Evil Genes
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reticular formation. See also reticular activating system
illustration of, 115
reward system, neural, activated when thinking about partisan information, 189
Reynolds, Glenn (The Appearance of Impropriety), 335
rigidity. See identity disturbance, inflexibility
Riina, Toto, dreaded capo di tutti i capi, remarkable memory of, 313
Ripa, Kelly, “Pin Thin” at 105 pounds, 142n
“riot specialist” Paul Brass, 333n
role absorption, defined, 156
Roman empire, 274–76, 276n
Rome, Inc. (Stanley Bing), 276n
Romulus, Count, 27
Roosevelt, Franklin Delano
“cunning of a schemer and the ambitions of a genuine altruist,” 310
remarkable memory, 313
Roxalena, wife of Suleyman the Magnificent, 271–72
Rugova, Ibrahim, leader of Kosovar Albanians, 169
Rummel, R. J., statistics related to those killed by Mao, 216–17
Sabin, Alfred, continual public humiliation of Jonas Salk, 291
sadism
general description of, 52–54
in people
child with psychopath-like traits, 102–103
Hilton, Kathy (Paris Hilton's grandmother and eponymous mother), 273
Ismail the Bloodthirsty, 268
Mao, 239–40
Milosevic, 161
provides for successful manipulation and control, 250–52
research hampered by fears of use in denying culpability of sadists, 52, 330
Sahakian, Barbara: beware possibilities in criminals reengineering personalities, 330
Salk, Jonas, continually humiliated by mean-spirited Alfred Sabin, 291
Sartre, Jean-Paul, as Mao's dupe, 241
Schelling, Thomas (The Strategy of Conflict), 260
schizoid personality disorder
decrease in right parietal lobe size in borderlines causes increased symptoms of, 199
defined, 135
schizophrenia
association with borderline personality disorder, 205, 227
chromosomes and genes specifically related to, 54
complex genetics of, 64, 66–67
DARPP-32 and, 82–83
dopamine system and, 184
general discussion of, 227
gray matter loss with one type of, 205
intermediate phenotype and, 66–67
of Mao's son, 223, 227
placement in Axis I of DSM-IV, 134
theta rhythms and, 148
toxoplasma gondii and, 85
schizotypal personality disorder
borderline personality disorder
association with, 205
illustration showing overlap with, 208
defined, 135
traits can provide for success in dangerous social structures, 250
Scott, Robert Falcon, dislike of Ernest Shackleton, 313
self-selection of personality types for positions that suit disposition, 303n–304n, 333
Selim the Sot, 272
sensitivity, personal. See hypersensitivity
Sequim, Washington, 23–24, 26, 323–24
serotonin
in context with other neurotransmitters and general mood disorders, 184
dorsal raphe nucleus role in production of, 196
lower levels in prefrontal regions of borderlines, 197
receptors, 69–72
reticular activating system, poliovirus, attention, and, 114–16
sexual addiction, plays key role in, 234
social dominance and neurotransmitter levels, 238
transporters, 72–75
tryptophan hydroxylase (TPH), an enzyme that processes, 82
SERT. See transporters, serotonin
Severan dynasty, 276
sexual addiction. See under addictive behavior
Shackleton, Ernest, Antarctic explorer, remarkable memory of, 313
shame
affiliated with activation of specific areas of brain, 102
felt by Carolyn, 140
Shang, The Book of Lord, 46
Shermer, Michael: Wallace was “agreeable to a fault,” 289
Sherron Watkins, Enron whistle-blower, 297
Shockley, William, intelligence, narcissism, and rages of, 290–91
Short, Philip (Mao biographer), 238, 247
“short” in relation to serotonin transporters, 72–75, 78
sickle-cell anemia and Baldwinian evolution, 264
Siever, Larry J., borderlines elicit responses to soothe themselves, 140
Silk, Ken
compassionate understanding of his borderline patients, 200, 200n
research related to identity disturbance, 207
situational competence as coping characteristic of borderline personality disorder, 137, 145–46
executive control network and, 199–200
Skilling, Jeffrey, Enron CEO, 295–98, 313
Skinner, B. F. See behaviorism, restrictive effect on research
Slade, Priscilla, ex-president of Texas Southern University, 278–80
Slotten, Ross, on Darwin's delay in publication, 289
Snakes in Suits: When Psychopaths Go to Work (Paul Babiak and Robert Hare), 107
Snow, Edgar, as Mao's dupe, 241
Snyder, Solomon's usurpation of credit for discovery of opiate receptors, 291
social dominance. See control, desire for
sociopath. See also psychopath
definition of, 51
Sociopath Next Door, The (Martha Stout), 322, 398n12
Socrates, 305–306
Solomon, George, research linking personality disorders and the immune system, 207
somatic-marker hypothesis, 203
Sometimes I Act Crazy (Jerold Kreisman), 277
Somoza, Anastasio, brief overview compared to other dictators, 28
Soviet perspective on their system, 177–79, 186
Speer, Albert, observations on Hitler, 300
Spence, Jonathan, noting Mao's charm, 240–41
“splitting.” See under relationships, unstable personal
“stable sinister systems”
definition, 278
discussion, 334, 336–37
Enron, 294–98
Ottoman empire—the Sick Man of Europe, 271–72, 274
Roman empire, 274–76, 276n
Texas Southern University as prototypical example, 278–80
Stalin, Joseph
author's discussions with Soviets about, 173–74
brief overview compared to other dictators, 28, 298, 315
charm and charisma of, 29–30, 241
in context with other poorly schooled leaders, 308
control, desire for, 309
empathy, lack of, 30
father's abuse, 218
illustration: “It's not who votes that counts…,” 178
intelligence and extraordinary memory of, 312
intimidation techniques, 28
manipulative duplicity of, 29–30
narcissism, 309
temper, 30
Stewart, Jon: “obsolete power corrupts obsoletely,” 323
Stewart, Martha, dark business genius, 293–94, 315
Stop Walking on Eggshells (Paul Mason and Randi Kreger), 139
Stout, Martha (The Sociopath Next Door), 322, 398n12
Strategy of Conflict, The (Thomas Schelling), 260
stress. See also child abuse
borderline personality disorder and, 85
effect on genes and personality, 65–66
family discord and genetics, 60
malnutrition switching on of APOE4 allele, 76
MAO-A alleles and, 81–82
polio and, 125–26
Stroessner, Alfredo (Paraguayan dictator)
intelligence of, 311
subclinical personality disorders
borderline personali
ty disorder
anterior cingulate cortex dysfunction and inability to focus on something undesirable, 182
concordance of subclinical borderline personality disorder in twins, 85n
control, desire for, 236
executive control as defining difference for clinical versus subclinical, 199–202
inflexibility because emotional memories poorly suppressed by orbitofrontal cortex, 204
larger numbers of subclinical than clinical, 137
inherent flaw in DSM-IV use of “clinical significance” in discriminating between clinical and subclinical personality disorders, 375n3, 376n32
MAO-A and, 80
narcissistic personality disorder and its mixed benefits in subclinical form, 244
overlap in terminology with psychopaths, borderlines, Machiavellians, and the “successfully sinister,” 255n
PDQ-4+ and dimensional approaches to quantifying, 132–33
polio and, 326
stress can push a person with propensity for disorder from subclinical to clinical, 65–66, 85. See also stress
“tip of the iceberg” understanding of serotonin receptor alleles and, 72
subconscious thought, 182, 186
substance abuse. See under addictive behavior
“successful psychopaths,” 105–107
successfully sinister (synonym for Machiavellian). See Machiavellians
suicide
5-HT2A and, 71
chromosome 2 region and genetic tendency toward, 160
Milosevic and, 160–61
serotonin transporters and, 73
suicidal behavior as defining DSM-IV trait of borderline personality disorder, 159
Suleyman the Magnificent, 271–72
Sumo wrestlers and “tit for tat” strategy, 258
superior temporal gyrus, right anterior and abstract reasoning deficits in psychopaths, 97–98
Suroweicki, James (The Wisdom of Crowds), 176, 243, 245, 301, 334
suspiciousness. See distrust
Swift, Nicholas: coinage of word “borderpath,” 168
Sykes, Bryan: comments on “Mini-Genghises,” 267–68
synapse, explanation and illustrations of, 70, 184
systems biology, definition of, 34
Szent-Gyorgyi, Albert: “Research is to see what everybody else has seen…,” 40
taxi drivers, London, 176
Tay-Sachs disease and intelligence, 87
teaching and Machiavellianism. See academia
TEDS (Twins Early Development Study), 55
temper. See anger
temporo-occipital cortex, boosted signal from amygdala causes excess activity in borderlines, 194, 195
Terrill, Ross (Mao biographer)
early Mao had genuine good aspects, 248–49
evidence that Mao was borderline mounted by the year, 217
imperial-plus-Leninist system acted as a magnifying glass for Mao's personality quirks, 250
“Mao did not believe a lot of what he proclaimed in public,” 235–36
Texas Southern University as example of “stable sinister system,” 278–80
thalamus
in borderline personality disorder
role in executive control
discussion, 199
flowchart, 196
illustration of, 183
murderers have “turbocharged,” 97
portrayed in flowchart form, 185, 196
as router for neural signals
discussion, 185–86
flowchart, 185
thalassaemia and Baldwinian evolution, 264
Thatcher, Margaret
desire for control and egotism, 309
hypomanic qualities, 314
remarkable memory of, 313, 313n
theta rhythms, 148
Tiananmen Square, photo of unknown man in front of tank, 306
“tit for tat” as a strategy that may have helped lead to altruism, role of amygdala in reinforcing, 256–60
Tolstoy, Leo: disproving his theory that only social forces matter, 267
Tonya, The Tonya Show, “…and he's refreshingly free of emotional baggage,” 49
Tooby, John, 175, 388 n12
torture
by a child with psychopath-like traits, 102–103
by Ismail the Bloodthirsty, 268
in Mao's regime, 216, 225, 239–40
in Milosevic's regime, 156
by “Papa Doc” Duvalier, 311
in relation to sadism, 52–54
in Stalin's regime, 28, 239
toxoplasma gondii and schizophrenia, 85
Toynbee, Arnold, duped by Hitler, 315
transporters, serotonin, 72–75
Trebjesanin, Zarko: Milosevic is “cold narcissus,” 161–62
Trevisan, Dessa, London Times Balkan correspondent, confronts Milosevic, 153
Trivers, Robert, and the concept of reciprocal altruism, 256–57
Trujillo, Rafael, brief overview compared to other dictators, 28
trust
caudate and, 20–22
Williams syndrome's abundance of, 98–99
Trust (Francis Fukuyama), 219
tryptophan hydroxylase (TPH), 82
Turnbull, Colin, studies of the Ugandan Ik tribe, 283n
Turner, Ted, duped by Putin, 316
tyrants. See dictators
United Nations and “Complicity with Evil” as in Adam LeBor's book of that name, 332
universities and Machiavellianism. See academia
unstable personal relationships. See relationships, unstable personal
unstable sense of self, shared trait of borderline and bipolar personality disorders, 142n
“val”
BDNF allele, improved memory, more anxiety, 77
COMT allele, faster dopamine metabolization, “warrior,” 79
vasopressin hormones, 83
venereal disease
Mao's, 233
modern despots don't have as many children because of, 233, 269n
vengeance. See vindictiveness
Venter, Craig, speeds up decoding of human genome, 290
ventral tegmental area, role in production of dopamine, 196
ventromedial cortex
damage creates “pseudopsychopaths” with impaired reasoning skills, 95–96
and “emote control” in neuroimaging study of political partisanship, 189–90
executive dysfunction, antisocial behavior and, 94
function of and dysfunction in, 182
illustrations of, 94, 181
limbic system, intimate connection with, 182, 186
role in cognitive-perceptual impairment in borderlines, 203–207
role in commonsense decision making, 203
role in emotional cognition, 186
Viding, Essi, studies of genetic risk for psychopathy, 55–58
vindictiveness
Hilton, Kathy (Paris Hilton's grandmother), 273
Mao's, 239, 250
Milosevic's, 161
paranoid personality disorder, trait of, 134, 246
provides for successful manipulation and control, 250, 260–61
violence. See aggressiveness; impulsivity
vitamin D and the reshaping of genetics in northern climates, 263
Vogel, Carl: mixed blessings of mild narcissism, 244
Volkan, Vamik: “the narcissist in power can restructure reality by eliminating those who threaten his self-esteem,” 247
Wade, Nicholas, writes on the emergence of the modern mind, 266, 389n25
Waite, Robert (Hitler biographer), 308–309, 311–12, 315
Walker, William, ambassador, description of massacre at Racak, 170
Wallace, Alfred Russel, and the disadvantages of being free of narcissism, 288–89, 292
Wallace, Mike, journalist, gullibility regarding Middle Eastern terrorists and tyrants, 317
Wankat, Philip (The Effective, Efficient Professor), the importance of remem
bering names, 312
“warrior” (val) COMT allele, 79
Washington, George: a man of “tumultuous passions” whose “genius was his judgment,” 298–300, 307–308, 328
Watson, James, sublimely arrogant, misogynistic codiscoverer of DNA, 290, 392n13
wealth, power, aristocracy, attraction of borderlines toward those with, 277
Weatherford, Jack, Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World, a highpoint of compulsive biography inhalation, 286n
Weinberger, Daniel
BDNF, research on, 77–78
comments on genetics and personality research, 67–68
DARPP-32, research on, 82–83
Welch, Jack, mental flexibility of, 301
Westen, Drew, work related to
emotional reasoning, 189–90
identity disturbance, 156
whistle-blowers, “bad,” 335
white matter, in pathological liars is increased, in autistics is reduced, 106
Wiener, Norbert, emergenic prodigy, 86–87
Wilkinson-Ryan, Tess, work related to identity disturbance, 156
Williams syndrome, 98–99
Wilson, David Sloan
emphasizes the speed of human evolution, 263
foreword by, 15–17
Wilson, Matthew, research on theta rhythms, 148
Wisdom of Crowds, The (James Suroweicki), 176, 192, 243, 245, 301, 334
“worrier” (met) COMT allele, 79
Wrangham, Richard: theory that humans are “taming” themselves, 264–65
Yang, Yaling
image of overlap between psychopathic dysfunction and moral reasoning areas, 101
pathological liars and increased white matter, 106
Yixing teapots, 212–15, 382n1
Zhou Enlai (Chou En-lai), 239
Zimbardo, Philip (The Lucifer Effect), questionable nature of its conclusions, 303–304n
Zimmermann, Warren, Ambassador
calls Milosevic “con man,” 153
left speechless as gaslighting Milosevic pleads, “I'm not so bad, am I,” 164–65
notes Milosevic fooled himself as well as others, 154
zisha purple clay, 212–15, 382n1
Barbara Oakley, PhD, has been dubbed a female Indiana Jones—her writing combines worldwide adventure with solid research expertise. Among other adventures, she has worked as a Russian translator on Soviet trawlers in the Bering Sea, served as a radio operator at the South Pole Station in Antarctica, and risen from private to captain in the US Army. Currently an associate professor of engineering at Oakland University in Michigan, Oakley is a recent vice president of the world's largest bioengineering society and holds a doctorate in the integrative discipline of systems engineering. Visit her at www.barbaraoakley.com.