Exploring the mind of a killer | Jim Fallon

Translator: Vanessa Montes Reviewer: Serv. de Norm. Lingüística U. de Santiago de Compostela

I'm a neuroscientist, a professor at the University of California.

Son neurocientífico e profesor na Universidade de California.

And over the past 35 years,

Durante os últimos 35 anos,

I've studied behavior

estudei o comportamento

on the basis of everything from genes

baseándome en todo, dende os xenes

pasando polos neurotransmisores, dopamina, e cousas polo estilo,

through neurotransmitters, dopamine, things like that,

all the way through circuit analysis.

ata chegar á análise de circuítos.

So that's what I normally do.

Iso é o que adoito facer.

But then, for some reason,

Pero recentemente, por algunha razón,

I got into something else, just recently.

intereseime por outra cousa.

And it all grew out of one of my colleagues asking me

Isto comezou cando un dos meus colegas me pediu

to analyze a bunch of brains

que analizase unha serie de cerebros

of psychopathic killers.

de asasinos psicópatas.

Esta sería a típica charla que eu daría.

And so this would be the typical talk I would give.

And the question is, "How do you end up with a psychopathic killer?"

A pregunta é: como se converte alguén nun asasino psicópata?

What I mean by psychopathic killer

Cando digo asasino psicópata

are these people, these types of people.

refírome a estas persoas, este tipo de persoas.

And so some of the brains that I've studied

Algúns dos cerebros que estudei

are people you know about.

son de xente que coñecen.

Cando recibo cerebros, non sei o que teño diante miña.

When I get the brains I don't know what I'm looking at.

It's blind experiments. They also gave me normal people and everything.

Son experimentos a cegas. Tamén recibín cerebros de xente normal.

So I've looked at about 70 of these.

Xa estudei uns 70 deste tipo.

And what came up was a number of pieces of data.

E o que obtiven foron unha serie de datos.

So we look at these sorts of things theoretically,

Examinamos este tipo de cousas de xeito teórico,

on the basis of genetics,

tomando como base a xenética,

and brain damage, and interaction with environment,

os danos cerebrais, a interacción co medio

and exactly how that machine works.

e a forma na que esa máquina funciona.

So we're interested in exactly where in the brain,

Estamos interesados en determinar o lugar exacto do cerebro

and what's the most important part of the brain.

e cal é a parte máis importante do cerebro.

So we've been looking at this:

Entón estudamos todo isto:

a interacción entre xenes,

the interaction of genes,

denominada efectos epixenéticos,

what's called epigenetic effects,

brain damage, and environment,

o dano cerebral e o medio,

and how these are tied together.

e como estes se relacionan entre si.

And how you end up with a psychopath, and a killer,

A forma na que alguén se converte en psicópata e asasino

depends on exactly when the damage occurs.

depende do momento exacto no que se produce o dano.

It's really a very precisely timed thing.

É algo que ten lugar nun momento moi preciso.

You get different kinds of psychopaths.

Hai diferentes tipos de psicópatas.

So we're going along with this. And here's, just to give you the pattern.

Entón imos seguir con esta idea. Aquí poden ver o patrón.

The pattern is that those people, every one of them I looked at,

O patrón é que aquelas persoas, cada unha das que estudei,

who was a murderer, and was a serial killer,

que eran asasinas e asasinas en serie

presentaban danos no córtex orbital,

had damage to their orbital cortex,

que está xusto por enriba dos ollos, das órbitas,

which is right above the eyes, the orbits,

and also the interior part of the temporal lobe.

e tamén na parte interior do lóbulo temporal.

So there is the pattern that every one of them had,

Este era o patrón que todos eles tiñan,

but they all were a little different too.

pero tamén eran algo diferentes.

They had other sorts of brain damage.

Tiñan outros tipos de dano cerebral.

A key thing is that

Un elemento clave reside

the major violence genes,

no principal xene da violencia,

coñecido como xene MAO-A.

it's called the MAO-A gene.

Hai unha variante deste xene que está presente na poboación normal.

And there is a variant of this gene that is in the normal population.

Some of you have this. And it's sex-linked.

Algúns de vostedes posúeno. Está ligado ao sexo.

It's on the X chromosome. And so in this way

Atópase no cromosoma X.

you can only get it from your mother.

Deste xeito, só pode herdarse a través da nai.

And in fact this is probably why mostly men, boys,

Este é quizais o motivo polo que homes e nenos na súa maioría

are psychopathic killers,

tenden a ser asasinos psicópatas

or are very aggressive.

ou amosan moita agresividade.

Because a daughter can get one X from the father,

Xa que unha filla pode obter un X do pai

e un X da nai, o resultado queda un pouco diluído.

one X from the mother, it's kind of diluted out.

But for a son, he can only get

Porén, un fillo só pode obter

the X chromosome from his mother.

o cromosoma X da súa nai.

So this is how it's passed from mother to son.

Así é como se pasa de nai a fillo.

And it has to do with too much brain serotonin during development,

E ten que ver co exceso de serotonina no cerebro durante o desenvolvemento,

which is kind of interesting because serotonin

o cal é interesante porque se supón

is supposed to make you calm and relaxed.

que a serotonina ten efecto calmante e relaxante.

But if you have this gene, in utero

Pero se se posúe este xene, dentro do útero

your brain is bathed in this,

o cerebro bañarase en serotonina

so your whole brain becomes insensitive to serotonin,

e converterase en completamente insensible a ela,

so it doesn't work later on in life.

polo que esta non funcionará posteriormente.

And I'd given this one talk in Israel,

Dei esta mesma charla en Israel

just this past year.

o ano pasado.

And it does have some consequences.

E tivo algunhas consecuencias.

Theoretically what this means

En teoría, o que isto significa

is that in order to express this gene,

é que para que este xene se exprese

in a violent way,

de xeito violento,

very early on, before puberty,

precísase participar a unha idade temperá,

you have to be involved in something that is really traumatic --

antes da puberdade, en algo realmente traumático.

not a little stress, not being spanked or something,

Non algo de estrés, nin recibir un azoute ou algo así,

but really seeing violence,

senón presenciar violencia real

or being involved in it, in 3D.

ou estar involucrado nela, en 3D.

Right? That's how the mirror neuron system works.

Vale? Así funciona o sistema de neuronas espello.

And so, if you have that gene,

Polo tanto, se se ten ese xene

and you see a lot of violence

e se ve moita violencia

in a certain situation,

nunha determinada situación,

this is the recipe for disaster, absolute disaster.

esta é a receita para o desastre, o desastre absoluto.

And what I think might happen in these areas of the world,

O que penso que podería ocorrer nesas zonas do mundo,

where we have constant violence,

onde hai unha violencia constante

you end up having generations of kids

é que acabe habendo xeracións de nenos

that are seeing all this violence.

que presencien toda esta violencia.

And if I was a young girl, somewhere in a violent area,

Se eu fose unha moza de 14 anos que vivise nunha zona violenta,

you know, a 14 year old, and I want to find a mate,

e quixese atopar unha parella,

I'd find some tough guy, right, to protect me.

buscaría un tipo duro que me protexese.

Well what the problem is this tends to concentrate these genes.

O problema está en que isto tende a concentrar estes xenes,

And now the boys and the girls get them.

e agora recíbenos tanto os nenos como as nenas.

So I think after several generations,

Así que creo que despois de varias xeracións,

and here is the idea, we really have a tinderbox.

e esta é a idea, temos unha verdadeira bomba de reloxaría.

So that was the idea.

Así que disto se trata.

But then my mother said to me, "I hear you've been going around talking

Pero logo a miña nai díxome: "Escoitei que andas por aí a falar

about psychopathic killers.

de asasinos psicópatas.

And you're talking as if you come from a normal family."

E falas como se viñeras dunha familia normal".

I said, "What the hell are you talking about?"

E dixen: "De que raios estás a falar?"

She then told me about our own family tree.

Entón faloume da nosa propia árbore xenealóxica.

Now she blamed this on my father's side, of course.

Por suposto, ela culpou a miña familia paterna.

This was one of these cases, because she has no violence in her background,

Este era un deses casos, xa que ela non procede dun contorno violento;

but my father did.

pero o meu pai si.

Well she said, "There is good news and bad news.

Ela dixo: "Teño boas e malas noticias.

One of your cousins is Ezra Cornell, founder of Cornell university.

Un dos teus curmáns era Ezra Cornell, o fundador da Universidade Cornell.

But the bad news is that your cousin is also Lizzie Borden.

Pero a mala noticia é que Lizzie Borden tamén é a túa curmá".

Now I said, "Okay, so what? We have Lizzie."

(Risas)

E respondinlle: "Vale, e que? Temos a Lizzie na familia".

She goes, "No it gets worse, read this book."

E dixo: "Non, é peor aínda. Le este libro".

And here is this "Killed Strangely," and it's this historical book.

Aquí o temos, Killed Strangely, un libro histórico.

And the first murder

O primeiro asasinato

of a mother by a son

dunha nai a mans do seu fillo,

was my great-great-great-great-great-great-grandfather.

que era o meu tátara-tátara-tátara- tátaravó.

Okay, so that's the first case of matricide.

Ben, entón ese é o primeiro caso de matricidio.

And that book is very interesting. Because it's about witch trials,

O libro é moi interesante, porque trata sobre as cazas de bruxas

and how people thought back then.

e como a xente pensaba naquel tempo.

But it doesn't stop there.

Pero isto non remata aquí.

There were seven more men, on my father's side,

Había sete homes máis na miña familia paterna,

starting then, Cornells, that were all murderers.

que comezaba daquela, os Cornell, que eran todos asasinos.

Okay, now this gives one a little pause.

Vale, isto dálle a un que pensar.

(Laughter)

(Risas)

Because my father himself,

Porque o meu pai

and my three uncles, in World War II,

e os meus tres tíos, na Segunda Guerra Mundial,

were all conscientious objectors, all pussycats.

foron obxectores de conciencia, mansos coma años.

Pero de vez en cando aparece unha Lizzie Borden, tres veces por século,

But every once in a while, like Lizzie Borden, like three times a century,

and we're kind of due.

e xa volve a tocar.

(Laughter)

(Risas)

So the moral of the story is:

Entón a ensinanza da historia é:

quen ten tellado de vidro non tire pedras ao do veciño.

people in glass houses shouldn't throw stones.

But more likely is this.

Pero é máis probable que sexa isto:

[Non me importa o que a xente saiba sobre min,

(Laughter)

pero espero que miña nai nunca o descubra]

And we had to take action. Now our kids found out about it.

Tivemos que facer algo, agora que os nosos fillos o saben.

And they all seemed to be OK.

Parece que todos están ben,

But our grandkids are going to be kind of concerned here.

pero os nosos netos terán motivos para preocuparse.

So what we've done is I've started to do PET scans

Así que comecei a facer tomografías

of everybody in the family.

de todos os membros da familia.

(Risas)

(Laughter)

We started to do PET scans, EEGs and genetic analysis

Comezamos a facer tomografías, electroencefalogramas e análises xenéticas

to see where the bad news is.

para ver onde estaba o problema.

Now the only person -- it turns out

Ao final resultou que

one son and one daughter, siblings,

un fillo e unha filla, irmáns,

que non se levaban ben, teñen exactamente os mesmos patróns.

didn't get along and their patterns are exactly the same.

They have the same brain, and the same EEG.

Teñen o mesmo cerebro e o mesmo electroencefalograma.

And now they are close as can be.

E agora están máis unidos que nunca.

But there's gonna be bad news somewhere.

Pero as malas noticias chegarán nalgún momento,

And we don't know where it's going to pop up.

e non sabemos onde aparecerán.

So that's my talk.

Aquí remata a miña charla.

(Risas)

(Laughter)