Neuroscience in Fiction: Dexter’s Final Season Premiere
Dexter's swan song will involve chasing down a serial killer that puts a melon baller to the unique use of scooping the anterior insula out of the brains of his victims.
"I was drawn to forensics too, but I chose to focus on neuroscience. Psychopaths. We both chose murder. Maybe we're both a little crazy." -- Dr. Vogel in Dexter
Last night I finally had the chance to watch the first episode of Dexter's 8th and final season. The series has been a bit uneven, in my opinion: a spectacular first season (The Ice Truck Killer) and a fourth season (The Trinity Killer) that was almost as good have been exceptions among more mundane seasons (I've managed to watch them all, nevertheless). So I wasn't holding my breath for this season's premiere, but I did find it quite enjoyable, and especially so because the writers have gone for a neuroscience bent this time. Dexter's swan song will involve chasing down a serial killer that puts a melon baller to the unique use of scooping the anterior insula out of the brains of his victims.
The Neurocriticblog reviews the neuroscience of Dexter's season 's premier very nicely.
The views expressed are those of the author(s) and are not necessarily those of Scientific American.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR(S)
Susana Martinez-Conde is a professor of ophthalmology, neurology, and physiology and pharmacology at SUNY Downstate Health Sciences University in Brooklyn, N.Y. She is author of the Prisma Prize–winning Sleights of Mind, along with Stephen Macknik and Sandra Blakeslee, and of Champions of Illusion, along with Stephen Macknik. Follow Susana Martinez-Conde on Twitter Credit: Nick Higgins
