Science Explainer

There is a part of your brain sitting right behind your forehead that is responsible for nearly everything we associate with being a functional human being. It helps you make decisions. It stops you from saying things you will regret. It weighs consequences before you act on an impulse. It is the reason you do not quit your job every time your boss frustrates you, the reason you can sit through a boring meeting without screaming, and the reason you can plan for a future that

Imagine, you commit a crime. The evidence is there, clearly, that you have done it. But then, all of a sudden, a brain scan shows that the part of your brain responsible for controlling impulses (the prefrontal cortex) was severely damaged, prior to the crime. Does that change anything in the ruling? More importantly, should it? So What Actually Is Neurolaw? Now, many people have never heard of Neurolaw. So what is this obscure–but not new–field? Neurolaw sits at the intersec