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visual modalities, consistent with his history ofhead injury to the temporal region of the brain.
    Three experts documented that Donta suffered from some form ofmental illness, likely organic in nature. Given also a familial history of mental illness on his father’s side, to say nothing of the aberrant social family history on his mother’s side, it is likely that genetic factors also played some role in predisposing him to a dysregulated and impulsive lifestyle, includingviolence.
    Let us not forget that the social environment can have profound “biosocial” effects on the brain, and the fact that Donta as a young baby had a rejecting, uncaring, andcallous mother who severely neglected her son. In chapter 8 we talked about interaction effects between biological and social factors. We have few details of Donta’sbirth, but we do know that his mother hadgonorrhea at the time of pregnancy. This can result in obstetric complications, including premature rupture of the membrane that surrounds the baby in the uterus, infection of the amniotic sac and fluid, and early onset of labor. Donta himself could have even contracted a sexually transmitted disease when he passed through the birth canal at the time of delivery. 11 We have seen earlierthat maternal rejection of the child, when combined with obstetric complications, triples the likelihood of adult violence. 12 Given the abjectpoverty in which he lived, the growing Donta was very likely undernourished as a baby and young infant, another important factor that can negatively influence the developing brain.
    We’ve seen how the term “biosocial” can also be viewed in a different light—social factors giving rise to biologicalrisk factors for violence. At the level of environmental toxins, Donta’s great-aunt reported that he ate paint debris in the house as a toddler. The old housing in which Donta lived hadlead-based paint, and we’ve seen how lead is neurotoxic, resulting in brain damage. Donta had little in the way of food, and children at any age when hungry will try to eat whatever comes their way—including paint chips—as they crawl around and put their fingers in their mouth. We’ve seen that poor nutrition is associated with later antisocial behavior—a social risk factor that impairs brain functioning. So at both levels, the social adversity that Donta experienced likely produced brain deficits that in turn contributed to his evolution into a violent offender.
    All of these processes—social and biological—can shape further risk factors for violence. His first-grade teacher documented “emotional disturbances” when Donta was six and a half years old. She clearly saw that the young Donta was completely out of it, and that something was profoundly wrong with him. Similarly, his grandmother viewed him as seriously troubled and depressed at ages five and six, and also as being distractible, impulsive, and hyperactive. These clinical behavior problems are again well-documented risk factors for later antisocial and violent behavior. 13
    Let’s summarize the case of Donta Page here.Teenage pregnancy. Potential birth complications combined with uncaring, callous mother. Totalabsence of father. Impoverishedneighborhood. Vigorous shaking as an infant that likely resulted in a disconnection between thefrontal cortex and the limbic system. Sustained and severe physical andsexual abuse, including rape resulting in scarring and rectal bleeding. Total neglect. Early head injuries and multiple visits to the emergency hospital in the first two years of life. Neurotoxic lead exposure. Poor nutrition. A complete lack of supervision. Learning disability. A family history of mental illness and signs of depression, ADHD, and conduct disorder as early as elementary school. Impaired executive functioning and memory. Low physiological arousal. Poor functioningof the orbitofrontal and medial prefrontal cortex in addition to reduced temporal-pole functioning.
    This shopping