The Legalome: Nutritional Psychology and Microbiome Sciences at the Intersection of Criminal Justice, <i>Mens Rea</i>, and Mitigation

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Abstract

Recent studies have linked ultra-processed foods with neuropsychiatric disorders, and behaviors of relevance to the criminal justice system. This nutritional epidemiology has been bolstered by mechanistic bench science, human intervention trials, addiction science, and advances in microbiome research. Here, we examine this burgeoning research through the lens of diminished capacity and criminal intent. We use recent legal decisions related to auto-brewery syndrome as a way to illustrate how intersecting diet and gut microbiome science is already finding its way to criminal courtrooms. The legalome—microbiome and omics science applied in forensic and legal psychology—is emerging as an important consideration for experts within the field of criminal justice and behavior. It is our contention that decisions related to auto-brewery syndrome are merely a prelude to the ways in which the combination of forensic microbiology and forensic psychology will challenge basic assumptions of free will and mens rea.

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A randomised controlled trial of dietary improvement for adults with major depression (the ‘SMILES’ trial)

Felice Jacka, Adrienne O’Neil, Rachelle Opie … (2017)

Background The possible therapeutic impact of dietary changes on existing mental illness is largely unknown. Using a randomised controlled trial design, we aimed to investigate the efficacy of a dietary improvement program for the treatment of major depressive episodes. Methods ‘SMILES’ was a 12-week, parallel-group, single blind, randomised controlled trial of an adjunctive dietary intervention in the treatment of moderate to severe depression. The intervention consisted of seven individual nutritional consulting sessions delivered by a clinical dietician. The control condition comprised a social support protocol to the same visit schedule and length. Depression symptomatology was the primary endpoint, assessed using the Montgomery–Åsberg Depression Rating Scale (MADRS) at 12 weeks. Secondary outcomes included remission and change of symptoms, mood and anxiety. Analyses utilised a likelihood-based mixed-effects model repeated measures (MMRM) approach. The robustness of estimates was investigated through sensitivity analyses. Results We assessed 166 individuals for eligibility, of whom 67 were enrolled (diet intervention, n = 33; control, n = 34). Of these, 55 were utilising some form of therapy: 21 were using psychotherapy and pharmacotherapy combined; 9 were using exclusively psychotherapy; and 25 were using only pharmacotherapy. There were 31 in the diet support group and 25 in the social support control group who had complete data at 12 weeks. The dietary support group demonstrated significantly greater improvement between baseline and 12 weeks on the MADRS than the social support control group, t(60.7) = 4.38, p < 0.001, Cohen’s d = –1.16. Remission, defined as a MADRS score <10, was achieved for 32.3% (n = 10) and 8.0% (n = 2) of the intervention and control groups, respectively (χ 2 (1) = 4.84, p = 0.028); number needed to treat (NNT) based on remission scores was 4.1 (95% CI of NNT 2.3–27.8). A sensitivity analysis, testing departures from the missing at random (MAR) assumption for dropouts, indicated that the impact of the intervention was robust to violations of MAR assumptions. Conclusions These results indicate that dietary improvement may provide an efficacious and accessible treatment strategy for the management of this highly prevalent mental disorder, the benefits of which could extend to the management of common co-morbidities. Trial registration Australia and New Zealand Clinical Trials Register (ANZCTR): ACTRN12612000251820. Registered on 29 February 2012.

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Consumption of fermented milk product with probiotic modulates brain activity.

Kirsten Tillisch, Jennifer A Labus, Lisa Kilpatrick … (2013)

Changes in gut microbiota have been reported to alter signaling mechanisms, emotional behavior, and visceral nociceptive reflexes in rodents. However, alteration of the intestinal microbiota with antibiotics or probiotics has not been shown to produce these changes in humans. We investigated whether consumption of a fermented milk product with probiotic (FMPP) for 4 weeks by healthy women altered brain intrinsic connectivity or responses to emotional attention tasks. Healthy women with no gastrointestinal or psychiatric symptoms were randomly assigned to groups given FMPP (n = 12), a nonfermented milk product (n = 11, controls), or no intervention (n = 13) twice daily for 4 weeks. The FMPP contained Bifidobacterium animalis subsp Lactis, Streptococcus thermophiles, Lactobacillus bulgaricus, and Lactococcus lactis subsp Lactis. Participants underwent functional magnetic resonance imaging before and after the intervention to measure brain response to an emotional faces attention task and resting brain activity. Multivariate and region of interest analyses were performed. FMPP intake was associated with reduced task-related response of a distributed functional network (49% cross-block covariance; P = .004) containing affective, viscerosensory, and somatosensory cortices. Alterations in intrinsic activity of resting brain indicated that ingestion of FMPP was associated with changes in midbrain connectivity, which could explain the observed differences in activity during the task. Four-week intake of an FMPP by healthy women affected activity of brain regions that control central processing of emotion and sensation. Copyright © 2013 AGA Institute. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

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A randomized controlled trial to test the effect of multispecies probiotics on cognitive reactivity to sad mood.

Laura Steenbergen, Roberta Sellaro, Saskia van Hemert … (2015)

Recent insights into the role of the human microbiota in cognitive and affective functioning have led to the hypothesis that probiotic supplementation may act as an adjuvant strategy to ameliorate or prevent depression.

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Author and article information

Contributors

Susan L. Prescott: (View ORCID Profile)

Alan C. Logan: (View ORCID Profile)

Journal

Title: Criminal Justice and Behavior

Abbreviated Title: Criminal Justice and Behavior

Publisher: SAGE Publications

ISSN (Print): 0093-8548

ISSN (Electronic): 1552-3594

Publication date (Electronic): December 05 2024

Affiliations

[1 ]The University of Western Australia

[2 ]University of Maryland School of Medicine

[3 ]Nova Institute for Health

Article

DOI: 10.1177/00938548241302468

SO-VID: a3330a60-09e3-4cd5-83d0-a6a6b8c01dde

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https://journals.sagepub.com/page/policies/text-and-data-mining-license

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