BOSTON , MA, USA, September 21, 2021 /EINPresswire.com/ -- Dr. Keith Ablow, the forensic psychiatrist and writer of the New York Times bestseller Inside the Mind of Scott Peterson and USA Today bestseller Inside the Mind of Casey Anthony, is calling on the National Institutes of Health to fund research into whether the neurological effects of COVID-19 could be responsible for increased levels of violence in human beings and in animals.

“An increasing number of anecdotal reports suggest that Covid-19 is associated with sudden violence,” Dr. Ablow said. “Generally, this has been assumed to be due to changes in lifestyle—such as quarantines and lockdowns that mean more proximity for men and women, children and even their pets. But we shouldn’t assume that close quarters are the culprit before determining whether neurological changes in the brain due to Covid-19 are responsible.

A plethora of articles have noted an increase in rates of domestic violence [https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/ajs4.183] during the pandemic, as well as aggressive acts by domestic animals https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/rise-in-aggressive-dog-cases-since-covid-19-pandemic-301134698.html. Mass shootings have soared [https://www.forbes.com/sites/roberthart/2021/09/16/mass-shootings-soared-during-pandemic---and-researchers-think-covid-stress-could-be-to-blame/?sh=3ace1613710f].

“COVID-19 is known to cause profound molecular changes in the brain,” Dr. Ablow stated. “It triggers profound inflammation, abnormal communication between nerve cells and chronic neurodegeneration. There is no reason to assume that violent behavior in those who have contracted COVID-19, whether the infection is active or not, might not be due to the virus’ affects on the brain.”

Dr. Ablow was educated at Brown University, where he received a bachelor’s degree in neurosciences with highest honors and at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. He practiced forensic psychiatry for 25 years before founding a coaching and counseling system called Pain-2-Power (www.pain-2-power.com) to fuel personal empowerment. He was among the first psychiatrists in the nation to recognize the benefits of the anesthetic ketamine in treating major depression—which has since been called the most important advance in treating depression in 50 years.

Dr. Ablow has testified as an expert witness in legal cases involving violence in many state and federal courts.

“It seems obvious that defense attorneys whose clients are being tried for alleged violent crimes should have those clients tested for exposure to COVID-19,” Dr. Ablow said. “In those cases in which there seems to be a clear timeline between infection and violence, judges and juries should likely be made aware of it.”

Dr. Ablow has most recently launched www.ThreatPatterns.com to help companies cope with the any risk to the workplace, including threats of violence or strategic issues related to managing the fallout from COVID-19 and other concerns which impact the physical or psychological wellbeing of employees.

Tiffany Bartholomew
Dr. Keith Ablow
+1 978-462-1125
info@keithablow.com

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