He said that this disease, which is more common in people between the ages of 45 to 65, can lead people to commit “almost silly or reckless crime,” including things like stealing something small such as a candy bar, trespassing, or indecent exposure. “But most of them are nonviolent,” he noted. He said more than one-third of these patients are estimated to have committed a crime. “It’s associated with crimes,” Darby explained. They will also likely search for one form of disease caused by misfolded proteins called frontotemporal dementia. Ryan Darby, an assistant professor of neurology at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, said investigators most likely will look for signs of a neurodegenerative disease or lesions on the brain.

“The possibilities, neuropathologically, for explaining this kind of behavior are very few.”ĭr. “I think everybody is pretty doubtful that we’re going to come up with something,” Vogel said.

Hannes Vogel, director of neuropathology at Stanford University Medical Center, who will examine the tissue told The New York Times that it’s unlikely the exam will result in a clear answer to why Paddock did what he did.

However, finding a simple answer to why a person would meticulously plan a mass shooting that killed dozens is likely impossible from a physical exam of brain tissue alone.ĭr. There are certain brain diseases or injuries that are associated with an increase in aggressive or even criminal tendencies, according to experts.

Shooter charles whitman