The Brain on Trial.

Eideteker — Fri, 15 Jul 2011 11:43:18 -0800

The Brain on Trial. Advances in brain science are calling into question the volition behind many criminal acts. A leading neuroscientist describes how the foundations of our criminal-justice system are beginning to crumble, and proposes a new way forward for law and order.

"We may someday find that many types of bad behavior have a basic biological explanation—as has happened with schizophrenia, epilepsy, depression, and mania."

[Charles Whitman] requested in his suicide note that an autopsy be performed to determine if something had changed in his brain—because he suspected it had. "I talked with a Doctor once for about two hours and tried to convey to him my fears that I felt [overcome by] overwhelming violent impulses. After one session I never saw the Doctor again, and since then I have been fighting my mental turmoil alone, and seemingly to no avail." Whitman’s body was taken to the morgue, his skull was put under the bone saw, and the medical examiner lifted the brain from its vault. He discovered that Whitman’s brain harbored a tumor the diameter of a nickel. This tumor, called a glioblastoma, had blossomed from beneath a structure called the thalamus, impinged on the hypothalamus, and compressed a third region called the amygdala. The amygdala is involved in emotional regulation, especially of fear and aggression. . . . Whitman’s intuition about himself—that something in his brain was changing his behavior—was spot-on.

So, who's really to blame for the Love Bug costing billions?

baylink — Sat, 06 May 2000 19:03:58 -0800

So, who's *really* to blame for the Love Bug costing billions? Phil Agre makes a pretty good argument that the least Microsoft's can get away with is contributory negligence in this RRE piece.

MetaFilter posts tagged with culpability

The Brain on Trial.

So, who's *really* to blame for the Love Bug costing billions?

So, who's really to blame for the Love Bug costing billions?