Crime And Its Various Roots 

Genes and environment are 
partners in crime, reports Biplab Das 

Ever wondered why just a handful of students studying in a good school become drug addicts, while most others don't? "The environment at home plays an important role in shaping the mind of a young adult," said Dr. Amit Chakraborty, former station director of the All India Radio, Calcutta, at a recently-held seminar on 'Crime - Heredity or Environment, What to Blame?' The seminar was organised by the Diagnostic and Applied Neuropsychological Association (DANA), a non-governmental organisation working on mental illness, at the Bangla Akademi. 

"Immediately after birth, a newborn makes an affectionate bond with his or her mother," said Chakraborty. "In situations in which the mother-child bond fails to bloom there will be a deficiency of the appropriate hormones, that could leave a child susceptible to drug abuse in later life." 

Lack of human touch and love at an early stage of human development causes the upsurge of cortisol, a stress hormone which ceates a toxic environment damaging certain brain structures. "Such an outcome is inevitable for a child who grows up in a broken family," said Chakraborty. 

Studies show that this sort of deprivation results in behavioural abnormalities such as depression, impulse dyscontrol, and violence. "This explains why teenage crime is on the rise," said Dr. Amal Mallick, an expert on child behaviour. "A study in the US shows that 85 per cent of programmes meant for children show violence." This can have deleterious effects on a tender mind. The infants cannot control their emotions because the nerve route, that carry signals from the cortex, the outermost layer of the brain, to the limbic system, the seat of emotion, are not fully grown. 

"The latest brain scans have revealed abnormalities in the brain of criminals," said Dr. Gautam Bandyopadhyay, a psychiatrist from the R. G. Kar Medical College. "Now we know why some criminals are immune to remorse and punishment." 

Biologists have advocated that nature has favoured the selection of aggression among animals, said Bandyopadhyay. "Studies have shown that narcissism (excessive interest in oneself) can fuel one's aggression. Such a state of mind ultimately sows the seed of a crime." 

A majority of the speakers at the seminar were of the opinion that environment was the predominant factor behind crimes. They ignored what the journal Science said in a paper published two years ago. The paper showed that reduced levels of a brain enzyme called monoamine oxidase A (MAOA), due to genetic deficiencies, can make people vulnerable to stress. This enzyme breaks down serotonin, an important neurotransmitter which has been linked to aggression in humans.