Courtesy of: Ananova and www.policeoracle.com
Scientists may soon be able to identify potential criminals using developments in brain research on children as young as six months, an expert has claimed.
Psychologist Dr Adrian Raine said recognising problems in a child's limbic system, which controls emotion, will allow scientists to predict future offenders and psychopaths.
"Seeds of sin are sown quite early in life," Dr Raine told a science conference in the US.
“People would have to decide whether or not to intervene at an early age to stop crime despite possible mistakes in predictions”
The British scientist, who is at the University of Pennsylvania, said three year olds with a poorly-functioning amygdala, a key part of the limbic system, were more likely to commit crime 20 years later.
Further research presented at the conference showed emotional problems, like "callous-unemotional" (CU), were hereditary.
CU traits are associated with a lack of emotion, empathy and guilt and are linked to persistent bad behaviour in young children.
After assessing more than 9,000 twins between the ages of four and 12, Dr Nathalie Fontaine concluded that genetics played a fundamental role in the emergence of CU traits, especially in young boys.
Dr Raine said that a time would come when "we are going to be able to predict reasonably well which individuals at a modest age say eight to 10 years old are predicated to become criminal offenders".
The scientist added people would have to decide whether or not to intervene at an early age to stop crime despite possible mistakes in predictions.
Omega 3 - a fatty acid that helps build brain cells - was identified as being able to reduce aggressive behaviour in children based on studies that have shown giving supplements to prison inmates cut serious offending by a third.
"Its very simple - bad brain, bad behaviour... improve brain functioning and you will improve behaviour," Dr Raine said.
5 comments:
I do believe that you can tell whether some people will turn into criminals when they are young because of their behaviour, and their attitude towards others and life itself.
I'm not sure if what you eat comes into it though, you hear all the time about certain foods that can lead to bad health problems, for instance, eat to much fatty foods etc, but not sure if it effects the brain.
Interesting though.
I am very suspicious of this sort of simplistic theorizing. Similar theories said to identify "gay genes" or "criminal genes" have been thoroughly discredited.
In a parallel field, consider how much faith was put in lie-detectors so that even British firms started to install them for use when interviewing job applicants. It has been comprehensively shown that you can learn (or be taught) to beat a lie detector and that simple nervousness can cause a "guilty" reading.
I doubt very much that the theorists in this study have data on convicted criminals going back to their infancy. Much less do I believe they have data on non criminals for comparison. Given the time required to study the effects of genetics it will take literally several generations before any solid evidence one way or the other emerges.
In the meantime, if these quacks are allowed to dictate the education and upbringing of those they diagnose as "potential criminals", they will do a lot of harm.
I should have had my wife scanned...
A survey carried out over a 17 year period, where the majority of children from 'disturbed' families who were adopted into other families, were found to have involvement with the Police or took part in disruptive behaviour, even when other children in the family carried out normal lives. The results of this survey were hidden by Government departments for their own reasons. It gives the possibility that anti-social behaviour could be genetically linked and not simply a result of sociological reasons.
For real? So, the sins of the father are rained down upon the sons. I guess this means that someday doctors will have a cure for the criminal mind.
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