James Fallon, the author of this book, is a successful neuroscientist who has been happily married for forty-two years and is the father of three children; but according to a brain scan that he analyzed himself, he closely resembles a psychopath. Where that disturbing discovery led him is the subject of this fascinating book about who we are and the limitations of science. Certain to be much discussed.
10/01/2013
Fallon (emeritus, Univ. of California-Irvine), a research neuroscientist whose work with position emission tomography (PET) brain scans and genetic maps of convicted murderers revealed his own propensity toward psychopathology, relates in memoir form how his early family experiences and intellectual strength helped him succeed in life. Descriptive analysis of brain functions and cognition and, later, genetic code are clearly communicated for the general reader, as is the explanation of Robert D. Hare's Psychopathy Checklist, a psychodiagnostic tool most commonly used to assess psychopathy. The personal side of the story is less intriguing, owing to the author's seeming lack of empathy. The reader is thus subjected to moments when self-aggrandizement and fatuous bad behavior are less compellingly or entertainingly conveyed than in comparable passages in Jon Ronson's The Psychopath Test: A Journey Through the Madness Industry. VERDICT The book does a fair job of documenting the growing social psychology trend, which observes the shifting of behavior norms and expectations toward the pathological, but falls short of fully engaging the reader and will likely appeal most to discerning specialists.—Kellie Benson, Oakton Community Coll. Libs., Des Plaines, IL
09/09/2013
Is author Fallon a law-abiding research scientist and family man or a dangerous psychopath? In this memoir-meets-pop-sci examination of psychopathy, Fallon discovers, to his initial surprise, that he has brain functions similar to a cohort of hardened criminals. The book takes chapter-length looks at the neurological features, possible genetic and epigenetic causes, and developmental triggers of psychopathy, with detours through Fallon’s personal and familial history. Unfortunately, Fallon’s memoir of realizations is emotionally flat (which is perhaps unfair criteria to judge a psychopath by), lazily assembled, and amounts to little more than a confessional booth’s enumeration of sins. He cheats with his kids at Scrabble, parties too hard, alienates his co-workers, and takes his brother to an Ebola-infested cave and considers using him as lion bait. These vices, Fallon is happy to tell you, provide him a great deal of malevolent glee, though there is little pleasure for readers to bask in—Fallon’s narration is too sterile and, ironically, too self-serving to ever entice the reader. For a quick overview of current theories of brain science and mental illness, Fallon’s book is useful; for insight into foreign mental and emotional territories, look elsewhere. Agent: Jane Dystel, Dystel & Goderich Literary Management. (Nov.)
The Psychopath Inside is a deeply compelling personal story of an eminent scientist’s discovery of his own psychopathy. Jim Fallon confesses the sins of his biology and in doing so receives the absolution of being human. I couldn’t put it down.”
—PAUL J. ZAK, PhD, author of The Moral Molecule: The Source of Love and Prosperity
“As comprehensive as it is compelling, essential reading for understanding the genetic and neuroscience underpinnings of psychopathy.”
—M. E. THOMAS, author of Confessions of a Sociopath
“Just the word ‘psychopath’ is enough to grab anyone’s attention and it has inspired numerous TV shows and films for many decades. In truth, I believe the word itself does little to wrap its arms around the infinite behavioral traits psychopaths possess, for good and bad. Fallon lets us inside his mind as he takes us on a deftly woven journey, breaking down every convention of psychopathic behavior.”
—SIMON MIRREN, former executive producer of Criminal Minds
“In a thought-provoking account of self-exploration, Fallon puts himself ‘under the microscope’ in an attempt to make sense of how his own biological and developmental history has shaped his life. His perspective on psychopathy pushes us to consider the important roles of nature and nurture, and the fine line between adaptive and maladaptive personality traits.”
—JOHN F. EDENS, PhD, professor of psychology, director of clinical training, and Cornerstone Faculty Fellow, College of Liberal Arts, Texas A&M University
"An intriguing look into the dark side of the brain. A must-read for anyone curious about why our brains think our darkest thoughts and how many of us go into states of psychosis without even realizing it. Dr. Fallon's study of my own brain helped me come to terms with my strangest ideas and why I function the way I do. Few people understand the brain as well as Dr. Fallon, and can write about it in such a fun and engaging way. A fascinating read."
—ELI ROTH, writer, director, and producer
“Absorbing, insightful and quirky”
–Kirkus
“His surprising final diagnosis could broaden the way we see normality.”
–Nature journal
2013-09-01
A neuropsychologist makes the shocking discovery that his brain scans are identical to those of serial killers. In 2005, Fallon (Psychiatry and Human Behavior/Univ. of California, Irvine), a self-described "mechanistic, reductionist, genes-control-all scientist," was studying the brains of criminal psychopaths when he found a scan of his own brain, which was in use as a control for a research study on Alzheimer's patients. To his surprise and disbelief, he noticed his scan shared identical features with those taken from actual psychopathic killers, which he was analyzing for a different project. Apparently, he "shared [with them] a rare and alarming pattern of low brain function in certain part of the frontal lobes--areas commonly associated with self-control and empathy." At first, Fallon doubted the validity of his initial hypothesis that such a scan was a valid means of identifying criminals with psychopathic tendencies. He was a well-respected, happily married father of three well-loved children, and he had a thriving research and teaching career. His life belied the characteristics of the typical psychopath, who may be a "glib and disarmingly charming" risk-taker but is also coldhearted, manipulative and cruel. Fallon relates the painful story of how he came to recognize certain traits within himself that did not result in criminal or even immoral behavior but were nonetheless distressing to his friends and family. In the years following the first and subsequent similar scans, he explored his behavior and relationships more deeply and came to a sobering recognition that he was indeed lacking in empathy, "was superficial, grandiose, and deceitful" and had unwittingly hurt people close to him. Yet he had escaped becoming a criminal and instead was a "prosocial psychopath" whose adventurous risk-taking side benefitted society. Absorbing, insightful and quirky.
