Brain scans might predict future criminal behavior

Low anterior cingulate activity linked to repeat offenses

2013-03-28

(Press-News.org) ALBUQUERQUE, NM and DURHAM, NC--A new study conducted by The Mind Research Network in Albuquerque, N.M., shows that neuroimaging data can predict the likelihood of whether a criminal will reoffend following release from prison.

The paper, which is to be published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, studied impulsive and antisocial behavior and centered on the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC), a portion of the brain that deals with regulating behavior and impulsivity.

You can view the paper by clicking here: http://www.pnas.org/cgi/doi/10.1073/pnas.1219302110.

The study demonstrated that inmates with relatively low anterior cingulate activity were twice as likely to reoffend than inmates with high-brain activity in this region.

"These findings have incredibly significant ramifications for the future of how our society deals with criminal justice and offenders," said Dr. Kent A. Kiehl, who was senior author on the study and is director of mobile imaging at MRN and an associate professor of psychology at the University of New Mexico. "Not only does this study give us a tool to predict which criminals may reoffend and which ones will not reoffend, it also provides a path forward for steering offenders into more effective targeted therapies to reduce the risk of future criminal activity."

The study looked at 96 adult male criminal offenders aged 20-52 who volunteered to participate in research studies. This study population was followed over a period of up to four years after inmates were released from prison.

"These results point the way toward a promising method of neuroprediction with great practical potential in the legal system," said Dr. Walter Sinnott-Armstrong, Stillman Professor of Practical Ethics in the Philosophy Department and the Kenan Institute for Ethics at Duke University, who collaborated on the study. "Much more work needs to be done, but this line of research could help to make our criminal justice system more effective."

The study used the Mind Research Network's Mobile Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) System to collect neuroimaging data as the inmate volunteers completed a series of mental tests.

"People who reoffended were much more likely to have lower activity in the anterior cingulate cortices than those who had higher functioning ACCs," Kiehl said. "This means we can see on an MRI a part of the brain that might not be working correctly -- giving us a look into who is more likely to demonstrate impulsive and anti-social behavior that leads to re-arrest."

The anterior cingulate cortex of the brain is "associated with error processing, conflict monitoring, response selection, and avoidance learning," according to the paper. People who have this area of the brain damaged have been "shown to produce changes in disinhibition, apathy, and aggressiveness. Indeed, ACC-damaged patients have been classed in the 'acquired psychopathic personality' genre."

Kiehl says he is working on developing treatments that increase activity within the ACC to attempt to treat the high-risk offenders.

### The four-year study was supported by grants from the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), and pilot funds by the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation Law and Neuroscience Project. The study was conducted in collaboration with the New Mexico Corrections Department.

ABOUT THE MIND RESEARCH NETWORK

The Mind Research Network (MRN), headquartered in Albuquerque, N.M., is committed to advancing the diagnosis and treatment of mental illness and other brain disorders. MRN is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization consisting of an interdisciplinary association of scientists located at universities, national laboratories and research centers around the world and is focused on imaging technology and its emergence as an integral element of neuroscience investigation.

The Mind Research Network is a part of the Lovelace Respiratory Research Institute family of companies.

Learn more at http://www.mrn.org

ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

Cell reprogramming during liver regeneration

2013-03-28

PHILADELPHIA — During embryonic development, animals generate many different types of cells, each with a distinct function and identity. "Although the identities of these cells remain stable under normal conditions, some cells can be persuaded to take on new identities, through reprogramming," says Ben Stanger, MD, PhD, assistant professor of Medicine in the Division of Gastroenterology at the Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania. Researchers have been able to reprogram cells experimentally, but few have shown that cells can change their identities ...

Theory and practice key to optimized broadband, low-loss optical metamaterials

2013-03-28

The union of theory and practice makes broadband, low-loss optical devices practical, which is why two groups of Penn State engineers collaborated to design optical metamaterials that have custom applications that are easily manufactured. Metamaterials are manufactured materials that derive their unusual properties from structure rather than only composition, and possess exotic properties not usually found in nature. Nanostructured metamaterials appear different for signals of different frequencies. They are dispersive, so that if researchers manipulate this material ...

Surgical menopause may prime brain for stroke, Alzheimer's

2013-03-28

Women who abruptly and prematurely lose estrogen from surgical menopause have a two-fold increase in cognitive decline and dementia. "This is what the clinical studies indicate and our animal studies looking at the underlying mechanisms back this up," said Brann, corresponding author of the study in the journal Brain. "We wanted to find out why that is occurring. We suspect it's due to the premature loss of estrogen." In an effort to mimic what occurs in women, Brann and his colleagues looked at rats 10 weeks after removal of their estrogen-producing ovaries that were ...

Swarming robots could be the servants of the future

2013-03-28

Swarms of robots acting together to carry out jobs could provide new opportunities for humans to harness the power of machines. Researchers in the Sheffield Centre for Robotics, jointly established by the University of Sheffield and Sheffield Hallam University, have been working to program a group of 40 robots, and say the ability to control robot swarms could prove hugely beneficial in a range of contexts, from military to medical. The researchers have demonstrated that the swarm can carry out simple fetching and carrying tasks, by grouping around an object and working ...

New research on the effects of traumatic brain injury

2013-03-28

Considerable opportunity exists to improve interventions and outcomes of traumatic brain injury (TBI) in older adults, according to three studies published in the recent online issue of NeuroRehabilitation by researchers from the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. An Exploration of Clinical Dementia Phenotypes Among Individuals With and Without Traumatic Brain Injury Some evidence suggests that a history of TBI is associated with an increased risk of dementia later in life, but the clinical features of dementia associated with TBI have not been well investigated. ...

Creating inclusive child-care spaces

2013-03-28

(Edmonton) Researchers from the University of Alberta are teaming up with child-care providers and day-home operators to ensure they have adequate training and support needed to offer inclusive spaces for children with disabilities. Lesley Wiart was the lead author of a new study that identified challenges in providing inclusive spaces for children with physical disabilities, cognitive impairments and behavioural issues. The research showed that many Alberta child-care centres and day homes support inclusion but sometimes lack training and support. "Even though providers ...

Mate choice in mice is heavily influenced by paternal cues

2013-03-28

This press release is available in German. Mate choice is a key factor in the evolution of new animal species. The choice of a specific mate can decisively influence the evolutionary development of a species. In mice, the attractiveness of a potential mate is conveyed by scent cues and ultrasonic vocalizations. Researchers from the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Biology in Plön investigated whether house mice (Mus musculus) would mate with each other even if they were from two populations which had been separated from each other for a long time period. To do this, ...

Many doctors do not provide tobacco cessation assistance to lung cancer patients

2013-03-28

DENVER – Physicians who care for lung cancer patients recognize the importance of tobacco cessation, but often do not provide cessation assistance to their patients according to a recent study published in the Journal of Thoracic Oncology (JTO). An online survey was conducted in 2012 by the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer's (IASLC) Tobacco Control and Smoking Cessation Committee. The survey asked IASLC members about their practices, perceptions and barriers to tobacco assessment and cessation in cancer patients. More than 1,500 IASLC members responded ...

Look out squirrels: Leopards are new backyard wildlife

2013-03-28

NEW YORK (March 28, 2013) — A new study led by WCS-India scientist Vidya Athreaya finds that certain landscapes of western India completely devoid of wilderness and with high human populations are crawling with a different kind of backyard wildlife: leopards. The study found as many as five adult large carnivores, including leopards and striped hyenas, per 100 square kilometers (38 square miles), a density never before reported in a human-dominated landscape. The study, called "Big Cats in Our Backyards," appeared in the March 6 edition of the journal PLoS One. ...

Children of deployed parents at higher risk for alcohol, drug use

2013-03-28

In 2010, almost 2 million American children had at least one parent in active military duty. A new University of Iowa study suggests that deployment of a parent puts these children at an increased risk for drinking alcohol and using drugs. Using data from a statewide survey of sixth-, eighth-, and 11th-grade students in Iowa, the researchers found an increase in 30-day alcohol use, binge drinking, using marijuana and other illegal drugs, and misusing prescription drugs among children of deployed or recently returned military parents compared to children in non-military ...

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:

Risk of internal bleeding doubles when people on anticoagulants take NSAID painkiller

‘Teen-friendly’ mindfulness therapy aims to help combat depression among teenagers

Innovative risk score accurately calculates which kidney transplant candidates are also at risk for heart attack or stroke, new study finds

Amid record year for dengue infections, new study finds climate change responsible for 19% of today’s rising dengue burden

New study finds air pollution increases inflammation primarily in patients with heart disease

AI finds undiagnosed liver disease in early stages

The American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation announce new research fellowship in malaria genomics in honor of professor Dominic Kwiatkowski