Brain injuries

Question 1

What is it?

Answer 1

Some rare cases of brain injuries being identified as the cause of criminality.
Damage to pre-frontal cortex, part of brain that controls impulsive behaviour.

Question 2

Examples

Answer 2

Phineas Gage. Personality changed after a sever damage to frontal lobe.
Charles Whitman. Killed his mother + wife then shot 3 ppl at Uni of Texas + killed 11 more. Had a brain tumour on frontal lobe

Question 3

Studies

Answer 3

Some studies have shown that prisoners >likely than non prisoners to have brain injuries.

Question 4

Raine (researcher)

Answer 4

Used PET scans to study brain of impulsive killers.

Question 5

Strengths

Answer 5

Correlation between abnormal EEG
readings and criminality

Prisoners are more likely than non
prisoners to have brain injury.

Question 6

Weaknesses

Answer 6

Brain disease/injury is rare. Personality
is likely to be a more important factor.

Prisoners higher likelihood of brain
injury could be a result rather than a
cause of their criminality – e.g. getting
into fights.

Question 7

Strengths

Answer 7

Prisoners more likely than non prisoners to have brain injury.
Few extreme cases, brain injury/disease => to major personality/behaviour changes.

Question 8

Weaknesses

Answer 8

Crime caused by brain injury/disease is rare.
Prisoner higher chance of brain injury could be a result of their criminality.