Is the criminal mind genetically determined, or the product of nurturing and experience?

While researching this article, my flatmate made the observation that a pilot would make a good serial killer. Perhaps. But would a serial killer choose the occupation of pilot?

The top occupations for serial killers vary from truck drivers and gas station attendants (opportunism) to government service jobs (police officer etc). New research suggests that serial killers are becoming more likely to use leisure activities like music, including online interactions, as an avenue to troll for victims. This is increasingly the case as the public sphere for interaction shrinks in favour of the virtual online sphere. In 1995, Steve Connor wrote about the murder trial of Stephen "Tony" Mobley,`"There is no legal defence to his crime," says Daniel Summer, Mobley's attorney. "There is only the mitigating factor of his family history. His actions may not have been a product of totally free will." ' Mobley's lawyers were arguing that he was a victim of his genes - that Mobley was, in fact, born to kill. (This argument did now wash with the Judge or jury and eventually, Mobley was sent to the chair for his crimes.)

In The Wall Street Journal, (Saturday/Sunday April 27-28 2013) psychiatrist/neuroscientist Adrian Raine describes a possible brain signature of the criminal mind. His research suggests there is a link between low levels of activity in the prefrontal regions of the brain and psychopathy. A second research finding involves not brain activity but brain structure: that the size of the striatum is larger in criminals. Raine also claims that genetics has begun to “pinpoint which specific genes promote [criminal] behavior”.

Further, extensive Twin studies have revealed that genome-behavioural links do exist. But it's a little more complicated than that. The links are "predispositions".

Psychiatrist/neuroscientist Raine found in his studies that the pre-frontal cortex has anomalies in psychopaths and that frequently, the amygdala is enlarged and/or overactive in violent and/or aggressive males. The amygdala is the part of the brain where emotions originate. Interestingly, a history of abuse was found in only a small number of the research group.

Researchers linked a genetic sequence carried by around 30 percent of the male population to an increased propensity to aggressive behaviour. The warrior gene, labelled MAOA, regulates neurotransmitters that govern impulse control. However, scientists concluded that possessing this gene isn't enough to predict violence or criminality as MAOA is also found in individuals who are not driven to commit crimes or display undue aggression.

On weighing up, it would appear that a combination of genetic predisposition coupled with environmental cues are required in order to mould a murderer. Possessing the identified biological markers does not preordain a destiny for crime.

Further information can be obtained in the following source links:

Steve Connor, "Do your genes make you a criminal?", Sunday, 12 February 1995
Accessed 26/05/2018 @ https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/do-your-genes-make-you-a-criminal-1572714.html

Davey, Dana, "Under the Hood: Are Criminal Minds Born Or Made? BBC Documentary Explores Psychology Of Cold-Blooded Killers", Mar 9, 2015 05:38 PM
Accessed at: https://www.medicaldaily.com/are-criminal-minds-born-or-made-bbc-documentary-explores-psychology-cold-blooded-324990

Smith Churchland, P. Criminal Genes and Criminal Brains: Are we there yet? in Psychology Today, May 07, 2013
https://www.psychologytoday.com/au/blog/neurophilosophy/201305/criminal-genes-and-criminal-brains