7.The Warrior Gene
7.战士基因
Researchers suggest that some people are hardwired to commit violent crime.
研究人员认为，有些人天生会进行暴力犯罪。
After taking blood samples from violent prisoners in Finland, the researchers found that repeat offenders had the genetic variants CDH13 and MAOA. They nicknamed it the "warrior gene."
他们提取了芬兰暴力罪犯的血样后发现，惯犯的基因中都含有变体CDH13和MAOA。他们称之为"战士基因"。
MAOA metabolizes dopamine. If MAOA activity is decreased, the use of alcohol or drugs might induce a larger dopamine burst and spark aggressive behavior.
MAOA使得多巴胺进行新陈代谢。如果MAOA的活动减少，酒精或毒品的使用可能会引起更大的多巴胺破裂，引发攻击行为。
CDH13 helps the development of neuronal connections in the brain and is an important factor in ADHD.
CDH13有助于大脑神经元连接的发展并且是ADHD（小儿多动症）的一个重要因素。

Having both variations supposedly makes someone 13 times more likely to commit a violent crime.
据说拥有这两种变体会使人更有可能进行暴力犯罪，并且可能性约为普通人的13倍。
MAOA is located on the X chromosome, which could explain why most mass murderers are men.
MAOA位于X染色体，这就可以解释为什么大多数杀人犯是男性。
Women have two copies of the gene, so if one carries the variant, another normal gene could offset the effect.
而女性拥有这个基因的两个副本，所以，如果一个变异，另一个正常的基因可以抵消其效果。
However, men have only one copy of the X chromosome, so they suffer the full effects of the variant if they have it.
然而，男人只有一个X染色体的副本，所以他们如果拥有这个变体，就会饱受其折磨。
That is not to say that having either variant definitely makes someone a violent criminal. Researcher Jim Fallon found that he had the gene but did not have a history of violence.
这并不是说，拥有这两种变体之一的人肯定会进行暴力犯罪。研究员吉姆·法伦发现他自己也有这样的基因，但他不曾有过暴力行为。
Environmental factors are also important, and MAOA is associated with higher rates of crime when the individual experienced childhood adversity.
环境因素同样很重要，如果个体在童年时期经历过逆境，MAOA会致使更高的犯罪率。

6.Psychopathy May Be Evolutionary
6.精神变态有可能是进化的结果
Psychopaths have different biology than normal humans, with some researchers arguing that psychopathy is evolutionary rather than a mental disorder.
精神病患者与正常人有着不同的生理机能，一些研究者认为精神病是进化的选择而不是一种精神异常的例外。
In tests, people with more psychopathic tendencies were less likely to harm their families. In an evolutionary sense, this meant that psychopaths acted to protect their own gene pool at the expense of others.
在一些测试中发现，有着精神变态倾向的人有较少的可能性会去伤害家人。从进化的观点来看，这表明精神病罪犯试图通过牺牲其他人来保护自己的基因。
The theory has many critics, but there are other factors suggesting that psychopathy is evolutionary. One anthropological hypothesis looked at the Kung Bushmen and the Mundurucu villagers.
尽管这个理论有很大的争议，但是还存在其他的证据证明精神病是进化的选择。有一个人类学假说建立在对布须曼人和蒙杜鲁库人的观察上。

The Kung live in the harsh desert environment of South Africa where working together is essential for the tribe's collective survival.
布须曼人生活在南非最贫瘠和荒芜的沙漠地区，为了部落的生存，他们通常聚集而居。
There, reproductive success is dependent on how well one works with the tribe. Any psychopathic traits would be a hindrance to the survival of one's genes.
在那里，生产生活依赖于部落中所有人的合作。任何精神上的异常特性都会妨碍这个人的生存。
The Mundurucu live in the Amazon basin, where women do most of the farming while men compete for social status.
蒙杜鲁库人生活在亚马逊流域，部落中的女人承包了基本的生产性工作，而男人为了社会地位而竞争。
It's a culture where meat can be traded for sex, and reproductive success depends on where a man sits in the social hierarchy. This requires fearlessness, good verbal skills, and a lack of empathy—all traits of a psychopath.
在这个文明中，性交易可以换来肉，生存状态取决于男人在社会中的地位。这就要求无所畏惧、良好的语表达能力以及残酷决断，而这些基本都是精神病的特性。
In that environment, psychopathy would be an advantage by evolutionary standards.
这也就是说，在那种环境下，精神变态可能会进化成为一种优势。
Still, ideas like these do not completely discount the emergence of psychopathy as a mental disorder or a deliberate, behavioral choice. The prevailing theory is still that it is not an adaptive trait.
然而，这些观点并不能完全解释精神病的出现究竟是一个例外还是一个进化的结果。目前流行的理论仍然认为这并不是一个适应环境进化的特性。

5.The Criminal Brain As A Legal Defense
5.脑部异常可作为免责事由
The number of criminals using their brain scans to lighten their sentences has skyrocketed in recent years. Between 2007 and 2011, the number of cases in which judges mentioned neuroscientific evidence increased from 112 to 1,500. Researchers derived these numbers from court records.
最近一些年来，在司法实践中，通过对罪犯大脑进行X光片扫描（即鉴定是否存在异常）而减轻对罪犯的处罚的案例迅猛增加。从2007年至2011年，审判中提到精神鉴定证据的案件数量从112件增加到1500件。这是调查者从法院记录中获取到的数据。
However, many cases were settled out of court and the database was incomplete, so the total number was likely to be even higher.
然而，还有很多案件没有通过法院程序来解决，这个数据并不是完整的，所以总数有可能会更高。
Of course, this may not mean that neuroscience is affecting the outcome of more court cases, just that judges are discussing it more.
当然，这并不是意味着神经病学影响了更多法院案件的判处，只是法官在审判中更多的讨论而已。

In one case, a Virginia teacher was caught viewing child pornography and then convicted of child molestation.
在一个案件中有一位弗吉尼亚州的教师因为给学生观看色情内容而被捕，法院判处其猥亵儿童罪。
But the night before he went to jail, a brain tumor was discovered to have been causing his pedophiliac tendencies.
然而就在这位教师入狱前，大脑扫描检测发现在他的大脑中存在一个肿块，而且这个肿块导致其产生恋童癖的倾向。
Even without tumors, brains scans show that criminals' brains sometimes do function differently.
尽管大脑中不存在肿瘤或者肿块，通过脑部扫描发现，罪犯的大脑功能有时候会存在异常。
In one case, a woman murdered her sister, set fire to the corpse, and then attempted to murder her parents.
另一个案件中，一个妇女杀害了她的姐姐，焚烧了尸体，并且还试图谋杀父母。
She had her sentence reduced from life to 20 years because there was an abnormality in the region of her brain that regulates impulsivity and aggression.
由于她的大脑中有一块区域异常，导致了其特殊的冲动性和攻击性，由此对她的处罚从无期徒刑减刑为20年有期徒刑。
Neuroscience is often used in the courtroom to lighten sentences. But whether blaming criminal behavior on a person's brain should affect legal outcomes is a matter of fierce debate.
神经系统鉴定经常被用作免责或者减轻刑法的事由。但是将罪犯的脑部异常作为减轻处罚的事由有很大的争议。

4.Using Brain Implants To Prevent Crime
4.大脑植入手术阻止犯罪
As in A Clockwork Orange, the idea of creating brain implants to make criminals upstanding members of society has been suggested. After all, we already use implants in our body to modify a number of other things. Some devices can even change our moods.
像电影《发条橙》中的场景那样，有人提出了通过脑植入使罪犯"改邪归正"的想法。毕竟，我们早已经在人体内通过植入手术改变了许多其他的东西；有些装置甚至还能改变情绪。
The White House has already funded a $3 billion BRAIN Initiative, $70 million of which went to cranial implant research. Having a cranial implant that prevents crime is moving out of science fiction toward reality.
美国白宫已出资30亿美元资助"大脑计划"，其中7000万用于头部植入研究。进行阻止犯罪的头部植入手术正从科幻走向现实。

A criminal could opt out of a death sentence by volunteering to have an implant that would control his temper or violent actions. Potentially, even a person's negative thoughts could be suppressed, although that's obviously a frightening concept.
如果罪犯自愿进行能控制其脾气或暴力行为的植入手术，那么他就能免于死刑。尽管这显然是个可怕的概念，但一个人的消极想法甚至可能由此抑制。
But if the alternative is death row, some people might be willing to take that step to preserve their lives and the lives of any potential victims.
然而，如果这个选择是死囚牢房，那么有些人可能就会愿意进入死囚区，从而保全自己的性命，还有每个潜在受害人的生命。
It's been argued that some criminals are already having their identities altered with drugs that treat their criminal impulses like a mental disease.
许多人认为，一些罪犯早已被药物改变了自身的特性，这些药物像治疗精神疾病一样治疗他们的犯罪冲动。
If medicine is already using brain implants to treat conditions like deafness and Alzheimer's, why not also treat crime as a disease that can be cured?
如果医学能通过大脑植入手术治疗像耳聋、老年痴呆症之类的病症，那为什么就不能把犯罪也当成一种能治愈的疾病呢?