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According to a neurodevelopmental hypothesis, dysfunction in multiple brain regions, particularly frontotemporal regions and the limbic system, may be involved in subsequent criminal offense. These dysfunctions may result from and iteratively interact with genetic, epigenetic, and other environmental factors. This hypothesis is consistent with the hypothesis that an increased risk for subsequent criminal behavior is posed by poor fear conditioning, which is a putative marker of poor amygdala functioning early in life. Investigators ascertained the fear-conditioned response at age 3 years in a birth cohort of 1795 children from Mauritius and determined their criminal status 20 years later. Fear conditioning was determined from electrodermal …