Bio Exp- Neural Flashcards
Raine 1997 procedure
Aim- to investigate patterns of brain activity in murderers vs non murderers using PET Scans
Procedure- 41 murderers (NGRI) vs 41 non murderers, matched pairs. Medication free for 2 weeks prior to scans
Raine 1997 findings
Reduced activity in brain metabolism of glucose in murderers in many areas:
Prefrontal cortex: lower activity- lower self control
Lymbic system: amygdala- lack of fear
Hippocampus- increased aggression
Corpus callosum: problems controlling and expressing emotion
Abnormal asymmetries: reduced activity on left and greater on the right linked with violence
Mirror neurones
Found can empathise but sporadically
Keysers found when asked to empathise mirror neurones activated
Suggests can turn on or off empathy explaining lack of empathy for victims
Raine 2000 other study
11% reduction in volume and activity in prefrontal cortex
Responsible for logical thinking and decision making
Strength neural explain (support)
Kandel & Freed found people with frontal lobe damage tended to show impulsive behaviour, emotional instability and an inability to learn from their mistakes.
Raine 2000
also:
bio determinism- can scan then try and prevent through therapy etc
Limitation neural explain (justice)
Biological determinism: The biological approach suggests that offending behaviour is determined by genetic/neural factors which cannot be controlled by the person. So, a person should not be held responsible for a crime. How does this conflict with our justice system?
Limitation neural explain (contrast)
Farrington
found neural differences caused by childhood experiences
males that scored high on psychopathy had experienced a variety of risk factors during early childhood like raised by criminal or physical neglect
suggests relationship bewteen affectionless psychopathy disorder (apd) and neural differences and offending is very conplex, and may be other factors influencing, rather than biology causing crime
