Final- The Antisocial Brain Flashcards
Which brain areas were associated with immoral behavior and what are their functions?
Understanding others
Understanding others:
Amygdala- recognizing and interpreting emotions based on eye gaze, sensitivity to personal boundaries
-inability to interpret social cues and rules that are appropriate
Posterior superior temporal sulcus (pSTS)- social perception, perception of human faces, voices, and biological motion, identifying emotions
-can’t interpret social signals and apply rules to social situations
Temporal parietal junction (TPJ)- applying theory of mind skills and evaluate others’ mental states in social context
Which brain areas were associated with immoral behavior and what are their functions?
Controlling Behavior
Controlling behavior:
Orbitofrontal cortex (OFC)- regulate behavior by learning from, and adapting to, reward and punishment
-Medial- evaluation of pleasure and reward
-Lateral- monitoring displeasure and punishment
-When damaged- inappropriate and impulsive behavior and risky decision making
Inferior frontal gyrus (IFG)- control behavior by inhibiting prepotent response (suppress a pre-planned response)
-Person could not control the urge to steal despite feeling guilty
Which brain areas were associated with immoral behavior and what are their functions?
Making appropriate emotional contributions
Making appropriate emotional contributions:
-Anterior cingulate cortex (ACC)- involved in cognitive and affective empathy contains von Economo neurons that are critical for social behavior
-Anterior insula- important for translating sensations into subjective awareness
Which brain areas were associated with immoral behavior and what are their functions?
Shared region for understanding others and make appropriate emotional contribution
Shared region for understanding others and make appropriate emotional contribution:
-Ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC)- regulates emotional processes which lead to the aversion of immoral behavior
-Understanding others
-Theory of mind: evaluating emotions of self and others
What are the six different neuropsychological constructs?
Social perception- A compromised amygdala through an inability to apply knowledge of social cues and rules governing the appropriateness of interactions
-inability of reading social cues and rules
Theory of mind- Man that abandoned his grandchildren cause he couldn’t understand their mental state
-Impaired role of the VMPFC enabling one to make inferences about others mental state
Learning from reward and punishment- Man who stole food and was not willing to pay because he did not learn from negative consequences
-Dysfunction of OFC couldn’t learn negative consequences of theft.
Response inhibition- couldn’t control the urges to steal but felt guilt and hid items in his closet
-Impaired IFG causes impulsive behavior despite knowing what’s right and wrong
Empathetic response- Man struck a van filled with passengers and continued driving cause he saw no concern
-Damage to insula and ACC results in not emotionally responding to negative events
Aversion to harm- Woman drowned mother in bathtub thinking it would solve her family’s financial issues
-Impaired vmPFC causes failure to experience aversive emotional reaction and emphasizes on the outcome of behavior (solving financial issues)
Which deficits are experienced by patients with bvFTD (behavioral-variant frontotemporal dementia) and ABI (acquired brain injury)
BvFTD- socially inappropriate behavior, loss of manners, and diminished response to other people’s needs and feelings
ABI- personality changes that include aggression and loss of emotional control
Inappropriate sexual talks and touch, offensive language
How does the case of Stephen Paddock fit into the framework described by Roberts et al. (2019)?
Stephan Paddock was a mass murderer who fired into a crowd in Las Vegas and connects into the framework described by Roberts et al by relating to several neuropsychological construct
Immoral behavior has more than one underlying cause
Which neuropsychological construct is impaired in this example?
Empathetic response- damage in the ACC/insula; showed no empathic response to his victims
Response inhibition- damage to the IFG; actions were impulsive and immoral
How does the case of Charles Whitman fit into the framework described by Roberts et al. (2019)? Which neuropsychological construct is impaired in this example?
Charles had a brain tumor near his amygdala, causing him to commit mass murder and he couldn’t control his actions and emotions
Aversion to harm- damage to vmPFC; murdering wife and mother to save them from embarrassment, not thinking about the actual outcome
Response inhibition- might have committed suicide out of guilt and murdered wife and mother over embarrassment
A study examined the locations of 17 brain lesions (sites of damage) that were associated with antisocial behavior. What did all of these lesions have in common?
All 17 lesions in this study were connected to the inferior orbitofrontal cortex and anterior temporal lobes
Lesions occurred in different areas of the brain but were functionally connected to the same brain regions
