This so called expert is a total fraud. His discussion on the limbic system is neuroanatomy 101 taught to all first year medical students.
His discussion of flight or fight involves material that is well over 50 years old.
His claim to be an expert on memory is laughable. The discussion on memory formation is also ELEMENTARY and taught in first year neuro courses. It can be found in any rudimentary neuroanatomy text book.
If you take 100 people who have harrowing near death experiences either from guns or traffic accidents almost 100% will vividly recall the major details. I was involved in a near fatal car accident over 10 years ago and I can remember in vivid detail the color and nature of the oncoming car to this day. Ask any soldier who is in combat what he can remember when the bullets start firing. No soldier will describe the fog rolling in. Police will have vivid memories of shoot outs. The details of the incident may be fuzzy or might change but the major elements of the danger are crystal clear.
JM merely needs to go to the Univ of Arizona or Arizona State and obtain the services of a neurophysiologist or a neurologist to rebut this current JA "expert"hokum.
I find this testimony baffling. If a brain just turns off during near death, stressful, under attack situations, and, the rage part of the brain turns on causing a person to murder -- then it would impossible to have a Military or Police Officers.
Soldiers in combat would shoot each other, blow each other up, mutilate anything in their way. Deployed sailors under intense duress would turn their ships into large metal coffins filled with carnage. Police officers would turn against each other - or uncontrollably mutilate an innocent bystander.
If anything I think that the normal reaction for a person to have during extreme life threatening situations - is for the horrible event to become "seared" into the brain. No amount of time, therapy, medication, alcohol, drugs can erase.
If Arias was scared, and, wanted to get away from Travis - why isn't Arias running away from Travis Alexander's butchered body? How is Arias as a person filled with such fear causing her brain to turn off standing over Travis Alexander's bloody lifeless body?
Travis Alexander crouched down sitting on his shower drain does not look to be a threat. He is naked, wet, in an enclosed space, appears to bent over in a weakened state - Arias had the advantage. She was fully clothed, dry, is mobile (as opposed to being in an enclosed space) - according to Arias she is agile (able to sprint down hallways, shut doors, leap up shelves, is able to find with ease a gun that is out of her sight).
Arias cannot have it both ways - agile and leaping with precision to get a gun that is out of her sight, and, scared for her life with her brain shutting off.
Arias' rage brain did not interfere with cleaning up, deleting photos off of the camera, washing clothes, driving to see another guy.
I believe in fair trials - however, sometimes actions are just too gruesome to make excuses for. The butchering of Travis Alexander, IMO, falls under this category.
This opinion may be the reason that this "education of the human brain" testimony baffles me (in terms of explaining Arias butchering Travis Alexander).
lease:
