Return to the Brain of Eden: Restoring the Connection Between Neurochemistry and Consciousness by Tony Wright

Author:Tony Wright [Wright, Tony]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781620552513
Amazon: B00KC1DLLM
Barnesnoble: B00KC1DLLM
Goodreads: 22713882
Publisher: Inner Traditions / Bear & Company
Published: 2014-05-10T00:00:00+00:00

SEROTONIN, TESTOSTERONE, DEPRESSION, AND MURDER

Studies of individuals who display psychopathic behavior and have been convicted of the darkest of crimes show that many of them suffer from low levels of serotonin and high levels of testosterone. This is, in effect, according to our theory, the extreme end of what all of humanity has been exposed to. The combination of low serotonin levels with high testosterone levels appears to be linked to violence, the willingness to kill, uninhibited aggression, and a detached and unemotional mental state with a total absence of compassion. Such psychopathic individuals have a greater sense of disconnection from others and a greater sense of isolation. We can surmise that they have even less of the biochemistry that fuels the sense of connection to all life and that their left-hemisphere dominance is more complete.

In instances when chemical or physical castration has been carried out on the worst offenders (which in cases of sex attacks and serial murders are virtually always men), the incidence of reoffending has been reduced by a massive factor of twenty. Reducing testosterone levels thus stops the criminal behavior almost entirely. This is a staggering result. Just by changing one or two core biochemical pathways, behavior can be changed. There may be a massive web of chemical interaction that makes up our behavior patterns, but this work shows that testosterone has a disproportionate effect; an imbalance can lead to violent results. (There is a direct connection between the levels of neurotransmitters like serotonin and steroid hormones like testosterone; more steroids lead to less neurotransmitter activity.) If, as we believe, we are all suffering from too much testosterone activity, this connection between testosterone and violence has enormous implications for society.

Studies suggest that antisocial conduct also may be linked to diet. Increasing the levels of vitamins, minerals, and fatty acids in the diets of young, imprisoned offenders reduced the number of disciplinary offenses committed by more than one-quarter. Significant infringements of the rules, including violence, fell by 37 percent when supplements were given to a trial group. Though this research has come as a surprise to many people, it is what we would expect if our thesis were correct (Gesch 2002). Bernard Gesch, who conducted the work while he was at the University of Surrey, has correctly pointed out that nutrients are crucial ingredients in the biological processes that produce brain transmitters like serotonin and dopamine, which affect mood. As a junk food diet, free from fresh fruits and vegetables, is becoming more prevalent, this evidence suggests we are sowing the seeds for a much more disruptive and violent society.

Furthermore, research on monkeys reared in isolation has found that in comparison with those benefiting from a normal, interactive upbringing, they were less socialized and grew into more aggressive adults. These monkeys had less serotonin activity. Linked to this, there is some evidence that suggests that touch, particularly a mother’s touch, is very important to babies and young children. It can affect lifelong levels of serotonin. Perhaps a society that isolates its children into cots and crèches is storing up more and more problems.

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