Violent Brains

[andrewducker]

A group of three-year-olds from Mauritius were given an intensive programme of enriched diet, exercise and cognitive stimulation, which included being read to and involved in conversation. By the age of 11 they demonstrated increased brain activity on brain scan read-outs, and by 23 they were 64 per cent less likely than a control group of children not on the programme to have criminal records.

Last week the Home Office launched an unprecedented exercise to chart the extent of such problems over a 24-hour period in Britain, and MPs will this week debate calls for children as young as three to be taught social skills under a national programme similar to the literacy and numeracy hours that take place in schools.

Raine then used magnetic resonance imaging to study the brains of people with less lethal anti-social personality disorders, and found an 11 per cent reduction in the volume of neurons - so-called grey matter - in their prefrontal cortex compared to the average. They also showed lower heart rates and sweated less when stressed, a sign of blunted emotional responses which could affect their ability to empathise with victims.

The research, published in this month's American Journal of Psychiatry, involved 100 Mauritian children and a group of around 350 control subjects not put through the programme. EEGs - scans of brain electrical activity - at the age of 11 found heightened activity compared to their peers: they were less likely to have criminal records and 35 per cent less likely to report having engaged in some criminal activity and got away with it.

The most striking effects were observed in those most malnourished when they started the programme, Raine said, suggesting that the diet - unusually rich in fish - could be the crucial element.

'Could it be the exposure to increased omega 3 fatty acids, which we know are the building blocks of cell membranes, leads to better brain function which we did discern at age 11 - and better outcomes at 23?' said Raine.

Unfortunately, brain scans alone cannot reliably predict violent tendencies.

Raine notes that of a study he completed of 41 murderers, one - a prolific serial killer - differed from the others by not only having an undamaged frontal lobe, but also unusual patterns of activity in other parts of the brain. There was only one other scan like it in Raine's collection - his own.

Excerpted from here

Comments

[heron61.livejournal.com]

Both a fascinating study and an article the clearly reveals the boundaries of modern thought on such subjects. The article mentions:

A group of three-year-olds from Mauritius were given an intensive programme of enriched diet, exercise and cognitive stimulation, which included being read to and involved in conversation.

And then goes on to solely talk about the affects of diet, when I am certain (given that studies with rats show that rats in enriched environments produce more neural connections) that the exercise and cognitive stimulation was at least as important. Obviously avoiding malnutrition is the first step, but beyond this, it seems trivially obvious that someone from a deprived social and education environment is going to be less mentally capable and less emotionally developed that someone from a rich educational and social environment.

Any yet, the article states Raine said, suggesting that the diet - unusually rich in fish - could be the crucial element.

I worry that since adequate food is by far the easiest of these options to insure, they will focus on feeding small children fish and worry less about the social and cognitive stimulation. It's quite sad that such factors are simply not regarded as being as important or as "scientific" by most people in our culture, but this bias is widely visible.

[andrewducker]

Yeah, the emphasis was worrying. I'm entirely in favour of Omega-3, which seems now to be universally accepted as pretty vital to brains. But mental stimulation is also entirely vital.

I did like the fact that the UK is looking into social education. I think that more people should be educated in that area.

[heron61.livejournal.com]

I agree about the necessity of social education. While such education can often seem (and may be) trivial and foolish (some of the attempts in the US during the late 60s and early 70s certainly seemed that way when I was exposed to them), I think almost any education along these lines is likely useful. What we really need is some good social science studies about what sort of programs work best. Of course, for all I know this data has been available for decades but is rarely talked about because it does not fit in the reductionist-materialist paradigm that far too many people use when talking or thinking about human behavior.

I find it unsurprising that the least expensive answer (feeding children fish) is also the one that is both discussed the most and that fits the reductionist-materialist paradigm best. However, perhaps living a this mad nation has made me a bit paranoid.