G543 - Turning To Crime: Biology - Raine Et Al

Question 0

What type of scanning method was used?

Answer 0

PET scanning (positron emission tomography)

Question 1

What was the aim?

Answer 1

To determine whether there is a biological basis for criminality

Question 2

How many criminals were studied?

Answer 2

39 males 2 females

Question 3

What were the criminals charged with?

Answer 3

Murder or manslaughter in california

Question 4

What did they all plead?

Answer 4

Not guilty by reason of insanity (NGRI)

Question 5

What were the 7 reasons for referral?

Answer 5

>Schizophrenia
>head injury or organic damage
>psychoactive drug abuse
>affective disorder
>epilepsy
>hyperactivity or learning disorder
>personality disorder

Question 6

How many participants were in the control group?

Answer 6

41

Question 7

What were the control group matched on?

Answer 7

Sex and age. 6 schizophrenics were also matched with the schizophrenics in the experimental group

Question 8

What do you need to inject into the participant for PET scanning?

Answer 8

A tracer - flurodeoxyglucose or FDG.

Question 9

What is the tracer taken up by?

Answer 9

The active areas of the brain. The more glucose taken up the more active the brain area is

Question 10

What were participants given while having a PET scan?

Answer 10

A continuous performance task (CPT)

Question 11

What lobes does the CPT specifically aim to activate?

Answer 11

The frontal lobes and the right temporal and parietal lobes.

Question 12

Where did murderers have significantly reduced activity?

Answer 12

Both sides of the prefrontal cortex, the posterior parietal cortex and the corpus callosum

Question 13

Where were there abnormal asymmetries?

Answer 13

Amygdala, thalamus and hippocampus

Question 14

Which hemisphere had lower activity compared to the control group

Answer 14

The left hemisphere had lower activity than the right hemisphere in contrast with the control group

Question 15

What has the Amygdala been linked to in other studies?

Answer 15

Violent behaviour

Question 16

What is the prefrontal cortex involved in?

Answer 16

Regulating behaviour

Question 17

What does damage to the prefrontal cortex make it more likely for a person to do?

Answer 17

To act out aggressive impulses

Question 18

Subjects who have had their corpus callosum disconnected have an an inability to do what?

Answer 18

See the consequences of their actions

Question 19

What could corpus callosum disconnection be mirrored by in the NGRI criminals?

Answer 19

Low levels of activity in the corpus callosum

Question 20

How could a person be helped to avoid any possible violent behaviour in the future?

Answer 20

We could scan people to see if they have any of the discovered differences in brain activity levels

Question 21

Why were the criminals regarded as ill rather than criminal?

Answer 21

The crimes committed were a result of their behaviour being influenced by their biology