Introduction

One of the advantages of reviewing the neuropsychological literature about criminal behavior is the absence of a long-standing history in this field. The first studies in this area started in the early 1970s (Fitzhugh, 1973; Hurwitz, Bibace, Wolff, & Rowbotham, 1972). These early studies dealt not so much with crime as a dependent variable as with the presence of mediating factors (such as learning disabilities) that might predispose to crime – for example, impaired intellect, which may reduce one's opportunities to succeed in school, in turn increasing the probability of becoming involved in crime (Fitzhugh, 1973). It took some years before the focus of neuropsychological research changed, the objective becoming more and more to understand crime. Special credit for this change should be given to Berman and Siegal (1976) and Yeudall (1977) and his co-workers, whose comprehensive research program was carried out in the Department of Neuropsychology of the Alberta Hospital in Edmonton, Canada.

Neuropsychology and behavior

What is the neuropsychological approach or, more specifically, what is neuropsychology? In general it can be said that in neuropsychology brain–behavior relations are studied. According to Luria (1970) this study has two objectives: pinpointing the brain lesions responsible for specific behavior disorders and collecting data that will lead to a better understanding of the components of complex psychological functions, such as learning, problem solving, and memory, for which the different parts (systems) of the brain are responsible.