Hopes a study using brain scans to look at anti-social behaviour in adults could provide a stepping stone to future crime prevention measures

The study, in The Lancet Psychiatry, examined brain scans of 672 Dunedin Study participants.

It's the first study to compare structural brain differences between troubled adolescents - and anti-social adults.

Waikato psychology professor Devon Polaschek says it's a good baseline - but scans are needed at younger ages.

She says earlier scans would help illustrate how dynamic the brain changes are.