The Psychopath Inside: A Neuroscientist's Personal Journey into the Dark Side of the Brain Hardcover – October 31, 2013

For decades now, neuroscientists have been seeking the answer the question, “What makes a psychopath, a psychopath?” In James Fallon’s, The Psychopath Inside, he wanted to uncover the answer to that question by studying the brains and genes of psychopaths. Unknown to him at the time, this research would lead him to make a detour towards having to re-evaluate his own personal life. Fallon is an accredited science writer who discusses his various projects that he has been working on in psychopathology, one of them being himself. With a background in neurobiology, he is a renowned professor in the department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior at the School of Medicine at the University of California, Irvine.Fallon is not shy about his work or family history and has been published in various articles such as The Wall Street Journal, been asked to speak at a national conference (TED), and was even contacted by the producer of the Criminal Minds television show due to his psychopathological findings. However, his most successful work is his book, The Psychopath Inside, acting not only as a factual and knowledge-based book, but an autobiography as well.The lurking question, “What is a psychopath?” lingers in conversation between researchers because it has yet to have an agreed upon definition. Fallon begins by acknowledging common facts agreed on by the majority of researchers: psychopaths lack empathy and disregard morals, right? Correct. Using these facts and his countless amount of research, Fallon discovers that there are not only areas in the brain that are similar between psychopaths, but also genetic sequences. James Fallon did a blind review of over a hundred PET scans which came from both average people and from those who were diagnosed as psychopaths. Looking closely at the various scans, he recognized a pattern in the scans of those deemed as psychopaths: a major loss of activity in the limbic (emotional) cortex of the brain. However, this pattern didn’t interest Fallon enough to pursue it further and he decided to continue with his other Alzheimer’s trial. During the Alzheimer’s trial, Fallon established a control group of brain scans who did not has Alzheimer’s, and these scans happened to be those of his family. Looking closely at his family scans, he noticed a similarity in a PET scan that looked familiar to him; it looked like a psychopath scan which he had studied previously. Turns out, the scan which he had been looking at was a scan of his own brain. After that finding, Fallon’s interest in psychopathology peaked. Looking at someone’s genetic pattern is like looking at a blue-print of a house someone is building. Genetics is the foundation of life, through which DNA plays a leading role. Basing his research under that model, Fallon began to look at psychopaths’ genetic patterns and compared and contrasted them. Fallon began to look closely at his origin: his family life, the environment he grew up in, and activities that he pursued throughout his lifetime. He asked a number of questions to his family and friends, through which Fallon concluded that he was a happy, spirited, and confident child throughout his youth. As many other neuroscientists have agreed upon, bed-wetting, playing with fire, and animal abuse are main causes of concern when a child is developing because this suggests they are likely to be psychopathic. Fallon disregards that statement because he believes that “boys will be boys” and they just happen to do these sorts of things or it could just be peer pressure. So with this being said, the problem still remained, why did his brain scan resemble one of a psychopath?Fallon develops a three-legged stool theory as a way to account for how a person becomes a psychopath. He establishes this theory based off of three parts: genes, a specific brain pattern, and childhood abuse. However, this theory does not fit all because Fallon’s PET scans resemble those of a psychopath yet he didn’t have any childhood abuse while growing up. Therefore, Fallon calls himself a “lucky psychopath”, because he was brought up in a loving family and was not raised to have these tendencies many psychopaths do.This is where my favorite part of the book comes into play because Fallon discusses how having psychopaths in society isn’t so bad. Who would have thought, right? For example, psychopaths are defined to have less stress because they aren’t empathetic to others and don’t care how others go about their lives. With this lack of stress, they have healthier immune systems are and less susceptible to diseases and can live longer and healthier lives for the most part. Also, with this lack of emotion, people with psychopathic tendencies can better lie and be able to get away with it, saving themselves potential trouble.Fallon’s book is unlike any other scientific novel because he not only incorporates facts and real-life PET scans, but also discusses his private life and family history. One should not be nervous to try to read this book because of its organization and ability to be followed easily. Fallon proves to do an excellent job describing his work and its significance and ties it back to how it relates to psychopathology. This leaves little to no room for a reader to get lost among his words. Through his writing, he provides many analogies for complex topics such as serotonin processes and activating systems which make it easy to understand, so lack of a neuroscience degree won't leave you lost and confused.After reading this book and even re-reading certain passages, I, without hesitation, would give it a 5/5 rating. I was drawn to the book immediately by the way in which James Fallon began introducing himself and establishing his authority on the topic of psychopathology. His unique style of writing, one that is easy to comprehend, attracted me to his book because I could follow along with the various new details he was using to support his findings. This book proved to be an insightful look into Fallon’s personal life and demonstrated to the reader how fascinating our brain truly is. It was eye-opening to learn how observations, thoughts, and emotions that plagued people throughout their childhood could make them more or less susceptible to psychopathy. Fallon pushed past the various controversies which the field of psychopathology held and stood his ground and continued his research, and he will soon hopefully unlock the mystery behind "psychopaths".

Many reviewers have found Fallon's style irritating. It is true that he mentions being Catholic schoolboy of the year at least three times. He actually brags about this having happened because he was so excellent at having OCD. He also put to good use having panic attacks for a decade, being bipolar and finally was possibly the most well-adjusted psychopath ever. Of course he is a non-criminal, non-violent, pro-social psychopath, the good kind. One of the primary signs of a psychopath (p.12) is grandiosity. He is showing us what that looks like from the inside.Here is what these reviewers miss: He writes as a psychopath would. Psychopaths have issues. He is displaying those issues in the way he writes. I get what he is saying because I most likely have a psychopathic brain as well. As does Fallon, I can charm people. All my life I have seen people I thought were close drop away from me. At some point people realize that something is amiss. It is rarely specific. It almost always arises from the psychopath's lack of empathy. A person with a psychopathic brain grows up assuming that everybody else sees the world the same way they do. Because they are missing the empathy part of their brain, they are incapable of noticing that they lack something that everybody else has. Until a brain scan (or in my case, this book) alerts them to the possibility that something might be seriously wrong.Fallon says he is not close to many people but he has many aquaintances due to his garrulous personality (p.12- superficiality). He has managed to find success in life inspite of his disability. As far as the hurt feelings that litter his path, he is quite candid, he just doesn't care. He says this many times. He is not being harsh. He is showing you how a psychopath really feels (p.12 lack of remorse). He knows how he could say it so that you would like him. He is trying to also show why you wouldn't.Fallon gives thanks in his acknowledgements to his editors for encouraging him to remove stories that made him look even worse than he does. He mentions flirting many times and gives thanks to his wife for standing by him for 40 years (p.16 disregard for others, lack of fear of consequences). The reader can guess at what some of those stories might have been.Fallon points out that 2% of the population may have a psychopathic brain structure and there may be an important evolutionary reason for it. It has been psychopaths that lead our armies to victory in war as well as to massacres. Many successful CEOs have psychopathic brains and are able to make cold-hearted decisions that grow the economy.Fallon's expertise across many areas of study allow him to understand the condition's nuances in great complexity. It is not simply the basic brain structure, but also epigenetics and how much trauma one experiences that determine whether one is a dangerous psychopath or a benign one. He makes a powerful case for not sending 18-24 year-olds to war because their brains are more susceptable to PTSD. He is able to understand how his own genetically overactive serotonin production probably allowed him to overcome problems that would doom a regular psychopath. He is showing us how we can treat people with this brain condition. His insight is of value comparable to Jill Bolte Taylor's (a stroke scientist) insight into strokes after having one.

I find psychopathy and neuroanatomy extremely interesting, therefore I do not regret buying or reading this book and do recommend it to other readers who find this subject as fascinating as I do. However, whilst this book is informative, I found it rather difficult to get through because, as other reviewers have said, the author is very egocentric and dare I say it, rather painfully arrogant at points when discussing his personality and background (of course, this is rather unsurprising considering). This does not make it not worth a read, but just has taken me rather a long time considering its short length. For a more objective and less “cringey” read, I suggest Dr. Kent Kiehl’s The Psychopathy Whisperer or Dr Robert Hare’s Without Conscience.

If there is an easy read on psychology for everyone to read, I would say, here it is. It explains certain things about the brain and its functions and really banishes that stigma about not only psychopaths but also even other mental health issues (psychopathy may or may not be classed as an issue). It is perfect for general education and I am sure it would help reduce narrow-mindedness and prejudice and also will be helpful to those who consider to be responsible parents, etc. I see it as a must in every household, educational and easy to understand.

A real page-turner. It's short (using clever typography to make it appear longer than it really is) and most people will probably devour it in an afternoon or a couple of winter evenings. In a single line - one single line - Fallon (accidentally) describes what's wrong with "streamed" education and particularly the grammar system still going in parts of England.He further states - using firm, scientific data - why sending young men (and women) of to war before their early 20s is a not just wrong, it's dangerous to the development of their brain and will leave them with effects than can never be reversed.Stuff like that can really make you sit up and think.And that's before he describes his own awakening! Buy it, read it, and then get everyone you know to read it too!

This is a strange one. I was utterly compelled to finish this book, which was indeed a very interesting insight into the mind of someone with sociopathic/psychopathic tendencies. Yet, I found the writer to be wholly unlikeable in ways I’m not totally sure he realized, or intended. Or did he?

A good view into the world of a psychopath with all the knowledge of a neurologist to support his experience with scientific explanations.