VISUALIZING THE FIRESTORMS IN THE BRAIN - AN INSIDE LOOK AT THE CLINICAL AND PHYSIOLOGICAL CONNECTIONS BETWEEN DRUGS AND VIOLENCE USING BRAIN SPECT IMAGING

The connection between drugs and violence has been well documented. Un derstanding the intricacies of this connection is essential to finding effective interventions. Much has been written about the psychosocial causes of these problems, but there have been few studies exploring t he biophysiological interface between drug effects, violent behavior a nd brain metabolism. Over the past eight years, The Amen Clinic has be en extensively involved in the clinical use of brain SPECT imaging to evaluate complicated neuropsychiatric problems, especially related to the issues of both violence and substance abuse. From this work severa l clinical patterns, as well as brain SPECT imaging patterns, have bee n recognized that may help further our understanding of these problems . In this article, following a brief review of the literature on drugs , violence and the brain, five clinical examples are explored; the aut hors show how these support the clinical utility of incorporating SPEC T imaging into psychiatric assessment of drug abuse and violence. Fina lly, a model is proposed to help explain the complex interaction betwe en the brain, violence and drug abuse.