6.1.1 - Brain Injury

Question 1

Brain injury

Answer 1

• TBI = traumatic brain injury e.g. when assaulted
• Open TBI = skull is penetrated and brain is exposed e.g. knife wound
• Closed TBI = external mechanical force e.g. concussion
• ABI = caused after birth e.g. lack of oxygen
• Glasgow coma scale measures damage from severe to moderate to mild

Question 2

Prefrontal Cortex

Answer 2

Role:
- Decision making
- Planning
- Problem solving

When damaged:
- More impulsive
- Lack of control of social behaviour
- Low tolerance to frustration

Question 3

Strength

Answer 3

Phineas Gage
- TBI
- Rod through skull and left frontal lobe
- Before was hard working and efficient
- After ‘grossest profanity’, no longer polite

Question 4

Weakness

Answer 4

Case Study
- Such a rare and unique event
- Can’t be replicated due to ethics
- Can’t test reliability and consistency

Question 5

Amygdala

Answer 5

Role:
- Emotional regulation
- Fight or flight
- Emotional memory

Damage:
- Lack of showing correct emotional response
- Inability to recognise emotions correctly
- Poor fight or flight regulation

Question 6

Strength

Answer 6

Charles Whitman
- Damage to amygdala due tumour pressing on it
- Mass killer
- Unable to control emotions
- Impulsive

Question 7

Weakness

Answer 7

Limitation;
- Reductionist
- Doesn’t recognise other biological or social reasons
- SLT or testosterone for example
- CW had an abusive childhood

Question 8

Hypothalamus

Answer 8

Role:
- Controls hormones, homeostasis

Damage:
- Wrong hormone levels in relation to behaviours
- Too much adrenaline leads to fight or flight activation
- Too much testosterone and too little cortisol leads to aggression

Question 9

Strength

Answer 9

Saparta et al
- TBI patients have low cog skills and increased aggression
- 50% offenders have a head injury
- 2-5% general population

Question 10

Weakness

Answer 10

Criticism
- Saparta relied on self report data
- People may lie or exaggerate in order to get a reduced prison sentence

Question 11

Weakness

Answer 11

Alternate Explaination - SLT
- Could be a result of nurture not nature
- Observation of a role model

Question 12

Hippocampus

Answer 12

Role:
- STM to LTM

Damage:
- Inability to learn from emotional responses
- Problems creating episodic memories
- Inability to learn from experience or consequence
- Poor learning of when we should or shouldn’t show aggression

Question 13

Strength

Answer 13

Williams
- 60% young people in custody have a TBI
- Significant because shows that it may cause crime

Question 14

Weakness

Answer 14

Kreutzer et al
- 20% arrested pre injury
-10% arrested post injury
- In all cases, crime occurred after drug/alcohol consumption