The Biology of Violence (How Understanding the Brain, Behavior, and Environment Can Break the Vicious Circle of Aggression)

A study traces violent behavior to changes in the chemistry of the brain that occur over a lifetime in response to particular environments

In this ambitious book, Niehoff presents biology's latest findings on the development of violent behavior in an effort to answer a simple question: "Why do people hurt each other?" Aggression, she argues, like all complex behavior, "is a biological process... that begins and ends in the brain." Drawing on a wealth of research in neurobiology, biochemistry, physiology, genetics and anatomy, Niehoff explains in precise prose that the old nature/nurture debate is obsolete: innate drives do not define character from birth, nor, she contends, do environments alone determine our predilections. Rather, she believes, the chemical reactions of the brain develop in constant and complex reaction to the environment. Niehoff resists the temptation to dumb down science, but she does a fine job of elucidating difficult concepts to make them accessible to general readers. In the last chapter, she appraises our current treatment and punishment of criminals and finds that most of our nation's drug and penal policies actually elicit violent, antisocial behavior. Solitary confinement, for example, leads to increased levels of violence in laboratory animals; Niehoff believes isolation of prisoners yields similar results. Though the real world is certainly more complicated than the laboratory, her proposed methods of curbing violence (which include prenatal care, cognitive behavioral therapy and careful use of psychopharmacology) are thought-provoking, and this book is a fine contribution to a debate often clouded by emotion. 7 b&w photos; 9 tables; 24 drawings.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Niehoff, a neuroscientist, asks why some people are violently aggressive toward others and what can be done about it. Her answer to the first question is that a person's encounters with the outside world have lasting effects on the neurobiological processes that underlie behavior. "Negative interactions increase the perception of threat; over time, the process may develop into a 'vicious circle' that leads to violence." Her answer to the second question is counseling and perhaps medicine for the aggressive person and social intervention to deal with the environmental conditions that provoke violence. "Repairing communities, ensuring the welfare and safety of children, sheltering battered women ... and actually caring for the mentally ill does cost money. On the other hand, the alternative--building, staffing, maintaining, and populating more prisons--is going to cost a fortune."

A masterful, much-needed primer on how a disruption of the interweaving of biology and environment can lead people to hurt each other. This makes clear that most current rhetoric on the subject is totally out-of-date and must be discarded. Niehoff , who has done research herself in neurobiology, points out that the last 25 years of studies in the neurosciences have given us myriad tools to reduce the level of violence in society; we now need to stop reacting (basically, sending increasing numbers o f people off to prison) and start thinking about solutions from a new perspective. Niehoff begins with an historical overview of our antipathy toward biological explanations of aggression. Many such efforts, she acknowledges, have been racist at their cor e. But the new perspective of ``holistic biology'' is based on greater understanding of the physical processes of the body, and on how they continue to develop for years after birth in response to ones surroundings. ``Behavior is a dynamic process integra ting physiology and experience,'' Niehoff writesin short, biology is not destiny. Another popularly held notion to discard, Niehoff explains, is that violence is a single entity with a single cause, always to be treated in the same way. At the center of t his work is a comprehensive tour of the relevant structure and function of the nervous system, in which Niehoff makes clear the different types of aggressive responses, how they arise physiologically, at what different points and from what causes the syst em can go awry, and at what different junctures critical and effective interventions can be made. Finally, Niehoff pulls together all her evidence into a well-based practical treatment plan for violence in societyone that we have the ability to embark on now. Throughout, Niehoff informs, rather than sensationalizes. This should be required reading for the powers that be, and those who cling to outdated notions about violence and crime. We really can do better. (b&w illustrations) -- Copyright ©1 998, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

Getting a highly controversial topic out of the either-or rut in which most discussion of it is mired is one of the most difficult tasks an author can undertake. Niehoff does just that, though, and merits considerable praise for a book that undoubtedly will bring her more abuse than good will. She asks, Is violence the result of genes or of the environment? Practically anyone will prove able to keep the argument for one or the other going as long as listeners will bear it. Such arguers, Niehoff clearly and winningly demonstrates, are clueless, though, and not only impede everyday discussion but also, at higher academic levels, hinder research, publication, and general education. Look inside the human brain, she says. Do we really know much about the relationship between inner and outer worlds? Closely argued, thoroughly documented, and beautifully worked out, Niehoff's book shows how genes and environment modify one another and add up to uniqueness in each person. William Beatty