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"Daniel Reisel searches for the psychological and physical roots of human morality. Full bio He studies the brains of criminal psychopaths (and mice). And he asks a big question: Instead of warehousing these criminals, shouldn't we be using what we know about the brain to help them rehabilitate? Put another way: If the brain can grow new neural pathways after an injury … could we help the brain re-grow morality?" http://www.ted.com/talks/daniel_reisel_the_neuroscience_of_restorative_justice About 15 mins My first thought was that this would make a fascinating FDR interview. There is some discussion in the video comments as well. This snippet encompasses much of it, IMO: Emma McCreary I think you are doing some important work, and I don't doubt that you've had several success stories. A lot of times people just need to be exposed to a better way of living. At the same time, though, I must disagree with you that "It's not too late for anyone." That's wishful thinking, plain and simple. There are some people that it is just too late for, and this is not a matter of opinion at this point with our current technology and medical capabilities. Look at someone with a traumatic injury who has had damage to their amygdala. They may have once been pillars of their community but then they become extremely aggressive and unpredictable. You can't restore them to their former selves, barring a medical miracle on the horizon, any more than you can make someone with down syndrome an MIT graduate. It's just not going to happen, and no amount of social programming is going to change people with an underdeveloped or damaged amygdala--such as psychopaths/sociopaths. There have been cases, like with Jill Bolte Taylor (also a TED speaker), who've been able to repair the damage done to their brains after a stroke, but I know of not one case in the scientific literature of a rehabilitated psychopath. Ergo, for now, such a thing should be appropriately placed in the "very highly improbable to impossible" category.