and the Origins of Cruelty, by Simon Baron-Cohen (2011, Basic Books). The author, an expert on autism, bases his book on his research in this field. Besides autism, he discusses lack of empathy in persons with borderline personality disorder, narcissism, psychosis, and Asperger’s syndrome. He devotes 30 out of 256 pages to psychopaths.
The Anatomy of Violence, the Biological Roots of Crime, by Adrian Raine (2013, Pantheon Books). A wide ranging account of biological influences on crime, with particular emphasis on the author’s research and his quest to convince social scientists that biology, not just social influences, plays a key role in criminal behavior.
The Anatomy of Evil, by Michael H. Stone, M.D. (2009, Prometheus Books). The author has researched over
But the hippocampus, like all parts of the limbic system, is interconnected with the other key brain structures. It plays a role in more than long-term memory formation. For example, it is a key player in the processes that regulate aggression. And it plays a role in helping people learn when they should be afraid in particular situations. If the hippocampus or its connections are abnormal, it makes sense to wonder if such a deficit might not lead to impulsive behavior with antisocial consequences in unsuccessful psychopaths. Destroy the hippocampus completely and you end up with total short-term memory loss. But if you only impair its ability to participate in neural circuits underlying behavior, then you get more subtle deficits.
One explanation for the persistence of asymmetries in the brain such as these is that they are the result of developmental abnormalities. The findings do not prove this is the reason nearly all of the unsuccessful psychopaths showed signs of uneven hippocampi, but it is consistent with the suggestion that something went wrong somewhere during the development of their brains, as Raine and his colleagues contend. And this implies that this neuroanatomical abnormality might influence their behavior and personalities, specifically their criminal psychopathic behavior.
Based on the available neurobiological evidence, Yu Gao and Adrian Raine suggest that successful psychopaths have brains that function as well as or better than most people. 24 This explains how they are able to avoid prison and violence and still get what they want. Unsuccessful psychopaths appear to be hindered by abnormal brain structure and function. Their autonomic nervous systems, the neural wiring that influences their bodies’ response to stress, are also abnormal. These differences could account for the deficits in thinking and emotional responsiveness that lead to more overt and ultimately self-harming, violent, and other antisocial acts. These hypotheses are consistent with what we have learned about the psychopathic brain, but all we know for certain is that success in the realm of psychopathy is defined by lack of a criminal record. And despite the charm and charisma and take-charge attitude of many successful psychopaths, they share a key feature with their criminal cousins: they are never concerned about your best interests.
Further Reading
Columbine, by Dave Cullen (2009, Twelve, Hachette Book Group, New York). The definitive account of a school shooting and the shooters.
The Mask of Sanity: An Attempt to Clarify Some Issues About the So Called Psychopathic Personality , 5th edition, by Hervey M. Cleckley (1988, Emily S. Cleckley).
The Science of Evil: On Empathy and the Origins of Cruelty, by Simon Baron-Cohen (2011, Basic Books). The author, an expert on autism, bases his book on his research in this field. Besides autism, he discusses lack of empathy in persons with borderline personality disorder, narcissism, psychosis, and Asperger’s syndrome. He devotes 30 out of 256 pages to psychopaths.
The Anatomy of Violence, the Biological Roots of Crime, by Adrian Raine (2013, Pantheon Books). A wide ranging account of biological influences on crime, with particular emphasis on the author’s research and his quest to convince social scientists that biology, not just social influences, plays a key role in criminal behavior.
The Anatomy of Evil, by Michael H. Stone, M.D. (2009, Prometheus Books). The author has researched over
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