Murderous Minds: Exploring the Criminal Psychopathic Brain: Neurological Imaging and the Manifestation of Evil - Hardcover

Haycock, Dean A.

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1605984981 ISBN 13: 9781605984988

Publisher: Pegasus Books, 2014

Synopsis

"An informed, masterful account of the theory, research, controversies, and issues surrounding the construct of psychopathy . . . His balanced and scientifically sound coverage of the literature and issues are admirable and refreshing. Readers not familiar with the technology and procedures of neuroscience will appreciate the way in which Haycock makes the science understandable, interesting, and relevant. Highly recommended." ―Robert D. Hare, Ph.D., author of Without Conscience: The Disturbing World of the Psychopaths Among Us and developer of the the Psychopathy Checklist-Revised.

Is there a biological basis for evil? From neurological imaging to behavioral studies, Dean Haycock's account of the groundbreaking research reveals what scientists are learning about the psychopaths living among us. 

How many times have you seen a murder on the news or on a TV show like CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, and said to yourself, "How could someone do something like that?"

Today, neuroscientists are imaging, mapping, testing and dissecting the source of the worst behavior imaginable in the brains of the people who lack a conscience: psychopaths. Neuroscientist Dean Haycock examines the behavior of real life psychopaths and discusses how their actions can be explained in scientific terms, from research that literally looks inside their brains to understanding how psychopaths, without empathy but very goal-oriented, think and act the way they do. Some don’t commit crimes at all, but rather make use of their skills in the boardroom.

But what does this mean for lawyers, judges, psychiatrists, victims and readers--for anyone who has ever wondered how some people can be so bad. Could your nine-year-old be a psychopath? What about your co-worker? The ability to recognize psychopaths using the scientific method has vast implications for society, and yet is still loaded with consequences.

8 page color insert

About this title

About the Author

Dean A. Haycock, PhD, is a science and medical writer, who earned a PhD in neurobiology from Brown University and studied at The Rockefeller University in the laboratory of Nobel Laureate Dr. Paul Greengard. He has been published in many science publications and is the author of Murderous Minds: Exploring the Criminal Psychopathic Brain and Characters on the Couch: Exploring Psychology Through Literature and Film along with several other books. He lives in New York.

From the Back Cover

"The world of the criminal psychopath is at once creepy and fascinating. You read about criminal psychopaths in the news, you see them portrayed in movies, you read about them in books. They do terrible things, horrific things . . . and they can do it all without a hint of remorse and or a touch of empathy. You hope you do not run across them, but could you recognize a psychopath if you met one?

"From psychopathic Eskimos to mass murdering high school students, the true nature of the criminal psychopath is explored here. And that exploration is such that it leads us not only to a better understanding of the criminal psychopath, but to a better understanding of ourselves."
-- From the Foreword by Charles C. Ouimet, Ph.D.

From the Inside Flap

Dean A. Haycock is a science and medical writer living in New York. He earned a Ph.D. in neurobiology from Brown University and a fellowship at the Rockefeller University. The results of his research conducted in academia and in the pharmaceutical industry, have been published in a variety of peer-reviewed academic journals.

Edition details

• Publisher: Pegasus Books
• Publication date: 2014
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1605984981
• ISBN 13: 9781605984988
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 272