Table Of ContentThe Neurobiology of
Criminal Behavior
Gene-Brain-Culture Interaction
Anthony Walsh and Jonathan D. Bolen
The Neurobiology of CrimiNal behavior
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The Neurobiology of
Criminal behavior
gene-brain-Culture interaction
aNThoNy Walsh and JoNaThaN D. boleN
Boise State University, USA
© anthony Walsh and Jonathan D. bolen 2012
all rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval
system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying,
recording or otherwise without the prior permission of the publisher.
anthony Walsh and Jonathan D. bolen have asserted their right under the Copyright,
Designs and Patents Act, 1988, to be identified as the authors of this work.
Published by
ashgate Publishing limited ashgate Publishing Company
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union road 101 Cherry street
farnham burlington
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British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
Walsh, anthony, 1941–
The neurobiology of criminal behavior: gene-brain-culture interaction
1. Criminal behavior. 2. Criminal behavior–genetic aspects. 3. Criminal behavior–
Physiological aspects. 4. Criminal behavior–social aspects. 5. Neurobiology.
i. Title ii. bolen, Jonathon b.
364.2’4-dc23
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Walsh, anthony, 1941–
The neurobiology of criminal behavior : gene-brain-culture interaction /
by anthony Walsh and Jonathon D. bolen.
p. cm.
includes bibliographical references and index.
isbN 978-1-4094-3841-0 (hardback : alk. paper) – isbN 978-1-4094-3842-7
(ebook : alk. paper) 1. Criminal psychology. 2. Criminal behavior.
3. Neurobiology. i. bolen, Jonathon D. ii. Title.
hv6080.W235 2012
364.3–dc23
2011036965
isbN 9781409438410 (hbk)
isbN 9781409438427 (ebk)
II
Printed and bound in great britain by the
mPg books group, uK.
Contents
List of Figures and Tables vii
Foreword ix
Preface xi
Acknowledgments xv
1 The Basic Brain 1
2 Neurochemistry, Gene–cultural Coevolution, and Criminal
Behavior 17
3 Brain Development, Abuse-neglect, and Criminality 33
4 ADHD, Comorbid Disorders, and Criminal Behavior 47
5 The Age–crime Curve, Puberty, and Brain Maturation 61
6 Substance Abuse Disorders, Epigenetic Plasticity, and
Criminal Behavior 77
7 Intelligence, Nature/nurture, and Criminal Behavior 93
8 Schizophrenia, Brain Development, and Criminal Behavior 109
9 Criminal Violence and the Brain 123
10 Gender, Crime, and the Brain 137
11 The Psychopath: The Quintessential Criminal 151
Bibliography 167
Index 209
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List of Figures and Tables
Figures
1.1 Some important brain areas pertinent to criminal behavior 5
1.2 The growth of neuronal networks from birth to age one 10
2.1 Neurons, axons, dendrites, and the synaptic process 19
2.2 Major dopamine (white) and serotonin (black) pathways in
the brain 21
4.1 Three pathways to boys’ delinquency 55
5.1 Illustrating the age–crime curve in different countries 62
5.2 Testosterone levels of human males and females from conception
to old age 67
6.1a DNA methylation and acetylation 82
6.1b Illustrating DNA methylation (top) and acetylation (bottom) 82
6.2 Adult arrestees testing positive for various drugs 2007–2009 87
6.3 Self-reported illicit drug use in past month by age category
in 2008 90
7.1 Weighted average interclass IQ correlations by kinship group 96
9.1 The neurohormonal basis of violence according to the triple
imbalance hypothesis 130
10.1 Percentage of male/female arrests for FBI Part 1 crimes 137
Tables
7.1 Mean IQ levels of adopted children by parental SES 100
8.1 Prevalence of mental health problems of prison and jail inmates 110
11.1 Personality and behavioral traits measured by Hare’s PCL-R 153
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Foreword
The past decade has witnessed a subtle revolution in the study of crime. Criminology
has moved, albeit slowly, from a widespread denial that biology plays any role in
antisocial and criminal behavior to recognizing that, at a minimum, human beings
are biological and social animals. Today, new research findings linking biology
to behavior appear daily, challenging the outdated notion that human beings are
merely passive recipients of socialization and culture, and sweeping away the
powerful ideologies that led criminologists to a state of denial in the first place. Yet
this new awareness remains precarious as old ideas and ideologies threaten to erase
recent empirical and theoretical gains. Fortunately, Walsh and Bolen’s book holds
not only the promise to advance future criminological inquiry, but also stands as a
testament to the power of science to vanquish conjecture, ideology, and dogmatism.
Much has been made about the capacity of the human brain to simultaneously
perform a variety of complex actions. The thousands of miles of neural networks
and their infinite complexity receive input from our senses, store this information,
and recall the information when appropriate—all while coordinating all life-
sustaining activities. But the brain is not merely an information processing
machine. It is, after all, the brain that allows us to make decisions, to control
our emotional instincts, to plan for our future, to contemplate the meaning of
poetry and prose, and to feel joy at the sight of a newborn child. In short, it is
the brain that makes us human, and it is the brain that has allowed, and maybe
even encouraged, our humanity. The great neuroscientist Elkhonon Goldberg, for
example, argues that human civilizations were able to form and to prosper because
of the remarkable capacities found in the modern brain.
The brain has been subject to millions of years of evolution and selection.
During most of our evolutionary history violence and warfare appear to have been
common, as were sex roles that are still visible in hunter/gatherer societies today.
Evolutionary processes favor adaptations that increase survival and reproductive
chances over time. Under strong evolutionary pressures, the brains of men and
women evolved in slightly different fashion. It is no accident, for example, that
in every culture at every point in history men, and not women, have been the sex
to engage in warfare, violence, and crime. And it is no accident that in every
culture women have been primarily responsible for the care of offspring. Still,
contemporary explanations for this indelible pattern range from the absurd to the
patently false. Thankfully, Walsh and Bolen tackle this subject pointing out what
has been lost in political discussions of the rights of women and men—that is, that
men and women are fundamentally different.
