Criminal Behaviours - Biological Explanations: Role Of The Amygdala Flashcards
When describing this explanation, what 3 components are there
- structure and function of the amygdala
- amygdala and aggression
- amygdala and fear conditioning
Describe structure and functioning of the amygdala
- almond in shape and size and found in medial temporal lobe + part of the limbic system.
- Involved in processing emotions (fear and anger particularly) + social interactions
- made up of ‘grey matter’ + a cluster of 13 nuclei.
- There is 2 amygdalae, one per brain hemisphere
- first linked to emotion by James Papez (1937) and later Paul Maclean (1952). Found the amygdala is neurally linked to the hypothalamus (involved in releasing hormones and regulating body temp), the hippocampus (involved in long-term memory and spatial navigation) and the prefrontal cortex (involved in higher-order thinking) as well as to other parts of the brain.
- Major role in how we assess and respond to environmental threats = importance in determining aggressive behaviour = linked to flight or fight response
- Raine et al: found a difference in the amygdala for people who were criminals (the NGRIs). Specifically, he found reduced activity in the amygdala in the left hemisphere and increased activity in the amygdala in the right hemisphere.
Amygdala and aggression
- Emil Coccaro et al (2007) investigated the effects of the amygdala on aggression by studying people with intermittent explosive disorder (IED) which causes reactive and out of proportion aggression in 2 forms: verbal aggression (may have temper tantrums and verbal arguments) or physical aggression (aggression to property, animals or other individuals–but this has to occur twice weekly on average over a period of 3 months).
- Each patient viewed images of faces at the same time as having an fMRI scan
- Found participants with IED showed higher levels of amygdala activity when they viewed angry faces than the control
- demonstrates an association between amygdala activity and processing of aggressive emotion - and the study had high realism because an angry facial expression is an everyday sign of threat
- Although no one in this group committed a crime, so might not be generalisable to criminality
Describe the amygdala and fear conditioning
- Yu Gao and colleagues (2010) say children learn to inhibit their aggression
- Children are aggressive, but then learn their aggression causes other people to act in a certain way, such as punishing or telling them off, or other negative outcomes —> fear conditioned
- Because the amygdala is involved in processing fear = amygdala is involved in fear conditioning.
- If a child has a dysfunction of the amygdala = aren’t looking at the social cues that indicate threat, e.g. don’t see angry faces as threatening. Therefore they don’t link punishment to aggressive behaviour due to faulty amygdala preventing them from being fear conditioned.
- The individual with amygdala dysfunction grows up completely fearless of the threat of prison or police + they may also tend to be aggressive and antisocial = more likely to exhibit criminality
- They did a longitudinal study: 1,795 participants tested for fear conditioning at 3yrs old by measuring physiological arousal (indicated by sweating) in response to painful noise. 20 years later, those who committed crimes at the age of 23 years had shown no fear conditioning when they were 3 years old. They were effectively ‘fearless’ suggesting that there may be a causal relationship between amygdala dysfunction and antisocial/criminal behaviour
When evaluating this explanation what do you talk about
:)
- supporting evidence
- useful application
:(
- reductionism
Write a paragraph for the supportive evidence for this explanation
P: A strength of the role of the amygdala in aggression is the strong research evidence linking amygdala activity to aggressive behavior.
E: Gospic et al. (2011) used the Ultimatum Game to measure aggression in participants while monitoring their brain activity using MRI scans. They found heightened and quicker amygdala activity when participants rejected unfair offers (considered an aggressive response). Furthermore, administering a sedative reduced both amygdala activity and aggression (halving rejections).
T: This is a strength because it demonstrates a clear biological link between amygdala activity and reactive aggression. The ability of a sedative to simultaneously reduce aggression and amygdala activation strongly supports the causal role of the amygdala in regulating aggressive behavior. This finding enhances the validity of the biological explanation, as it provides experimental evidence of the amygdala’s direct influence on aggression.
COUNTER: However, the study was conducted in an artificial, laboratory-based setting, which limits its ecological validity and raises questions about whether the findings apply to real-world aggressive behavior.
Write a paragraph for the weakness of being too reductionist
P: A weakness of the amygdala explanation is that it oversimplifies aggression by focusing solely on the amygdala, ignoring the role of other brain areas.
E Raine et al. (1997) found that murderers who exhibited high levels of reactive aggression had increased activity in the amygdala but abnormally low activity in the orbitofrontal cortex (OFC), which is involved in self-control and regulation of aggression.
T: This is a significant weakness because it demonstrates that aggressive behavior results from complex interactions between multiple brain regions, not just the amygdala. By focusing on the amygdala alone, the biological explanation risks being reductionist, oversimplifying a behavior that likely involves a network of neural systems. This undermines its validity as a comprehensive explanation of criminal aggression, as it neglects the importance of neural connectivity and other areas, such as the OFC, in moderating aggression.
COUNTER: However, while the amygdala may not act alone, its role as a key component in this neural network is still critical and provides a starting point for understanding aggression.
Write a paragraph for the strength of useful application
P: A strength of the biological explanation is its practical application in reducing aggression by moderating the effects of amygdala dysfunction through dietary interventions.
E: Gesch et al. (2002) conducted a placebo-controlled, double-blind study with 231 British prisoners, providing some with capsules containing vitamins, minerals, and omega-3 fatty acids, while others received a placebo. After two weeks, the intervention group committed 35% fewer disciplinary offences than before the trial, and 26% fewer offences than the placebo group.
Therefore: This is a strength because it demonstrates the potential of using neurobiological approaches to manage aggressive behavior by targeting the activity of the amygdala. By showing that aggression can be reduced through dietary supplementation, the study highlights how biological explanations of criminality can be translated into effective interventions. This provides a valuable potential for improving rehabilitation outcomes, underscoring the practical benefits of understanding the amygdala’s role in aggression.
COUNTER: changing diets isn’t easy for everyone and this intervention is useful for poorer countries that struggle to get food on the table in the first place, let alone a carefully curated diet
