Biology, childhood trauma, and murder: Rethinking justice

International Journal of Law and Psychiatry

Volumn 29, Issue 3, 2006, Pages 220-233

  Heide, Kathleen M ^a   Solomon, Eldra P ^b  

^a UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH FLORIDA   (United States)

^b Center for Mental Health Education   (United States)

Author keywords

Attachment; Brain development; Child abuse; Child neglect; Criminal responsibility; EMDR; Forensic evaluation; Homicide; Juvenile offenders; Mitigating factors; Murder; PTSD; Sociopathy; Trauma; Violence

Indexed keywords

4 AMINOBUTYRIC ACID; ALPRAZOLAM; AMINE OXIDASE (FLAVIN CONTAINING) ISOENZYME A; CORTICOTROPIN; CORTICOTROPIN RELEASING FACTOR; DIAZEPAM; NEUROTRANSMITTER; NORADRENALIN; SEROTONIN;

ALCOHOL ABUSE; ALCOHOLISM; ARTICLE; BRAIN DEVELOPMENT; BRAIN FUNCTION; CHILD ABUSE; CHILD NEGLECT; CORPUS CALLOSUM; ELECTROENCEPHALOGRAM; EMOTIONAL ATTACHMENT; ENDOCRINE SYSTEM; ENZYME ACTIVITY; FEEDBACK SYSTEM; FORENSIC PSYCHIATRY; GENE CONTROL; HEALTH CARE DELIVERY; HEALTH SERVICE; HOMICIDE; HUMAN; JUSTICE; LAW; LIMBIC SYSTEM; MEDICAL RESEARCH; MENTAL HEALTH CARE; MENTAL HEALTH CARE PERSONNEL; NEUROPHYSIOLOGY; NEUROTRANSMISSION; OFFENDER; POSTTRAUMATIC STRESS DISORDER; PSYCHOTRAUMA; VIOLENCE;

CHILD; CHILD ABUSE; CRIMINAL LAW; ENDOCRINE SYSTEM; HOMICIDE; HUMANS; NEUROPHYSIOLOGY; SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY; STRESS DISORDERS, POST-TRAUMATIC; UNITED STATES; WOUNDS AND INJURIES;

EID: 33748259636     PISSN: 01602527     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1016/j.ijlp.2005.10.001     Document Type: Article

References (76)

1. American Psychiatric Association. Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders-IV-TR (2000) Washington, D.C
2. Anderson S.L., and Teicher M.H. Delayed effects of early stress on hippocampal development. Neuropsychopharmacology 11 (2004) 1988-1993
3. Ansorge M.S., Zhou M., Lira A., Hen R., and Gingrich J.A. Early-life blockade of the 5-HT transporter alters emotional behavior in adult mice. Science 306 (2004) 879-881
4. Beckman M. Crime, culpability, and the adolescent brain. Science 305 (2004) 596-599
5. Best M., Williams J.M., and Coccaro E.F. Evidence for a dysfunctional prefrontal circuit in patients with an impulsive aggressive disorder. Proceedings of the National Academy of Science of the United States of America 99 (2002) 8448-8453
6. Blake P.Y., Pincus J.H., and Buckner C. Neurologic abnormalities in murderers. Neurology 45 9 (1995) 1641-1647
7. Bowlby J. A secure base: Parent-child attachment and healthy human development (1988), Basic Books, New York
8. Caron M., and Duke J.B. Neuroscience: Mutant gene tied to poor serotonin production and depression. Science 306 (2004) (Originally published in the online edition of the journal Neuron)
9. Carrion V.G., Weems C.F., Eliez S., Patwardhan A., Brown W., Ray R.D., et al. Attenuation of frontal asymmetry in pediatric posttraumatic stress disorder. Biological Psychiatry 50 (2001) 943-951
10. Caspi A., McClay J., Moffitt T.E., Mill J., Martin J., Craig I.W., et al. Role of genotype in the cycle of violence in maltreated children. Science 297 (2002) 851-854
11. Cauffman E., Steinberg L., and Piquero A.R. Psychological, neuropsychological and physiological correlates of serious antisocial behavior in adolescence: The role of self-control. Criminology 43 1 (2005) 133-175
12. Cicchetti D., and Toth S.L. A developmental psychopathology perspective on child abuse and neglect. Journal of American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry 34 5 (1995) 541-565
13. De Bellis M.D., Baum A.S., Birmaher B., Keshavan M.S., Eccard C.H., Boring A.M., et al. Developmental traumatology part I: Biological stress systems. Biological Psychiatry 45 (1999) 1259-1270
14. De Bellis M.D., Keshavan M.S., Clark D.B., Casey B., Giedd J., Boring A., et al. Developmental traumatology Part II: Brain development. Biological Psychiatry 45 (1999) 1271-1284
15. Ewing C.P. Battered woman who kill (1987), Lexington Books, Lexington, MA
16. Ewing C.P. When children kill (1990), Lexington Books, Lexington, MA
17. Frierson R.L., Schwartz-Watts, Morgan D.W., and Malone T.D. Capital versus noncapital murderers. Journal of the American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law 26 3 (1998) 403-410
18. Giedd J.N. Structural magnetic resonance imaging of the adolescent brain. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences 1021 (2004) 105-109
19. Gunnar M.R., and Vasquez D.M. Low cortisol and a flattening of expected daytime rhythm: Potential indices of risk in human development. Development and Psychopathology 13 (2001) 515-538
20. Heide, K.M. (1992). Why kids kill parents: Child abuse and adolescent homicide. Columbus, Ohio: Ohio State University Press (Cloth); (1995), Thousand Oaks, Sage Publications (paperback).
21. Heide K.M. Young killers: The challenge of juvenile homicide (1999), Sage Publications, Thousand Oaks
22. Heide K.M., and Solomon E.P. Mental health professionals in forensic arenas. Journal of Police and Criminology Psychology 12 2 (1997) 35-41
23. Heim C., Ehlert U., and Hellhammer D.H. The potential role of hypocortisolism in the pathophysiology of stress-related bodily disorders. Psychoneuroendocrinology 25 (2000) 1-35
24. Hildyard K.L., and Wolfe D.A. Child neglect: Developmental issues and outcomes. Child Abuse and Neglect 26 (2002) 679-695
25. Ito Y., Teicher M.H., Glod C.A., and Ackerman E. Primary evidence for aberrant cortical development in abused children with psychological, physical, and sexual abuse. Journal of Neuropsychiatry and Clinical Neurosciences 10 (1998) 298-307
26. Ito Y., Teicher M.H., Glod C.A., Harper D., Magnus E., and Gelbard H.A. Increased prevalence of electrophysiological abnormalities in children with psychological, physical, and sexual abuse. Journal of Neuropsychiatry and Clinical Neurosciences 5 (1993) 401-408
27. Kohlberg L. Stage and sequence: The cognitive-developmental approach to socialization. In: Goslin D. (Ed). Handbook of socialization theory and research (1969), Rand McNally, Chicago 347-480
28. Kruk M.R., Halasz J., Meelis W., and Haller J. Fast positive feedback between the adrenocortical stress response and a brain mechanism involved in aggressive behavior. Behavioral Neuroscience 118 5 (2004) 1062-1070
29. Lewis D.O. Guilty by reason of insanity (1999), Random House, New York
30. Lewis D.O., Lovely R., Yeager C., Ferguson G., Friedman M., Sloane G., et al. Intrinsic and environmental characteristics of juvenile murderers. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry 27 5 (1988) 582-587
31. Lewis D.O., Moy E., Jackson L.D., Aaronson R., Restifo N., Serra S., et al. Biopsychosocial characteristics of children who later murder: A prospective study. American Journal of Psychiatry 142 (1985) 1161-1167
32. Lewis D.O., Pincus J.H., Bard B., Richardson E., Feldman M., Prichep L.S., et al. Neuropsychiatric, psychoeducational, and family characteristics of 14 juveniles condemned to death in the United States. American Journal of Psychiatry 145 (1988) 584-589
33. Lewis D.O., Yeager C.A., Gidlow B., and Lewis M. Six adoptees who murdered: Neuropsychiatric vulnerabilities and characteristics of biological and adoptive parents. Journal of the American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law 29 4 (2001) 390-397
34. Lewis D.O., Yeager C.A., Swica Y., Pincus J.H., and Lewis M. Objective documentation of child abuse and dissociation in 12 murderers with dissociative identity disorder. American Journal of Psychiatry 154 12 (1997) 1703-1710
35. Magid K., and McKelvey C.A. High risk: Children without a conscience (1987), Bantam, New York
36. Main M. Attachment: Overview, with implications for clinical work. In: Goldberg S., Muir R., and Kerr J. (Eds). Attachment theory: Social, developmental and clinical perspectives (1995), Analytic Press, Hillsdale, NJ 407-474
37. Malmquist C.P. Homicide: A psychiatric perspective (1996), American Psychiatric Press, Washington, D.C.
38. Melton G.B., Petrila J., Poythress N.G., and Slobogin C. Psychological evaluations for the courts: A handbook for mental health professionals and lawyers. 2nd ed (1997), Guilford Press, New York
39. Moffitt T. Life-course-persistent and adolescence-limited antisocial behaviour: A 10-year research review and a research agenda. In: Lahey B.B., Moffitt T.E., and Caspi A. (Eds). Causes of conduct disorder and juvenile delinquency. (2003), Guilford Press, New York
40. Newport D.J., and Nemeroff C.B. Neurobiology of posttraumatic stress disorder. Current Opinion in Neurobiology 10 (2000) 211-218
41. Palermo G.B. The faces of violence. 2nd ed. (2003), Charles C. Thomas, Springfield, Illinois
42. Paus T., Zijdenbos A., Worsley K., Collins D.L., Blumenthal J., Giedd J.N., et al. Structural maturation of neural pathways in children and adolescents: In vivo study. Science 283 (1999) 1908-1911
43. Pincus J.H. Base instincts: What makes killers kill? (2001), Norton, New York
44. Pitman R.K., Shin L.M., and Rauch S.L. Investigating the pathogenesis of posttraumatic stress disorder with neuroimaging. Journal of Clinical Psychiatry 62 (2001) 47-54
45. Raine A., Brennan P., and Sarnoff A. Birth complications combined with early maternal rejection at age 1 year predispose to violent crime at age 18. Archives of General Psychiatry 51 (1994) 984-988
46. Raine A., Buchsbaum M., and LaCasse L. Brain abnormalities in murderers indicated by positron emission tomography. Biological Psychiatry 42 6 (1997) 495-508
47. Raine S., Buchsbaum M.S., Stanley J., Lottenberg S., Abel L., and Stoddard J. Selective reductions in prefrontal glucose metabolism in murderers. Biological Psychiatry 36 6 (1994) 365-373
48. Raine A., Meloy J.R., Bihrle S., Stoddard J., LaCasse L., and Buchsbaum M.S. Reduced prefrontal and increased subcortical brain functioning assessed using positron emission tomography in predatory and affective murderers. Behavioral Science and the Law 16 3 (1998) 319-332
49. Rauch S.L., van der Kolk B., Fisler R., Alpert N., Orr S., Savage C., et al. A symptom provocation study of posttraumatic stress disorder using positron emission tomography and script-driven imagery. Archives of General Psychiatry 53 (1996) 380-387
50. Rauch S.L., Whalen P.J., Shin L.M., McInerney S.C., Macklin M.L., Lasko N.B., et al. Exaggerated amygdala response to masked facial stimuli in posttraumatic stress disorder: A functional MRI study. Biological Psychiatry 47 (2000) 769-776
51. Roper v. Simmons (543 U.S. 551, March 1, 2005).
52. Schmithorst V.J., Wilke M., Dardzinski B.J., Scott K., and Holland S.K. Cognitive functions correlate with white matter architecture in a normal pediatric population: A diffusion tensor MRI study. Human Brain Mapping 26 2 (2005) 139-147
53. Schnurr P.P., Friedman M.J., and Bernardy N.C. Research on posttraumatic stress disorder: Epidemiology, pathophysiology, and assessment. Journal of Clinical Psychology/ In Session: Psychotherapy in Practice 58 8 (2002) 877-889
54. Schore A.N. Affect regulation and the origin of the self: The neurobiology of emotional development (1994), Erlbaum, Hillsdale, NJ
55. Schore A.N. The experience-dependent maturation of a regulatory system in the orbital prefrontal cortex and the origin of developmental psychopathology. Development and Psychopathology 8 (1996) 59-87
56. Schore A.N. Dysregulation of the right brain: A fundamental mechanism of traumatic attachment and the psychopathogenesis of posttraumatic stress disorder. Australian and New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry 36 (2002) 9-30
57. Schore A.N. Affect dysregulation and disorders of the self (2003), Norton, New York
58. Schore A.N. Affect dysregulation and the repair of the self (2003), Norton, New York
59. Schore A.N. Early relational trauma, disorganized attachment, and the development of a predisposition to violence. In: Solomon M.F., and Siegel D.J. (Eds). Healing trauma: Attachment, mind, body, and brain (chapter 3). (2003), Norton, New York
60. Servan-Schreiber D. Eye movement desensitization and reprocessing: Is psychiatry missing the point?. Pyschiatric Times 17 (2000) 36-40
61. Shapiro F. Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) and the anxiety disorders: Clinical and research implications of an integrated psychotherapy treatment. Journal of Anxiety disorders 13 1-2 (1999) 35-67
62. Shapiro F. Eye movement desensitization and reprocessing: Basic principles, protocols, and procedures (2001), Guilford Press, New York
63. Shin L.M., Whalen P.J., Pitman R.K., Bush G., Macklin M.L., Lasko N.B., et al. An fMRI study of anterior cingulate function in posttraumatic stress disorder. Biological Psychiatry 50 (2001) 932-942
64. Shumaker D.M., and Prinz R.J. Children who murder: A review. Clinical Child and Family Psychology Review 3 2 (2000) 97-115
65. Solomon E.P., and Heide K.M. Type III trauma: Toward a more effective conceptualization of psychological trauma. International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology 43 2 (1999) 202-210
66. Solomon E.P., and Heide K.M. The biology of trauma: Implications for treatment. Journal of Interpersonal Violence 20 1 (2005) 51-60 (Special 20th Anniversary Issue)
67. Streeck-Fischer A., and van der kolk BA. Down will come baby, cradle and all: Diagnostic and therapeutic implications of chronic trauma on child development. Australian and New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry 34 (2000) 903-918
68. Teicher M.H., Andersen S.L., Polcari A., Anderson C.M., Navalta C.P., and Kim D.M. The neurobiological consequences of early stress and childhood maltreatment. Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews 27 1-2 (2003) 33-44
69. Teicher M.H., Dumont N.L., Ito Y., Valtusiz C., Giedd J.N., and Anderson S.L. Childhood neglect is associated with reduced corpus callosum area. Biological Psychiatry 56 (2004) 80-85
70. van der Kolk B.A. The body keeps the score. Approaches to the psychobiology of posttraumatic stress disorder. In: van der Kolk B.A., McFarlane A.C., and Weisaeth L. (Eds). Traumatic stress: The effects of overwhelming experience on mind, body, and society (1996), Guilford Press, New York 214-241
71. van der Kolk B.A. The assessment and treatment of complex PTSD in trauma, consciousness and the body, winter seminars, Harvard Medical School, Department of Continuing Education (2002)
72. van der Kolk B.A. Posttraumatic stress disorder and the nature of trauma, winter seminars, Harvard Medical School, Department of Continuing Education (2002)
73. van der Kolk B.A., and Fisler R.E. Childhood abuse and neglect and loss of self-regulation. Bulletin of the Menninger Clinic 58 (1994) 145-168
74. Virkunen M. Urinary free cortisol secretion in habitually violent offenders. Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica 72 (1985) 40-44
75. Walker L.E. Terrifying love (1989), Harper and Row, New York
76. Widom C.S. Child abuse, neglect, and witnessing violence. In: Stoff D.M., Breiling J., and Maser J.D. (Eds). Handbook of antisocial behavior. (1997), Wiley, New York