Psychopaths, Prisons and You
Seven Psychopaths , the title of Martin McDonagh's new movie, rolls off your tongue a little too easily. Who doesn't savor a good psychopath yarn? Like the twisted wreckage in a car crash, as much you might want to, you can't turn your head and look away. Be forewarned: the movie is awash in blood, but Christopher Walken's pitch-perfect performance is well worth the price of admission. What is it about psychopaths that captures our interest? Is it the aberrant lack of empathy that we just can't wrap our minds around? Recently at the Neuroscience Society convention, I caught up with Doug Schultz from the psychology department at the University of Wisconsin. Schultz has done some fascinating experiments regarding psychopaths. The central question: is there something unique about a psychopath's amygdala, that ancient processing center for fear? Are psychopaths' amygdalas constructed differently than those of 'normal' people? So, where does one lo...