They revisited the burial sites on Saddleworth Moor often, taking ghoulish trophy shots of the desolate landscape as a memento of their horrendous crimes.
#What makes a serial killer in their brain serial
3: AN EGOTISTICAL BRAGGERĮlsewhere, Real Crime and Dr Yardley said: ‘Egoistical serial killers often can’t help but brag about the atrocities they’ve committed, whether it’s aimed at their accomplices, the next victim, law enforcement, or just themselves.
‘Serial killers are also often able to manipulate a situation in order to pass the blame for their actions, using hot-button issues of the day or medical psychological research to try to explain their actions.’ĭoctor Harold Shipman, for example, used his position as a medical expert to manipulate his patients into treatments that ultimately killed them while posing as a caring member of society. ‘Some of the world’s best known serial killers have a frightening ability to manipulate those around them, pressing the right buttons in order to present themselves in a false light.’ ‘Apparent vulnerability and the need to please have been used effectively time and time again by serial killers as a way of hiding a sinister personality,’ continued the experts. Elsevier Ltd.Doctor Harold Shipman (pictured) used his position as a medical expert to manipulate his patients 2: A MANIPULATOR Developmental pathways to serial homicide: A critical review of the biological literature. The neuromoral theory of antisocial, violent, and psychopathic behavior. Neural correlates of moral and non-moral emotion in female psychopathy. None of these factors guarantee a person will commit such crimes, yet it is important to note that biological differences in brain structure may contribute to a person’s chances of becoming a serial killer. This further supports the correlation between brain structure and becoming a serial killer. Research has also connected abnormalities in areas such as the corpus callosum and superior temporal gyrus to committing serial murder (Raine, 2019). Overall, there are many abnormalities in brain structure that may increase the chances of a person becoming a serial killer. This decreases emotionally processing and awareness of decision-making in serial killers, contributing to their consistent, hurtful actions. Autopsies of serial killers’ brains show decreased gray matter volume in the prefrontal cortex, which means it is more difficult for signals to be processed properly (Reid, 2017).
This is the last area of the brain to finish developing, which usually takes until a person is around 25 years old. Since serial killers have difficulty regulating emotions, it is definitely possible that hippocampal dysfunction may increase the risk of becoming a serial killer.Īnother important brain area is the prefrontal cortex, which is responsible for higher-order thinking such as decision-making and planning. The hippocampus is most commonly known for its role in memory consolidation, yet it also contributes to emotional regulation (Reid, 2017). The hippocampus is another brain area that shows irregular functioning in serial killers (Reid, 2017). Impaired functioning in the amygdala also inhibits stimulus-reinforcement learning, which is why serial killers do not learn from the pain they cause (Reid, 2017). Emotion and decision-making are fundamentally intertwined, which is why Raine (2019) suggests that amygdala impairment may be to blame for the decreased moral judgement of serial killers. Research studies using fMRI found that serial killers have decreased functioning in the amygdala (Harenski et. Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) allows activation in specific brain areas to be measured. The amygdala plays a major role in processing emotions, including fear, aggression, anger and sadness. Decreased functioning in these areas could help explain why a person becomes a serial killer. Research suggests that there are significant differences in certain brain areas of serial killers when compared to controls, especially in areas that are vital to emotional regulation and decision-making such as the amygdala (Raine, 2017). Each area of the brain has a very specific function, which is why even the slightest change in brain structure could cause detrimental differences in behavior. This raises the question of what is happening in the brain of a serial killer that allows them to be fully functional in some situations, while others may cause them to snap.
For many, the fascination with serial killers stems from the fact that on the surface they appear and act like “regular” person, not a murderer.
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