Biological neural explanation

Question 1

2 components

Answer 1

regions of the brain and neurotransmitters

Question 2

what do criminals report having and what are 2 stats regarding this

Answer 2

criminals report having head injuries. 8.5% of the US population have had brain injury and 60% of US prisoners do. so it may be nurture but could be nature

Question 3

explain what Raine found about pre-frontal cortex

Answer 3

cited 71 brain imaging studies and found murderers had low activity in this area that controls emotion and moral behaviour. could explain their loss of control and impulsiveness

Question 4

explain what Raine found about the limbic system

Answer 4

found low level activity which is associated with motivation and emotion - lack of empathy

Question 5

what do low levels of serotonin suggestively cause

Answer 5

predispose impulsive aggression and criminal behaviour

Question 6

what do abnormal levels of noradrenaline cause

Answer 6

associated with violence, aggression and criminality. high levels activate SNS so we are motived to fight. low levels reduce the ability to react to perceived threats

Question 7

E-cause or effect

Answer 7

it is hard to distinguish if brain injuries cause criminal behaviour, or criminal behaviour causes brain abnormalities. research only highlights a correlation. it is possible that the link is a result of a violent childhood/preference for a risk which could have caused head injuries

Question 8

E-real world applications

Answer 8

could lead to treatment. e.g. if low serotonin causes violence, prisoners could be put on a diet to increase levels to decrease aggression

Question 9

E-based on aggression research not offending

Answer 9

it relies on animals who don’t use criminal behaviours, but aggression. this undermines the potential relevance to humans we may not be able to generalise findings. also there isn’t 100% correspondence with brain abnormalities so we can’t use it practically to predict offenders