A new study helps in predicting criminal tendencies based on the amount of activity in a part of the brain responsible for regulating behavior and impulsivity, reports Science Daily.
The study conducted by researchers at the Mind Research Network in Albuquerque in New Mexico may have a promising approach in reducing criminal proclivities. Researchers studied behavior of a part of the brain called anterior cingulated cortex (ACC) which regulates behavior and impulsivity. The study included 96 adult male participants between the ages of 20 to 52 years old who had criminal records.
Researchers followed up on these participants for four years as they underwent several mental tests and brain scans. The study showed participants with low anterior cingulated activity were twice as likely to be repeat offenders compared to those who had higher anterior cingulated activity, according to Science Daily.
Dr. Kent A. Kiehl, senior author on the study and director of mobile imaging at MRN and an associate professor of psychology at the University of New Mexico, said in a statement that the study could change the future of our society to deal with crime and justice. Besides giving information on criminals who are more likely to reoffend, the study offers a more efficient way to provide treatment for such offenders to reduce crime, he 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, agrees with Dr. Kiehl's idea of providing a new path to find justice and fight crime.
Mind Research Network's Mobile Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) scans helped the study to gather neuro-imaging data, which helped in detecting the amount of activity in the ACC part of the brain.
"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."
Kiehl emphasized on his efforts in developing therapies that can increase the activity in the anterior cingulated cortex of the brain, which may keep criminals away from reoffending.
The findings of the study are to be published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
