Brain and aggression (BP)

Question 1

Strength

Answer 1

I - Raine et al found that there are structural differences between the brains of 41 impulsive violent murderers and 41 controls.
J - The activity of the prefrontal cortex (related to impulse control and decision making), limbic system (amygdala is linked to aggression) and various other areas are very different when comparing PET brain scans.
E - This suggests there may be a biological basis explain the differences in aggression between individuals as potentially the genes different people possess lead to different brain areas to be more or less active, which then leads to different levels of aggression.

Question 2

Weakness

Answer 2

I - However, the exact influence of the amygdala is uncertain.
J - Pardini (2014), in a longitudinal study using FMRI scans, found a negative correlation between aggression and amygdala volumes, using men with a history of violence. May not be activation of amydala that causes aggression but volume
E - This questions whether it is the activity of the amygdala or the size which is related to aggression.