Page 28 - ARUBA TODAY

A28 SCIENCE
Monday 30 october 2017

Doctors prepare for deep dive into Las Vegas shooter’s brain

By SALLY HO such a detailed examina- tion that is standard for any
Associated Press tion to better understand autopsy would generally
LAS VEGAS (AP) — Scientists their own genetic risks. include dissecting the brain
are preparing to do a mi- Peterson said it’s also com- at one-centimeter intervals
croscopic study of the Las mon in high-profile cases to look for issues identifi-
Vegas gunman’s brain, but such as Paddock’s, where able to the trained eye —
whatever they find, if any- so much is riding on the re- infection, tumor, symmetry,
thing, likely won’t be what sults that all forensic options bleeding and blood vessel
led him to kill 58 people in must be exhausted. abnormality.
the worst mass shooting in Douglas Fields, a neurosci- A further study would in-
modern U.S. history, experts entist who studies the rage volve a microscopic focus
said. circuit in brain systems, said on the tissue cells, such as
Stephen Paddock’s brain is horribly violent events, such using stains to determine
being sent to Stanford Uni- as mass shootings and ter- different types of demen-
versity for a months-long rorism, rarely involve actual tia and other degenerative
examination after a visual brain abnormalities but can diseases, including chronic
inspection during an au- be triggered by psychiatric traumatic encephalopa-
topsy found no abnormali- This undated photo provided by Eric Paddock shows his brother, problems. thy, which is sometimes
ties, Las Vegas authorities Las Vegas gunman Stephen Paddock. Perpetrators often are sui- found in people who have
said. Associated Press cidal psychopaths who suffered repetitive brain
Doctors will perform mul- located. They also refused in southern Nevada seek- are motivated to commit trauma.
tiple forensic analyses, in- to provide details. ing tips and now the inten- heinous crimes because There also would likely be a
cluding an exam of the Vogel told The Times that sive brain study that medi- they have internalized their review of the brain at a mo-
64-year-old’s brain tissue to he will leave nothing over- cal experts say likely won’t isolation and anti-social lecular level though DNA,
find any possible neurologi- looked to put to rest much yield definitive answers. behavior as an existential Peterson said.
cal problems. of the speculation on Pad- If a disease is found, ex- threat for themselves, he Experts say the brain study
The brain will arrive in Cali- dock’s health as investiga- perts say it would be false said. on Paddock will be a wor-
fornia soon, and Stanford tors struggle to identify a science to conclude it “When police look for mo- thy effort for scientific rea-
has been instructed to motive for the shooting. caused or perhaps even tive, it’s kind of misplaced sons.
spare no expense for the The examination will come contributed to the massa- in cases like this because Dr. Paul S. Appelbaum, a
work, The New York Times about a month after Pad- cre, even if that explana- they appear to be crimes psychiatry expert at Co-
reported. dock unleashed more than tion would ease the minds of rage. There’s no mo- lumbia University, said that
It will be further dissected to a thousand bullets through of investigators and the tive for crimes of rage. It’s at minimum, it might yield
determine if Paddock suf- the windows of a 32nd world at large. a crime of passion,” Fields something even tangential
fered from health problems floor suite at the Manda- “There’s a difference be- said. that can be passed on to
such as strokes, blood ves- lay Bay casino-hotel into a tween association and One such case involved the the public, such as aware-
sel diseases, tumors, some crowd below attending an causality, and just be- University of Texas shooter ness for psychological dis-
types of epilepsy, multiple outdoor country music fes- cause you have anything, Charles Whitman, who fa- orders or brain diseases.
sclerosis, degenerative dis- tival. After killing 58 people doesn’t mean it does any- tally shot 13 people in 1966 “Are we ever going to know
orders, physical trauma and wounding hundreds thing,” said Brian Peterson, from a clock tower on the for certain what caused his
and infections. more, Paddock took his president of the National Austin campus. Whitman brain to do that?” Appel-
Dr. Hannes Vogel, Stanford own life with a shot through Association of Medical Ex- was found to have a pe- baum asked.
University Medical Center’s his mouth, police say. aminers and chief coroner can-sized tumor in his brain, “Probably not from a neu-
director of neuropathol- Investigators working of Wisconsin’s Milwaukee though the suggestion that ropathological examina-
ogy, would not discuss the around the clock remain County. it caused his rampage is still tion, but it’s not unreason-
procedure with The Asso- frustrated by a lack of clues The microscopic study is not debated decades later. able to ask and see wheth-
ciated Press and referred that would point to his mo- a standard practice but is Peterson, who is not in- er it might contribute to
questions to officials in Clark tive. Authorities have resort- regularly used as needed. volved in the Paddock our understanding of what
County, where Las Vegas is ed to putting up billboards Families sometimes request case, said an initial inspec- occurred.”q