Could brain abnormalities cause antisocial behavior and drug abuse in boys?
AURORA, Colo (Sept. 22, 2010) Antisocial boys who abuse drugs, break laws, and act recklessly are not just “bad” kids. Many of these boys may have malfunctioning brains, according to a new study by researchers at the University of Colorado School of Medicine. “Brain responses to everyday rewards and punishments gradually guide most youngsters’ decisions to conform with society’s rules. However, when these seriously troubled kids experience rewards and punishments, and make decisions, their brains apparently malfunction,” said Thomas Crowley, MD, a professor of Psychiatry at the School of Medicine and lead author on the study. “Our findings strongly suggest that brain malfunction underlies their frequent failure to conform to rules, to make wise decisions, and to avoid relapses back to drug use and antisocial acts.” The scientists, including collaborators at the University of Colorado at Boulder and the University of Maryland, studied 20 adolescent boys. On average they had been on prob
