The neurobiology of offending behavior in adolescence

This chapter reviews the neuroscience of antisocial and offending behavior in child and adolescent populations. It explores the role of neurobiological factors in driving the age-crime curve in offending behavior and the neurobiological bases of sex differences in aggression and antisocial behavior. The chapter discusses what neurobiological and neuroimaging evidence has to say about the validity and utility of different subtyping approaches such as those based on age-of-onset of antisocial behavior or the presence or absence of callous-unemotional personality traits. It expresses that some subtyping approaches, such as those based on assessing callous-unemotional traits, have been tested quite extensively using neurobiological or neuroimaging methods, whereas others, such as the behavioral subtype approach have received relatively little attention in the neuroimaging literature. The chapter considers potential of neuroscience methods to contribute to clinical practice in forensic psychology and psychiatry, evaluation of treatment or rehabilitation approaches, and the prediction of future risk for violence or criminal behavior.