Brain In The News

Recent Murders Linked to Brain Problems

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April 29, 2009

By Daniel Amen      

If you've followed the news in the past couple of weeks it seems that senseless murders are at the forefront of each day's headlines. Most of us have followed the "Craigslist Killer" story, a medical school student who allegedly met and killed victims through the popular internet portal. There is also the bizarre story of Melissa Huckaby, a Sunday school teacher charged with raping and killing young Sandra Cantu. And, for months we've seen the case of Casey Anthony unfold, who is accused of killing her toddler daughter in Florida. Certainly violent, sociopathic behavior is not new to our world, but we've done little to uncover the reasons seemingly ordinary people commit such heinous acts. At Amen Clinics our research department has studied the brains of murderers - in fact we had a study on murderers' brain function published last year. I have found that there are generally two categories that fit the murder profile, those who kill compulsively and those who kill impulsively. Our research suggests that compulsive murderers often show far too much overall activity in their brain, while impulsive murderers often have very low activity in the front part of their brain. This front part of the brain, the pre-frontal cortex, is the most human and thoughtful part of our brain and acts in large part as our conscience. Last week I appeared on _Larry King Live_ to discuss these cases, if you'd like to view a brief portion of that program click this link - [1]http://ww.cnn.com/video/#/video/crime/2009/04/25/lkl.amen.killers.brain.c nn. Links: 1. http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/crime/2009/04/25/lkl.amen.killers.brain.cnn Many in the mental health community have begun to wonder if we're raising a generation with an unquenchable thirst for thrill-seeking brain function and ultimately thrill-seeking behavior. With fast moving computer games, Blackberrys, iPods and violent imagery at every turn, our sensory overload factor is raising the bar on what it takes to stimulate brain activity. As I said on the CNN show, there's a reason violent movies like _SAW_ have 5 sequels! My friend Arch Hart wrote an excellent book about this called [2]Thrilled to Death, you can find it at our online store at [3]www.amenclinics.com. As a practicing psychiatrist for over 30 years I can tell you confidently that what you see and hear affects your brain and your behavior. The good news is you can use that fact to have a better life. Links: 2. http://www.amenclinics.com/store/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=1&products_id=178 3. http://www.amenclinics.com/store You have a large level of control over what you allow in to your brain. You can turn off the TV, or make better choices about what you watch. You can select music that is soothing. You can engage in thoughtful learning activities that will help you live a better life today and extend the vibrant function of your brain for additional years. Just as so many are "diet conscious" when it comes to food intake, let me encourage you to monitor your "brain diet" as well. To your brain health, Daniel

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