Brain injury

Question 1

What are the 3 types of brain injuries and how are they caused?

Answer 1

TBI (Traumatic Brain Injury)
Caused by a traumatic fall or car/sports accident

ABI (Acquired Brain Injury) acquired by stroke
Caused by genetic disposition, diet, exercise

ABI (Acquired Brain Injury) acquired through tumour
Caused by genetic disposition, diet, carcinogen exposure

Question 2

What are the 6 features of the pre-frontal cortex?

Answer 2

Responsible for:
- Decision making
- Forward planning
- Controlling impulses
- Risk-taking behaviour
- Changing behaviour - keeping emotions balanced

Still developing till age 25

Question 3

How does pre-frontal cortex damage link to crime and anti-social behaviour? (2 points)

Answer 3

Causes personality change - makes people antisocial and aggressive

Impairs people’s decision-making - makes them more likely to commit crimes

Question 4

What is the orbitofrontal cortex? (2 points)

Answer 4

Prefrontal cortex region involved in cognitive processes

Including decision making, controlling emotions and imagining consequences

Question 5

Which 4 studies support the link between pre-frontal cortex damage and criminality?

Answer 5

Damasio et al (1994)
Brower and Price (2001)
Volkow & Tancredi (1987)
Fazel et al (2011)

Question 6

How does Damasio et al (1994) support the link between pre-frontal cortex damage and criminality? (3 points)

Answer 6

They built a 3D computer model of Phineas Gage’s skull, showing that the 4ft rod blasted through and destroyed his left orbitofrontal cortex - TBI

According to his friends, Phineas was dependable and kind before the injury - became irritable, impulsive and anti-social after

Low population validity - not representative of how every individual responds to brain injury

Question 7

How do Brower and Price (2001) support the link between pre-frontal cortex damage and criminality? (2 points)

Answer 7

They undertook a literature review of documented brain injuries

Found that many case studies show anti-social personalities can arise after frontal lobe injury

Question 8

How do Volkow & Tancredi (1987) support the link between pre-frontal cortex damage and criminality?

Answer 8

Used PET scans to find out two out of four violent psychiatric patients showed frontal damage

Question 9

How does Fazel et al (2011) support the link between pre-frontal cortex damage and criminality?

Answer 9

Found that 8.8% of people who experienced an ABI committed a violent crime compared to 3% of the control group

Question 10

What is the amygdala and what does it do? (3 points)

Answer 10

Small region located in temporal lobes - part of limbic system

Involved in detecting, processing and responding to environmental threats

Processes information from our senses and determines the emotional response to that information (fight-or-flight response)

Question 11

How does the amygdala relate to criminal psychology? (2 points)

Answer 11

When activated, it overrides the rational part of our brain so that we are less likely to think rationally

Damage to it can cause people to respond to threatening situations in extreme ways - causes people to spontaneously act aggressive

Question 12

What are the 3 studies supporting the amygdala linking to criminal behaviour?

Answer 12

Yang et al - small amygdala volume

Glenn et al - psychopaths in moral decision making

Pardini et al - amygdala volume and violence

Question 13

How does Yang et al support the amygdala linking to criminal behaviour? (3 points)

Answer 13

They found using structural MRI scans that psychopaths had smaller-volume amygdalas when compared to a control group

17.1% smaller in the left and 18.9% on the right

Significant correlations between the lowered volume of amygdala and higher psychopathy scores

Question 14

How does Glenn et al support the amygdala linking to criminal behaviour? (2 points)

Answer 14

They used fMRI scanning to find out that ‘psychopathic’ individuals had reduced amygdala activity during moral decision-making compared to a control group

Suggests that psychopaths show deficits in brain regions related to moral reasoning, causing them to worry less about causing harm to others

Question 15

How does Pardini et al support the amygdala linking to criminal behaviour? (2 points)

Answer 15

They conducted neuroimaging scans and grouped 26-year-old men into either a group of ‘normal-volume’ or ‘reduced-volume’ amygdalas.

3 years later, the reduced-volume group were 3 times more likely than the others to be aggressive, violent and show psychopathic traits

Question 16

How does Raine et al support pre-frontal cortex and amygdala damage linking to criminal behaviour? (3 points)

Answer 16

They found from using PET scans that NGRI people had less glucose activity in the prefrontal area - 1.09 - compared to controls - 1.12

NGRIs had imbalances in amygdala activity - the left side had lower activity than control and the right side had higher activity than control

Therefore there are abnormalities in how NGRIs detect, process and respond to environmental threats (fight or flight response)

Question 17

How is brain injury as an explanation for criminality reductionist? (3 points)

Answer 17

Neurologist James Fallon used his own MRI brain scan as a control

Identified his amygdala as one of a psychopath - he is a successful scientist and family man

Suggests that the explanation is reductionist - there are other factors contributing to criminal behaviour

Question 18

What is the alternative explanation other than brain injury for crime and anti-social behaviour? (2 points)

Answer 18

Social Learning Theory - suggests criminality is learnt through aggressive role models being observed and imitated due to vicarious reinforcement

Bandura (1961) found boys observing an aggressive role model increased the number of imitated aggressive behaviours (25.8) compared to observing a non-aggressive one (1.5)