Translational Neuroscience Contributes to Understanding Neurodevelopmental Outcomes of Dostoyevsky's “Brothers Karamazov” With Treatment Implications

Abstract

Dostoyevsky's novels raise profound ethical, moral, philosophical and theological issues and, as a result, both he and his novels serve as fertile subjects of scholarly inquiry across a variety of academic disciplines. In particular, major characters in “The Brothers Karamazov” lend themselves to classical psychodynamic formulations, such as the influence of adverse childhood experiences on adult social and occupational outcomes, which in the case of Dmitry, the eldest son of Fyodor Pavlovich Karamazov, are considered in exquisitely fine detail. Prosecutor and defense attorney provide differing interpretations of how early traumas, largely due to paternal neglect and abuse, affected Dmitry's adult outcome in the climactic trial over his alleged patricide. The novel also captures an extreme, and perhaps fanciful, description of an Oedipal rivalry between Dmitry and his father for the affection of a love interest leading to tragic and unpredictable consequences for both. The novel has been dissected by scholars across a variety of diverse and seemingly unrelated disciplines and continues to serve as a springboard for collaborative discussion. Re-reading the novel led the authors to wonder if translational developments in clinical neuroscience could further understanding of poor developmental trajectories of the novel's characters, as well as offer therapeutic recommendations for promoting more favorable occupational and social outcomes. Advances in basic neuroscience have been translated into actionable individualized, interdisciplinary, multimodal treatment plans leading to improved functional outcomes for children like Dmitry, Ivan, and Smerdyakov. Translational neuroscience enriches understanding of neurodevelopmental outcomes of characters in Dostoyevsky's novel “The Brothers Karamazov,” especially in the context of genetic risk and in utero environmental insults.