Biological Approach To Offending (neural)

Question 1

What do we mean by the neural explanation?

Answer 1

-Any explanation of behaviour and its disorders in terms of (dys)functions of the brain and nervous system. This includes the activity of brain structures such as hypothalamus and neurotransmitters such as serotonin and dopamine.
-Evidence suggests that there may be neural differences in the brains of criminals and non-criminals. This evidence had focused on individuals diagnosed with antisocial personality disorder which is a condition that characterises many convicted criminals- reduced emotional responses, a lack of empathy for feeling for others.

Question 2

The Prefrontal cortex

Answer 2

-part of the brain that regulates emotional behaviour.
-Raine reports that there are several dozen brain imaging studies demonstrating that individuals with antisocial personalities have reduced activity in the prefrontal cortex. Raine et al (2000) found an 11% reduction in the volume of grey matter in the prefrontal cortex of APD compared to controls.
-reduced activity in the prefrontal cortex suggests that people aren’t able to regulate their emotions and behaviour as well as those with normal activity which may explain the offending behaviour.

Question 3

Raine- Results

Answer 3

They found reduced activity for offender group in areas such as prefrontal cortex and corpus callosum ( nerve fibres responsible for swift communication between the hemispheres). Additionally, there were abnormalities in the activity of the limbic system including the amygdala (emotions) and thalamus (sleep and alertness)

Question 4

Raine - Conclusions

Answer 4

There is indication that offenders are slowed and perhaps unable to make the swift decisions to react appropriately in certain situations. For example, the frontal lobes are linked to planning behaviour; therefore perhaps the decreased prefrontal cortex activity indicates that offenders are unable to consider the consequences of their actions and control their behaviour.

Question 5

Mirror Neurons

Answer 5

-Criminals with APD are thought to be able to experience empathy but more sporadically than ‘normal’ people.
-Keysers et al (2011) found that only criminals were asked to emphasise with a person depicted in a film experiencing pain did their empathy reaction, controlled by mirror neurons in the brain, activate. This suggests that APD individuals do have some empathy but may have a neural ‘switch’ that can be turned on and off, unlike ‘normal’ brains where empathy is permanently turned on.
-Dysfunctional mirror neurons suggest that people are not always able to feel empathy as well as those with normal activity which may explain the offending behaviour,