Epigenetics and Posttraumatic Stress Disorder as Factors used in the Explanation of Veteran Criminal Behavior

• In Event: Collusion in the Courts: What Many Courts Do Not Want to Hear about Veteran Defendants

Abstract

A primary concern of all combat veterans is how to re-enter civilian culture without relying on social isolation. Research supports the notion that social isolation leads to changes in immune system and hence to greater risk of disease. Epigenetics suggests that this is not simply a psychological factor but rather the result of changes in gene expression. The military culture, while influencing behavioral changes, also may effect genetic changes that require successful experiences in the return to civilian life in order to change genetic activity again back into a more “civilian friendly” mode. If this is true, epigenetics may account for at least some of the difficulty in re-entry, and make social isolation a risk factor for disease and criminal behavior. This also suggests that veterans who do not cross back into the “civilian culture” may not reap the benefits of epigenetic activity. In this model, adaptive behavior for combat such as hyper-vigilance and hyper-arousal may lead to epigenetic changes that require significant non-military cultural experience to reverse as well as account for behaviors that lead to criminal charges such as the aggressive and irritable behavior.

Author

• Robert Stanulis, Licensed Forensic Neuropsychologist