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Evolution of Criminology

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Organized Crime, Corruption and Crime Prevention

Abstract

Scientific research about the biological basis of aggressive and criminal behaviors performed in the last few decades could change modern criminology. Functional and structural neuroimaging overall suggests that decreased prefrontal activity and increased subcortical activity may predispose individuals to violence. At a molecular level, dopamine and serotonin signaling seem to be mostly involved in contributing to this phenotype, which has also revealed a significant heritability. In the present article, the Authors will try to explore the issues related to the coupling of imaging and genetic data with criminology, starting from the first case which made this kind of evidence gain admittance to a US criminal courtroom.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. President of the Italian Society of Criminology, Università di Bari ‘Aldo Moro’, Bari, Italy

    Roberto Catanesi

  2. Dept of Criminology and Forensic Psychiatry, University of Bari ‘Aldo Moro’, Bari, Italy

    Giovanna Punzi

Authors
  1. Roberto Catanesi
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  2. Giovanna Punzi
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Roberto Catanesi .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. TRANSCRIME, U. Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Milan, Italy

    Stefano Caneppele

  2. TRANSCRIME, U. Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Milano, Italy

    Francesco Calderoni

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© 2014 Springer International Publishing Switzerland

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Catanesi, R., Punzi, G. (2014). Evolution of Criminology. In: Caneppele, S., Calderoni, F. (eds) Organized Crime, Corruption and Crime Prevention. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-01839-3_35

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