Scientists are calling for an autopsy of one of the Boston Marathon bombing suspects to see if he had brain damage. Though brain damage probably didn't play a role in the bombings, it may have contributed to other personality changes, researchers say.
Tamerlan Tsarnaev, 26, may have suffered from a type of brain damage caused by repeated impacts called chronic traumatic encephalopathy, or CTE, researchers say. Scientists believe CTE can cause emotional instability and impulse control.
Tsarneev was a boxer for most of his life, and family members and peers described dramatic personality changes in recent years. Still, the cold-blooded, planned nature of the attacks makes it highly unlikely that brain injury played a role in the bombs, Boston University neurology professor Robert Stern told Boston.com.
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