A Canadian study of athletes who have suffered "mild" traumatic brain injuries "suggests depression is actually a physical outcome of such head injuries." Read this in conjunction with the American troop study suggesting that post-traumatic stress disorder also is an outcome of TBIs.
Why does it matter to us? Because the more people understand how incidents that are not even remotely the accused's "fault" (car crashes, IEDs, football tackles) can affect his outlook, his judgment -- indeed, his personality -- the better they will comprehend how unfair it is to punish people without considering everything that might have influenced that conduct.
3 comments:
Canadian? What exactly do you mean by Canadian?
I think that neurology and the law are on some sort of collusion course.
Every since Phineas Gage, there have been a number of cases showing brain damage and changes to behavior.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phineas_Gage
SHG, sometimes a Canadian is just a Canadian.
Ron in Houston, I think that you are right. There's even a name for the intersection of neurology and the law: neurolaw. Clever, eh?
Post a Comment