Deconstructing violence as a medical syndrome: mapping psychotic, impulsive, and predatory subtypes to malfunctioning brain circuits

Abstract

ISSUE:Violence is a major management issue for forensic mental health systems. Violence can be approached as a medical syndrome and deconstructed into psychotic, impulsive, and predatory subtypes, which are hypothetically mapped onto corresponding malfunctioning brain circuits. Rational management of violence balances treatment with security, while targeting each subtype of violence with approaches unique to the psychotic, impulsive, and predatory forms of violence.