Are you, have you ever been, or will you be?

[madmusic]

Reduced Frontal-lobe Activity And Impulsivity May Be Linked To Alcoholism Risk

Science Daily — Increased impulsivity, or a lack of impulse control, is a key characteristic of many psychiatric disorders, including alcohol dependence. Recent studies suggest that increased impulsivity is involved in a predisposition to developing these disorders. A new study of brain processes provides support for this theory.

"Altered impulsivity is a prominent manifestation in many disinhibitory psychiatric disorders, such as alcohol- or substance-related disorders, conduct disorder, attention-deficit hyperactive disorder (ADHD), antisocial personality disorder (ASP), bipolar disorder, impulse control disorders, and so on," said Bernice Porjesz, professor and director of the Henri Begleiter Neurodynamics Laboratory at SUNY Downstate Medical Center. "Individuals suffering with these disorders may frequently and unpredictably act without planning in advance or without regard to the negative consequences of their behaviors, which in turn can result in serious aftermath. In severe cases, it may lead to danger to the patient or to others."

Porjesz added that the majority of psychiatric diseases are "complex diseases," meaning that their development is influenced by an underlying biological susceptibility of genetic factors, environmental factors, and interactions among multiple genes and the environment.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/01/070103201533.htm

Are People Predisposed to Commit Crime?

Studies of the brain have recently shown us that youth lack a fully developed prefrontal cortex, and thus are unable to calculate risk and consequence fully. This may be why teenagers engage in so many risky behaviors, and their so-called rebellious rite of passage may simply be the cause of an undeveloped brain.

More current neurological studies back this scientific claim in an interesting way. Science is now questioning the basis of free will in general, as studies show that the human mind is cognizant of making decisions only after the brain has already begun carrying out these decisions. While I have no intention to debate the matter of free will through this blog, I would like to dissect the argument as it relates to crime and crime prevention.

snip

the British government is already contemplating a law that would allow the imprisonment of people who have mental disorders that could make them likely to commit a crime (never mind that they have yet to commit one). While this seems like a scene out of the movie Minority Report or a George Orwell novel, what does this mean for human rights, crime prevention, and prisoner rehabilitation?

http://ncpc.typepad.com/prevention_works_blog/2007/01/predisposed_to_.html

So, are you, have you ever been, or will you or your children be... incarcerated before committing any crime?

All risk takers, watch out, and, as an added bonus, the insurance companies would like to get rid of you.

EDIT: cut extraneous line

[HysteryDiagnosis]

1. Something that hinges on this report, or at least gives a pretty

good reason for adding DHA to infant formula.

http://www.nature.com/mp/journal/v12/n1/abs/4001888a.html


Decreased docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) and brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) have been implicated in bipolar disorder. It also has been reported that dietary deprivation of n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) for 15 weeks in rats, increased their depression and aggression scores. Here, we show that n-3 PUFA deprivation for 15 weeks decreased the frontal cortex DHA level and reduced frontal cortex BDNF expression, cAMP response element binding protein (CREB) transcription factor activity and p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) activity. Activities of other CREB activating protein kinases were not significantly changed. The addition of DHA to rat primary cortical astrocytes in vitro, induced BDNF protein expression and this was blocked by a p38 MAPK inhibitor. DHA's ability to regulate BDNF via a p38 MAPK-dependent mechanism may contribute to its therapeutic efficacy in brain diseases having disordered cell survival and neuroplasticity.

[madmusic]

2. Molecular Psychiatry?

They have molecules laying on the couch now?

More seriously, I'm all for prevention, and diet especially when very young has to play role, along with toxins in the environment. Not to mention the social environment.

What bothers me about this whole movement is the potential (more than potential, actually) eugenics angle, which will try to ignore all the above.

[HysteryDiagnosis]

5. Genetics more than eugenics..... and soil in Baltimore MD. is fit

for burning according to the EPA's earlier standards for lead contamination. A weak metallothionein protein, (genetics) causes an individual to be limited in his/her ability to clear lead along with other heavy metals, which also causes specific nutrients to be shortchanged, since lead looks like calcium to the body.

Furthermore, autisim (climbing and climbing) as well as aggressive/risky/criminal behavior are tied to this particular protein when malformed or weak.

For further reading on how this could be, please see www.hriptc.org

[nebenaube]

3. it is eugenics propaganda period n/t

[madmusic]

4. Corrections Sentencing blog is on it....

A lot of "technocorrections" stuff there, and a lot of it is fascinating even if scary.

http://correctionssentencing.blogspot.com/

I got jumped on here the other day for crying eugenics ("Be afraid, be very afraid!"), but it is alive and well and more than a slight reality.

[illinoisprogressive]

6. There are not any criminals in my family that I know of but,

Depression runs on my mother's side and most of us kids have it. Both of my kids but, they are grown and have not committed crimes and have done very well. so, what does that show??

[annabanana]

7. Department of Redundancy Department ruling here:

"Altered impulsivity is a prominent manifestation in many disinhibitory psychiatric disorders"

Aren't disinhibitory and altered impulsivity pretty much interchangeable?

[madmusic]

8. Oh, bananas!

That was a really good, medically sophisticated line until you pointed that out.