An authoritatively large and long-term study reports that kids who are unusually fearless as toddlers are likelier to grow up into criminals than easily spooked kids are. The researchers say their work reinforces evidence that structural problems in one portion of the brain, called the amygdala, are to blame: They’re shared by both kids with behavior problems and psychopathic adults.

I can’t say I find this completely surprising. The ability to go about one’s work without panicking would be an asset if you (let’s say) rob banks for a living. But I do wish someone had studied, or will study, the opposite effect. Do these unscarable kids also grow up to be corporate titans, entrepreneurs, Formula One champions? Because high-demand professions call for some of the same instincts. I’d very much like to see a scan of Bernie Madoff’s amygdala.

Except that the amygdala is also implicated in the condition known as hypersexuality, and as we all know by now, Bernie was not so gifted in that department.