Nature vs. Nurture: The neuroscientist with a murderer's brain

NPR has a fascinating, ongoing series of stories about neuroscience, crime and the law—starting out with a piece about a scientist who discovered a dark secret in his own brain.

James Fallon studies the biological basis of behavior, especially the differences between the minds of psychopaths and normal people. It's research that can produce an almost knee-jerk recoil, given that this kind of stuff was once used to justify forced sterilization and other eugenic practices. But Fallon's story actually ends up illustrating why you can't just write off people as "damaged goods", even if they do carry genes that might predispose them to violence.

When Fallon's own family history turned out to be chock full of murderers (including Lizzie freaking Borden), he started studying himself, and found that his brain scans match those of people born with a lowered ability to control their id-like appetites—from rage to food to sex. He also carries a gene that prevents his brain from properly using the calming chemical Serotonin—a gene that's associated with increased levels of aggression.

But Fallon isn't a killer. Or even particularly off-putting, according to the story. The point: What makes you you isn't shaped entirely by brain chemistry or genetics. We can say that there are inherited traits that seem to predispose someone to certain behaviors, but we can't say how that will play out in the real world. Biology is destiny. Except, you know, when it's not.

NPR: A Neuroscientist Uncovers a Dark Secret

Maggie Koerth-Baker is the science editor at BoingBoing.net. She writes a monthly column for The New York Times Magazine and is the author of Before the Lights Go Out, a book about electricity, infrastructure, and the future of energy. You can find Maggie on Twitter and Facebook.

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retchdog

Oh, yes, Mr. Book. I have James Fallon … in mind.
rolnardz

“The point: What makes you you isn’t shaped entirely by brain chemistry or genetics.”

This is hardly the takeaway. What makes you you is, in all likelihood, completely shaped by brain chemistry and/or genetics, in fact, it IS brain chemistry and/or genetics. Just because our rudimentary methods of studying it don’t provide particularly sensitive or specific predictors doesn’t prove that we are transcendent beings.
Nelson.C

It’s possible that Fallon also has an unknown gene that compensates for his serotonin deficiency.
Nelson.C

Oh, scrub that. I should have read the freakin’ article. Though I’d be interested in hearing what’s going on in his brain that’s showing up in the scans, or his subjective experience of that.
tumblingwall

He’s just trying to look innocent. We really have all the proof we need.
M

As they say: nature or nurture, it doesn’t matter: it’s your parents’ fault, either way
wurp

NYT; June 2, 2011:
Neurologist validates his research with 6 person killing spree
Anonymous

I couldn’t get past the first part without realizing his name was “Jimmy Fallon” and laughing. Sorry, what were you saying? Something about a murder?
- fricative
  
  I’m confused as to why Jimmy Fallon would elicit laughter from anyone.
  - Ugly Canuck
    
    I’m just confused.
    Who’s “Jimmy Fallon”?
theredballoon

Damn right! As a psychology graduate student (and occasional teaching assistant in abnormal psychology and psych 101 courses) I’m continually telling my students it’s always nature AND nurture, not the media-sensationalized nature vs. nurture.

As an aside, they (meaning not me :( unfortunately) have done some pretty cool GxE (meaning Gene by Environment) studies.
phlavor

Why just look at the fellow. He has the sloping brow and cranial bumpage of the career criminal.
Jardine

I really hope some of his coworkers call him Dexter.
Anonymous

“Biology is destiny. Except, you know, when it’s not.”

haha, genius!
Nadreck

Well, we don’t need to worry about the State starting a progrom on the basis of genetic tests. Panic stricken parents will do it all for us once we have mail-in test kits for this sort of thing down at the drugstore. A microscopic chance of the unborn child not being absolutely average and mediocre in every way? Time to abort!
One of the guys doing research on the Autism/Creativity genes says that he gets requests all the time as to the commercialisation of his research in this manner.
- bersl2
  
  [...] progrom [...]
  
  …so, a program of pogroms?
nanuq

“murderers (including Lizzie freaking Borden),”

Be fair, Lizzie was acquitted.
- Lookforthewoman
  
  Agreed!
  And modern thinking is she was not the murderer.
  
  Because apparently an acquittal isn’t enough.
  - codesuidae
    
    An acquittal does not imply that she didn’t do it.
    - Ugly Canuck
      
      How so?
      Does an acquittal not restore the presumption of innocence?
      Oh…maybe not in your eyes, eh? You ought to re-write the Law to fit your idea of Justice better.
arkizzle / Moderator

http://www.ted.com/talks/jim_fallon_exploring_the_mind_of_a_killer.html
Yamara

Biology flavors destiny’s cornflakes.

It just a part of this complete breakfast.
rAMPANTiDIOCY

The nature vs. nurture debate is silly. The answer is always nature AND nurture. to discover how our genetics react to our environment is the real puzzle.
- Ugly Canuck
  
  Living through the process does not suffice for you?
Anonymous

–IGORR!!

–Yeth, marther?

–I told you not to buy discount brains! The creature went out and killed a family of four last night!