On September 13th, Professor Jeff Schall presented his seminar “A Survey of Law and Neuroscience.” In a packed room of nearly one hundred people, Schall gave a fascinating tour of the chapters of the textbook Law and Neuroscience, which he co-authored. Along the way, he presented several ways the legal system and neuroscience interact, raising questions for which we do not always have answers. Schall illustrated these dilemmas between law and neuroscience with real-life examples: a lawyer who uses brain scans of his clients in their defence even though they present no pathologies, a man who only experiences pedophilic desires when he develops a brain tumour, and a man who strangled his wife and faked her suicide only later to be found to have a brain cyst.
After the fascinating talk, neuroscience students had the opportunity to talk with Prof. Schall and ask him questions.
