1.1.4 Raine Et Al Study (Bi)

Question 1

What is Research Hypothesis 1?

Answer 1

Dysfunction in brain structures such as the prefrontal cortex, corpus callosum, left angular gyrus and limbic system will be found more often in murderers than a control group of non murderers

Question 2

What is the purpose of the control group?

Answer 2

Baseline for comparison

Question 3

Is Research hypothesis 1 adirectional, non directional or a null hypothesis?

Answer 3

Directional

Question 4

What is research hypothesis 2?

Answer 4

Dysfunction in brain structures such as the prefrontal cortex, corpus callosum, left angular gyrus and limbic system will be found more often in murderers, than dysfunction in other areas of the brain that have been implicated in non violent psychiatric disorders

Question 5

Is research hypothesis 2 directional, non directional or null?

Answer 5

Directional

Question 6

Where is the left angular gyrus found?

Answer 6

In the parietal lobe

Question 7

What components make up the limbic system?

Answer 7

Amygdala
Hippocampus
Thalamus

Question 8

What was Raine et al’s research method and what does this mean?

Answer 8

Raine et al used a quasi-experiment, this means the IV is naturally occurring

Question 9

What was the IV in Raines experiment?

Answer 9

Not guilty by reason of insanity (NGRI) or not

Question 10

What was the DV in Raines experiment?

Answer 10

Dysfunction in different brain areas

Question 11

How was the DV operationalised?

Answer 11

Using PET scan results to see metabolic activity in the brain

Question 12

Who were the subjects (participants) in Raines study?

Answer 12

A group of 41 prisoners all charged with murder but who pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity

Question 13

What does NGRI mean?

Answer 13

Not guilty by reason of insanity

Question 14

Where were the participants charged with murder or manslaughter?

Answer 14

In California

Question 15

What gender were the participants?

Answer 15

39 were male

2 were female

Question 16

What was the average age of the participants?

Answer 16

34.3 years

Question 17

What happened the two weeks before brain scanning?

Answer 17

No murderer was given psychoactive medication

Question 18

How many patients were referred for scanning due to schizophrenia?

Answer 18

• 6

Question 19

How many subjects were referred for scanning due to brain damage/ head injury?

Answer 19

23

Question 20

What was each subject matched with?

Answer 20

A non murderer subject

Question 21

How were the subjects and controlled matched?

Answer 21

As closely as possible for:
• age
• gender
• schizophrenia

Question 22

What did all controls undergo?

Answer 22

Screening for mental illness, drug taking and history of murder

Question 23

What group did the non murderers make up?

Answer 23

The control group

Question 24

Give a brief outline of the procedure raine used:

Answer 24

• injection
• continuous performance task
• PET scan

Question 25

What were all participants injected with?

Answer 25

A tracer substance that was taken up by the brain to show the location of brain metabolism (fluorodeoxyglucose)

Question 26

What was the CPT the participants underwent?

Answer 26

Detecting signals

Question 27

When was the PET scan given?

Answer 27

Immediately after the CPT

Question 28

What was the PET scan used to show activity in?

Answer 28

6 main areas outside the brain (cortical)

8 main area inside the brain (subcortical)

Question 29

What did raine et al’s study focus on?

Answer 29

Brain scans of violent individuals who has committed murder and pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity

Question 30

What did Raines procedure take place by?

Answer 30

Opportunity sampling - Raine selected his subjects from those referred for scanning

Question 31

What did Raines findings and conclusions show for the prefrontal cortex?

Answer 31

Lower metabolic activity in murderers than in controls

Lower activity is linked to loss of self control and altered emotion

Question 32

What did Raines findings and conclusions show for the parietal cortex?

Answer 32

Murderers showed lower activity levels especially in the left angular gyrus
Lower activity is linked to low verbal ability, leading to education failure and thus crime

Question 33

What did Raines findings and conclusions show about the temporal cortex?

Answer 33

No difference

Question 34

What did Raines findings and conclusions show about the corpus callosum?

Answer 34

Lower activity in murderers

Lower activity was expected as it could stop the left hemisphere inhibiting the rights violence

Question 35

What did Raines findings show about the amygdala?

Answer 35

Lower activity in the left in murderers

Question 36

What did Raines findings show about the thalamus?

Answer 36

Higher activity in the right side

Question 37

What maid Raines findings show about the medial temporal?

Answer 37

Lower activity in the left compared to the right in murderers

Question 38

What conclusions did Raines draw about the amygdala, medial temporal and thalamus?

Answer 38

These structures all for the limbic system (emotion)
Problems may result in inhibition for violent behaviour, fearlessness and failure to learn the negative effects of violence

Question 39

What did the cinguate, caudate, putamen, globus pallidus and cerebellum show?

Answer 39

No difference

Question 40

Conclusions - Raines research showed differences in what?

Answer 40

The brains of murderers pleading NGRI

Question 41

Conclusions - Raines research does not suggest violence is what?

Answer 41

Biologically determined

Question 42

Raines research does not excuse what?

Answer 42

The behaviour of NGRI murderers