Excerpt:
"The man had an egg-sized brain tumor pressing on the right frontal lobe. When surgeons removed it, the lewd behavior and pedophilia faded away. Exactly why, the surgeons cannot quite explain. "It's possible the tumor released some pre-existing urges," Burns said. "But that's a tough debate, we just don't know."
The outcome raises questions not only about how tumors alter brain function, but also how they can influence behavior and judgment.
Daniel T. Tranel, a University of Iowa neurology researcher, said he has seen people with brain tumors lie, damage property, and in extremely rare cases, commit murder. "The individual simply loses the ability to control impulses or anticipate the consequences of choices," Tranel said.
Dr. Stuart C. Yudofsky, a psychiatrist at the Baylor College of Medicine who specializes in behavioral changes associated with brain disorders, also has seen the way brain tumors can bend a person's behavior. "This tells us something about being human, doesn't it?" Yudofsky said. If one's actions are governed by how well the brain is working, "does it mean we have less free will than we think?"
It's a question with vast implications in the criminal justice system.
The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that executing mentally retarded murderers is unconstitutionally cruel because of their diminished ability to reason and control their urges"
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