Criminal Behaviours - Biological Explanations: Role Of The Amygdala

Question 1

When describing this explanation, what 3 components are there

Answer 1

• structure and function of the amygdala (Papez, Maclean, Raine)
• amygdala and aggression (Coccaro, fMRI)
• amygdala and fear conditioning (Yu Gao and colleagues, 1795, 3, 20, 23, 3)

Question 2

Describe structure and functioning of the amygdala

Answer 2

• almond in shape and size and found in medial temporal lobe + part of the limbic system.
• Involved in processing emotions (fear and anger particularly) + social interactions
• made up of ‘grey matter’ + a cluster of 13 nuclei.
• There is 2 amygdalae, one per brain hemisphere
• first linked to emotion by James Papez (1937) and later Paul Maclean (1952). Found the amygdala is neurally linked to the hypothalamus (involved in releasing hormones and regulating body temp), the hippocampus (involved in long-term memory and spatial navigation) and the prefrontal cortex (involved in higher-order thinking) as well as to other parts of the brain.
• Major role in how we assess and respond to environmental threats = importance in determining aggressive behaviour = linked to flight or fight response
• Raine et al: found a difference in the amygdala for people who were criminals (the NGRIs). Specifically, he found reduced activity in the amygdala in the left hemisphere and increased activity in the amygdala in the right hemisphere.

Question 3

Amygdala and aggression

Answer 3

• Emil Coccaro et al (2007) investigated the effects of the amygdala on aggression by studying people with intermittent explosive disorder (IED) which causes reactive and out of proportion aggression in 2 forms: verbal aggression (may have temper tantrums and verbal arguments) or physical aggression (aggression to property, animals or other individuals–but this has to occur twice weekly on average over a period of 3 months).
• Each patient viewed images of faces at the same time as having an fMRI scan
• Found participants with IED showed higher levels of amygdala activity when they viewed angry faces than the control
• demonstrates an association between amygdala activity and processing of aggressive emotion - and the study had high realism because an angry facial expression is an everyday sign of threat
• Although no one in this group committed a crime, so might not be generalisable to criminality

Question 4

Describe the amygdala and fear conditioning

Answer 4

• Yu Gao and colleagues (2010) say children learn to inhibit their aggression
• Children are aggressive, but then learn their aggression causes other people to act in a certain way, such as punishing or telling them off, or other negative outcomes —> fear conditioned
• Because the amygdala is involved in processing fear = amygdala is involved in fear conditioning.
• If a child has a dysfunction of the amygdala = aren’t looking at the social cues that indicate threat, e.g. don’t see angry faces as threatening. Therefore they don’t link punishment to aggressive behaviour due to faulty amygdala preventing them from being fear conditioned.
• The individual with amygdala dysfunction grows up completely fearless of the threat of prison or police + they may also tend to be aggressive and antisocial = more likely to exhibit criminality
• They did a longitudinal study: 1,795 participants tested for fear conditioning at 3yrs old by measuring physiological arousal (indicated by sweating) in response to painful noise. 20 years later, those who committed crimes at the age of 23 years had shown no fear conditioning when they were 3 years old. They were effectively ‘fearless’ suggesting that there may be a causal relationship between amygdala dysfunction and antisocial/criminal behaviour

Question 5

When evaluating this explanation what do you talk about

Answer 5

:)
- supporting evidence (Gospic et al, MRI)
- useful application (Gesch et al, 231, 35, 26)
:(
- reductionism (Raine et al, OFC)

Question 6

Write a paragraph for the supportive evidence for this explanation

Answer 6

P: There’s is research evidence that backs up the link of amygdala activity to aggressive behaviour
E: Gospic et al used the ultimatum game to measure aggression in participants while monitoring brain activity using MRI scans - proposer would offer participants a sum of money by splitting it in either fair or unfair ways (unfair being considered a form of threat or provocation). If responder reject any offer, they both get none. Found that heightened and quicker amygdala activity when participants rejected unfair offers (considered an aggressive response).
T: Therefore this demonstrates a clear biological link between amygdala activity and reactive aggression. The strength of using scientific methodologies such as MRI scans is that it adds credibility to the explanation because it provides supporting evidence that is high in reliability, validity, objectivity and is falsifiable.
COUNTER: However the study was conducted in an artificial lab based setting, limiting its ecological validity as we don’t know whether the brain may respond differently to more extreme forms of aggression in real life criminal scenarios.

Question 7

Write a paragraph for the weakness of being too reductionist

Answer 7

P: A weakness of the amygdala explanation is that it oversimplifies aggression by focusing solely on the amygdala, ignoring the role of other brain areas.
E Raine et al. (1997) investigated murderers who exhibited overwhelmingdegrees of reactive aggression. Found higher glucose metabolism (high activity) in their amygdala, but lower activity in prefrontal cortex which includes the OFC. The orbitofrontal cortex influences self-control, regulated impulsive behaviour and inhibits aggression. The findings demonstrate how there’s at least 3 important brain structures: amygdala, OFC and neural connections between them.
T: therefore this is a weakness because it means the explanation presents an incomplete explanation criminal behaviour because it only focuses on the amygdala and overlooks other important areas such as the OFC that play a role. This lowers the validity of the explanation as it lacks the proper depth to provide a full understanding.

Question 8

Write a paragraph for the strength of useful application

Answer 8

P: A strength of the biological explanation is its practical application in reducing aggression by moderating the effects of amygdala dysfunction through dietary interventions.
E: Gesch et al. (2002) conducted a placebo-controlled, randomised double-blind study with 231 adult British prisoners and found that those given nutritional supplements containing vitamins, minerals, and omega-3 fatty acids committed 35% fewer disciplinary offences compared to before the trial, and 26% fewer than the placebo group. These nutrients are known to influence brain function, including the regulation of neurotransmitters involved in amygdala activity
T: This is a strength because it provides potential for rehabilitation of criminals and because the application based on the principles of the explanation, any effective outcomes therefore provide evidence for the explanations validity and reliability.
COUNTER: changing diets isn’t easy for everyone and this intervention isn’t useful for poorer countries that struggle to get food on the table in the first place, let alone a carefully curated diet