The Biology of Violence: Understanding the Brain Behavior & Environment Can Help Break the Vicious Cycle of Aggression

In this ambitious book, Niehoff presents biology's latest findings on the development of violent behavior in an effort to answer a simple question: ""Why do people hurt each other?"" Aggression, she argues, like all complex behavior, ""is a biological process... that begins and ends in the brain."" Drawing on a wealth of research in neurobiology, biochemistry, physiology, genetics and anatomy, Niehoff explains in precise prose that the old nature/nurture debate is obsolete: innate drives do not define character from birth, nor, she contends, do environments alone determine our predilections. Rather, she believes, the chemical reactions of the brain develop in constant and complex reaction to the environment. Niehoff resists the temptation to dumb down science, but she does a fine job of elucidating difficult concepts to make them accessible to general readers. In the last chapter, she appraises our current treatment and punishment of criminals and finds that most of our nation's drug and penal policies actually elicit violent, antisocial behavior. Solitary confinement, for example, leads to increased levels of violence in laboratory animals; Niehoff believes isolation of prisoners yields similar results. Though the real world is certainly more complicated than the laboratory, her proposed methods of curbing violence (which include prenatal care, cognitive behavioral therapy and careful use of psychopharmacology) are thought-provoking, and this book is a fine contribution to a debate often clouded by emotion. 7 b&w photos; 9 tables; 24 drawings. (Jan.)