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Criminal Justice, Executive Functioning & Neuro-INFLAMMATION

10/28/2021

This Diagram shows the COMPLICATED nature of NEURO-INFLAMMATION

"Neuroinflammation: the devil is in the details"
Journal of Neurochemistry (2016)

CONJECTURE

Three things are becoming more apparent:

*The Criminal Justice Population has differences / deficits in Executive Functioning;

Executive Functioning Differences/Deficits are linked to INFLAMMATION.

INFLAMMATION is linked to numerous sources in psychiatric disorders, most notably MATERNAL IMMUNE ACTIVATION and TRAUMA.
- A Mountain State like Colorado has a higher suicide rate because ALTITUDE is piling on INFLAMMATION for people who likely already have a lot of INFLAMMATION--- but ALTITUDE is not necessarily the major source of INFLAMMATION

High Altitude, Sky High Suicide Rates

Much of our focus as a society has been on youth and people with "IQs" below 70 who found themselves subject to the Death Penalty.

More recently, we've been concerned about people with "MENTAL ILLNESS" in the JUSTICE SYSTEM.

As far as "PSYCHOTIC ILLNESS" --- which is definitely on our streets and in the CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM --- it is often a PROGRESSION of NEURO / IMMUNE DYSREGULATION that started out as DEVELOPMENTAL INFLAMMATION.

Many of the men and women in the CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM are not currently psychotic (some are), BUT most are NEURO-DIVERSE with significant DEVELOPMENTAL INFLAMMATION, EXECUTIVE FUNCTIONING CHALLENGES and often ABILITY that is very hard to exercise when the price of admission is TRADITIONAL EXECUTIVE FUNCTIONING.

Maternal immune activation and neuroinflammation in human neurodevelopmental disorders --- Aug. 2021

Inflammation Disrupts the Brain Network of Executive Function After Cardiac Surgery

Brain changes in a maternal immune activation model of neurodevelopmental brain disorders --- 2019

Increasing Role of Maternal Immune Activation in Neurodevelopmental Disorders --- 2018

"Anti-Social Personality Disorder" as a Matter of Unfair Prejudice

10/18/2021

Most of the Researchers and Some Academics have moved beyond the DSM 5 and Clusters of Symptoms to Categorize Psychiatric Disorders --- that should be mattering a lot to Criminal Justice and those UNFAIRLY PREJUDICIAL PERSONALITY DISORDER DIAGNOSES.

The National Institute of Mental Health has a complicated "MATRIX" as part of their Research Domain Criteria Program --- and we're not quite there yet.

In the meantime, RESEARCHERS and ACADEMICS have started to look at PSYCIATRIC DISORDERS in terms of INTEGRATED SYSTEMS of the body.

On the other hand, there is NO PERFECT KNOWLEDGE --- yet.

It is hard to get away from the CONCEPT of BURDEN OF PROOF and how MESSY it looks in this CONTEXT.

"Burden of Proof" is especially problematic in terms of PUNISHMENT --- "PROOF BEYOND A REASONABLE DOUBT."

From a practical standpoint -- we've already started the TRANSITION to a PUBLIC HEALTH APPROACH to CRIMINAL JUSTICE and a "PROBLEM-SOLVING" Approach --- demanding both

Better Treatment, and
Better Safety.

Olmstead Planning is a BIG PART of that --- and all sides of Criminal Justice should be well represented.

Personality Disorders --- Unscientific & Vague -- Must Be Reformed

Hofstra Law Review: Deconstructing Anti-Social Personality Disorder and Psychopathy

What's UNFAIR and UNDULY PREJUDICIAL about "PERSONALITY DISORDERS," and SPECIFICALLY "ANTI-SOCIAL PERSONALTIY DISORDER"?

*Those diagnoses are UNSCIENTIFIC
*Those diagnoses are VAGUE
*Perhaps most importantly, those PERSONALITY DISORDER DISAGNOSES don't get to the UNDERLYING BIOLOGY --- and CLINICAL PROFESSIONALS TEND NOT TO CONSIDER THE BIOLOGY when it comes to PERSONALITY DISORDERS.
*On the other hand, Researchers and Academics are increasing considering the BIOLOGY of ANTI-SOCIAL PERSONALITY DISRDER ----

and it is looking much more COMPLICATED, DEVELOPMENTAL and related to the DEVELOPMENTAL DIFFERENCE or DISABILITY of "ADHD."

*This is going to the BLURRING of PSYSCHIATRIC CATEGORIES across the board and a move to understanding UNDERLYING BIOLOGICAL MECHANISMS rather than clusters of symptoms.
*One of those UNDERLYING BIOLOGICAL MECHANISMS is often MATERNAL IMMUNE ACTIVATION.

Orchid's 2020 Report on Anti-Social Personality Disorder & the Criminal Justice System

Anti-Social Personality Disorder as a Neuro-Developmental Disorder

Making Criminal Justice --- TRAUMA-INFORMED

10/12/2021

Childhood trauma and adulthood inflammation: a meta-analysis of peripheral C-reactive protein, interleukin-6 and tumour necrosis factor-α (2016)

"Childhood trauma confers higher risk of adulthood physical and mental illness; however, the biological mechanism mediating this association remains largely unknown.

"Recent research has suggested dysregulation of the immune system as a possible biological mediator. . .

"The analysis demonstrates that childhood trauma contributes to a pro-inflammatory state in adulthood, with specific inflammatory profiles depending on the specific type of trauma."

King's College London

Affiliations

1King's College London, Department of Psychological Medicine, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, London, UK.
2King's College London, Department of Psychology, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, London, UK.
3Department of Psychology, University College London, London, UK.
4King's College London, Department of Psychosis Studies, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, London, UK.
5National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Mental Health Biomedical Research Centre, South London and Maudsley, NHS Foundation Trust and King's College London, London, UK.

Becoming Trauma Informed: An Essential Element for Justice Settings

Trauma-Informed Care:
Evidence-Based and Promising Practices

SAMHSA --- Creating a Trauma-Informed Justice System for Women>>>>>

Trauma Training for Criminal Justice Professionals

The big Picture is the biological basis of behavior

10/5/2021

Forensic Mental Health Professionals have not taken the lead in Reform Efforts -- may be that's not fair ---
But it is NOT reasonable for Indigent Defendants with Cognitive Disabilities to have to wait on the Forensic Mental Health Profession or the American Psychiatric Association to get its act together.

This gets to Stanford Professor Robert Sapolsky's plea -- to USE OUR REASON & SEE THE BIG PICTURE.

Categories & Behavioral Biology

Where these discussions have tended TO GO OFF THE RAILS is with questions like:

Is it NATURE or NURTURE?
Yeah, it's BOTH --- but what's MOST IMPORTANT?

So the problem with those questions is that they tend to ASSUME that BIOLOGY and ENVIRONMENT are OPPOSITES or at the very least BIOLOGY AND ENVIRONMENT are STRICTLY DISTINCT ENTITIES.

We've had to BREAK THINGS UP as best we can to ANALYZE them because of our own limitations --- BUT ULTIMATELY IT IS --- A WHOLE.

So BIOLOGY/ENVIRONMENT for any LIVING ORGANISM is --- A WHOLE.

BIOLOGY AND ENIVIRONMENT are 2 SEEMINGLY DIFFERENT WAYS to approach the problem of UNDERSTANDING --- BUT if you FOLLOW EITHER PATH FAR ENOUGH --- you'll run into the other.

THE CURRENT "MENTAL HEALTH CRISIS"

The Current Mental Health Crisis is exposing the CURRENT SUBJECTIVE NATURE of DIAGNOSIS and TREATMENT, BUT more importantly the need for MORE ACCURATE CONCEPTUALIZATIONS based on the latest research.

WHY ARE MORE ACCURATE CONCEPTUALIZATIONS SO IMPORTANT?

Much of the VULNERABILITY for a whole range of disorders, including:
- ADHD, Autism
- "Personality Disorders"
- Mental Illness
- Substance Issues
- PTSD and more SEVERE BRAIN INJURY
  - appear to be related to greater DEVELOPMENTAL INFLAMMATION

That looks a lot different than the DSM 5.

In fact, over 600 Research Institutions signed off on a paper --- regarding shared heritability of psychiatric disorders --- that doesn't look like the DSM 5 either.

The "PERFECT" as an ENEMY of REASON & HUMAN RIGHTS NOW

The big HUMAN RIGHTS NIGHTMARE is CRIMINAL JUSTICE ---Forensic Mental Health Professionals handing out "ANTI-SOCIAL PERSONALITY DISORDER" Diagnoses like they were CANDY.

If we understand the BIG PICTURE --- the BIOLOGICAL BASIS of BEHAVIOR (which is NOT DIVORCED from ENVIRONMENT), we can continue to proceed on a PUBLIC HEALTH APPROACH to Criminal Justice.

Olmstead --- Measurable Goals, Reasonable Time Frames & Funding to Support the Plan ----- could help get us out of this NIGHTMARE.

Part III --- Shared Genes & Psychiatric Disorders

Transitional/ Translational Justice Monday

Criminal Justice, Executive Functioning & Neuro-INFLAMMATION

"Anti-Social Personality Disorder" as a Matter of Unfair Prejudice

Making Criminal Justice --- TRAUMA-INFORMED

The big Picture is the biological basis of behavior

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