The neurology of evil

Neurología de la maldad

By: Adolf Tobeña

240 pages

The toll that scoundrels, villains, thugs and murderers take on society is ceaselessly renewed. Even as ages pass, circumstances change and generations grow old, evildoers continue to contribute to the many variations of criminality. At any given time, there will be people willing to seriously harm, injure, or torture others. Currently there are efficient methods to explore the brain circuits and neural and hormonal networks of individuals with a propensity for hard crime who stand out among soft crime delinquents. Neurología de la maldad (The Neurology of Evil) focuses on the research on the biology of people who are predisposed to anti-social and amoral behavior. This knowledge is becoming more and more useful for those who deal with the most corrosive cases from the trenches of justice. The book centers on recent, high profile criminals and offers a disturbing panorama of the resources that nest in the imaginations of the most dangerous people, but does not overlook the most common anti-social tendencies.

About Adolf Tobeña

Adolf Tobeña is a professor of psychiatry at the Autonomous University of Barcelona (UAB). He has had an extensive research career in the neurobiology of emotions at the Neurosciences Institute and the Department of Psychiatry in the School of Medicine – Bellaterra campus. He has been a visiting professor at the Institute of Psychiatry from the Univeristy of London and at universities in Groningen, Tel Aviv, Venice and Cordoba (Argentina), and a speaker at a variety of international forums. He is a columnist and director of scientific debate programs for several media outlets. He won the Avui Award for scientific journalism in 1991; Ciutat de Barcelona de Ciencia Award in 1992; Serra i Moret Award for citizenship in 1994; European Award for scientific dissemination “General Study” in 2004, y Crítica Serra d'Or Award for science writing in 2014. He has published several essays on the subject of this book, some standout titles being, Anatomía de la agresividad humana (Anatomy of Human Aggression) (2001); Mártires mortíferos (Lethal Martyrs) (2004); Cerebro y poder (Brain and Power) (2008) and Devotos y descreídos (Believers and Non-Believers) (2014).