Neuroimaging in Forensic Psychiatry (ePub)

As neuroimaging becomes more widespread, it is increasingly beingused in the courts, even though understanding and interpretingneuroimaging methods and results can be very challenging -even without attempting to evaluate their potential applications toforensic questions. The sheer volume of available information,research results, and opinions can seem intimidating to forensicpractitioners and to mental health professionals in general.
This will be the first book dedicated to this important topic.Designed as a reference for forensic psychiatrists, it starts witha brief overview of the psychiatric applications of the primaryneuroimaging techniques currently in most widespread use, positronemission tomography (PET), single-photon emission computedtomography (SPECT), and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).Subsequent chapters explore the current and potential uses ofneuroimaging in civil and criminal forensic contexts. Diagnosticcategories addressed include traumatic brain injury, dementia,psychopathy, paraphilias, psychoses and mood disorders. Legalconcepts such as admissibility, relevance, and standards of proofare reviewed as they relate to the possible uses of neuroimagingfindings in legal proceedings; prior precedents and court decisionsare also reviewed. Novel potential applications of neuroimaging,including detection of deception and identification of memory orrecognition, are addressed in dedicated chapters.
There is a growing body of writing on the ethical implicationsof neuroimaging in the legal context, but this has largely been inbioethics journals that have limited readership among members ofthe mental health profession. Ethical questions generated by therapidly evolving field of forensic neuroimaging are explored indetail in a dedicated chapter.
This book will be of great use to practicing forensicpsychiatrists, forensic psychologists and forensic neurologists asthey are increasingly likely to find themselves being asked to giveprofessional opinions regarding the impact of neuroimaging findingson medicolegal questions such as competence, criminalresponsibility, personal injury and disability. The book will be aninvaluable resource for forensic practitioners seeking tounderstand and navigate this new area.