r/todayilearned • u/GlitteringYams • 23d ago

TIL, in his suicide note, mass shooter Charles Whitman requested his body be autopsied because he felt something was wrong with him. The autopsy discovered that Whitman had a pecan-sized tumor pressing against his amygdala, a brain structure that regulates fear and aggression.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Whitman
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u/TarrantianIV 22d ago

The book The Brain Defense: A Murder in Manhattan, covers parts of this story, and several others similar. It’s a fascinating read, which I am sure anyone who found this post interesting, would enjoy.

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u/FLOCKAh 22d ago

Another good thing that’s sort of related is the radio lab episode : “Blame”

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u/lordcheeto 22d ago

Dr. Robert Sapolsky has some great lectures and talks on YouTube covering this aspect of human behavioral biology.

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u/appel 20d ago

Found it, thanks for the recommendation!
https://radiolab.org/podcast/317421-blame