12-09-2012, 10:15 PM
(12-09-2012, 09:10 PM)ESAD Wrote: After his execution, Gacy’s brain was removed and it is now in the possession of Dr. Helen Morrison, a defense witness at Gacy’s trial who interviewed Gacy and other serial killers trying to isolate common personality traits of violent sociopaths. Research and thorough examination of Gacy’s brain revealed no abnormalities.
The question of whether or not brain abnormalities contribute to the making of a serial killer is of great interest to me. All serial killers are psychopaths; that's been proven (though most psychopaths are not killers, of course).
I just read this last week:
30-38% of psychopaths show abnormal brain wave patterns, or EEGs. Infants and children typically have slower brain wave activity, but it increases as they grow up. Not with psychopaths. Eventually, the brain might mature as the psychopath ages. This may be why most serial killers are under 50. The abnormal brain wave activity comes from the temporal lobes and the limbic system of the brain, the areas that control memory and emotions. When development of this part of the brain is genetically impaired, and the parents of the child are abusive, irresponsible or manipulative, the stage is set for disaster.
http://www.trutv.com/library/crime/seria...ych_6.html
So it's not too surprising that Gacy's brain was declared "normal" given that less than half of psychopaths show abnormal brain activity, based on today's testing methodologies. I hope that continued progress in testing mechanisms and analysis of the physical brains of serial killers like Gacy (alive and dead) will isolate more predictors that can help identify and treat those who are possibly predisposed to murder before the killing actually begins.
Gacy was one effin' evil clown.