Rigoni Davide, Pellegrini Silvia, Mariotti Veronica, Cozza Arianna, Mechelli Andrea, Ferrara Santo Davide, Pietrini Pietro, Sartori Giuseppe
Department of Developmental and Socialization Psychology, University of Padua Padua, Italy.
Front Behav Neurosci. 2010 Oct 13;4:160. doi: 10.3389/fnbeh.2010.00160. eCollection 2010.
Despite the advances in the understanding of neural and genetic foundations of violence, the investigation of the biological bases of a mental disorder is rarely included in psychiatric evaluation of mental insanity. Here we report on a case in which cognitive neuroscience and behavioral genetics methods were applied to a psychiatric forensic evaluation conducted on a young woman, J.F., tried for a violent and impulsive murder. The defendant had a history of multidrug and alcohol abuse and non-forensic clinical evaluation concluded for a diagnosis of borderline personality disorder. We analyzed the defendant's brain structure in order to underlie possible brain structural abnormalities associated with pathological impulsivity. Voxel-based morphometry indexed a reduced gray matter volume in the left prefrontal cortex, in a region specifically associated with response inhibition. Furthermore, J.F.'s DNA was genotyped in order to identify genetic polymorphisms associated with various forms of violence and impulsive behavior. Five polymorphisms that are known to be associated with impulsivity, violence, and other severe psychiatric illnesses were identified in J.F.'s DNA. Taken together, these data provided evidence for the biological correlates of a mental disorder characterized by high impulsivity and aggressive tendencies. Our claim is that the use of neuroscience and behavioral genetics do not change the rationale underlying the determination of criminal liability, which must be based on a causal link between the mental disorder and the crime. Rather, their use is crucial in providing objective data on the biological bases of a defendant's mental disorder.
尽管在暴力行为的神经学和遗传学基础理解方面取得了进展，但在精神错乱的精神病学评估中，很少会涉及对精神障碍生物学基础的调查。在此，我们报告一个案例，在对一名因暴力冲动谋杀案受审的年轻女性J.F.进行的精神病学司法鉴定中，应用了认知神经科学和行为遗传学方法。被告有多种药物和酒精滥用史，非司法鉴定临床评估诊断为边缘型人格障碍。我们分析了被告的脑结构，以探究与病理性冲动相关的可能脑结构异常。基于体素的形态测量法显示，左前额叶皮质灰质体积减少，该区域与反应抑制特别相关。此外，对J.F.的DNA进行基因分型，以确定与各种形式的暴力和冲动行为相关的基因多态性。在J.F.的DNA中鉴定出五种已知与冲动性、暴力及其他严重精神疾病相关的多态性。综合来看，这些数据为以高冲动性和攻击倾向为特征的精神障碍的生物学相关性提供了证据。我们认为，神经科学和行为遗传学的应用并没有改变刑事责任判定的基本原理，刑事责任判定必须基于精神障碍与犯罪之间的因果关系。相反，它们的应用对于提供关于被告精神障碍生物学基础的客观数据至关重要。
