PREFRONTAL GLUCOSE DEFICITS IN MURDERERS LACKING PSYCHOSOCIAL DEPRIVATION

Previous research has suggested that links between autonomic nervous s ystem functioning and violence are strongest in those who come from be nign home backgrounds, but there appears to be no similar research usi ng brain-imaging measures of central nervous system functioning. It wa s hypothesized that murderers who had no early psychosocial deprivatio n (e.g., no childhood abuse, family neglect) would demonstrate lower p refrontal glucose metabolism than murderers with early psychosocial de privation and a group of normal controls. Murderers from a previous st udy, which showed prefrontal deficits in murderers, were assessed for psychosocial deprivation and divided into those with and without depri vation. Murderers without any clear psychosocial deficits were signifi cantly lower on prefrontal glucose metabolism than murderers with psyc hosocial deficits and controls. These results suggest that murderers l acking psychosocial deficits are characterized by prefrontal deficits. It is argued that among violent offenders without deprived home backg rounds, the ''social push'' to violence is minimized, and consequently , brain abnormalities provide a relatively stronger predisposition to violence in this group.