Neural Explanations Of Aggression Flashcards
Where is the amygdala located in the brain?
Temporal lobe
Lesioning monkey’s amygdala led to what?
Reduction in the fear response and an increase in aggression
What are the effects of an amygdalectomy in humans?
Reduced aggression and implications for emotional responses
How does the amygdala regulating emotion link to aggression?
Aggression may be motivated by abnormal emotional patterns
What does the prefrontal cortex influence?
Impulsivity
Individuals with damage to their prefrontal cortex show…
Impulsive behaviour, immaturity, altered emotion, short tempers and easily provoked which can lead to aggression
Which neurotransmitters are associated with aggression?
Serotonin and dopamine
How is serotonin thought to have a calming effect?
It calms down firing of the neurons and therefore brain activity
How is serotonin linked to aggression?
Low levels (particularly in PFC) cause impulsive and aggressive behaviour
What is dopamine produced in response too?
Rewarding behaviours eg eating and sex
How is dopamine linked to aggression?
Seek out aggressive behaviours because of the rewarding sensations caused by a release of dopamine
Who performed research into neural explanations of aggression?
Raine et al, tateno et al, zagrodzka et al
What kind of brain scan did raine use on his participants?
PET scans
What are the 2 brain structure associated with aggression?
Amygdala and prefrontal cortex
What was the ratio of males to females in Raine et al’s research?
39 males, 2 females
What did all of the participants in Raine et al’s research have in common?
All pleading not guilty for reasons of insanity (NGRI) and all had low activity in their prefrontal cortex and amygdala
How many participants did tateno use with traumatic brain injury?
89 males
How did tateno measure aggression?
Family interviews, police records and accounts of friends
What % of the brain damaged group were classified ad aggressive
34%
What did brain scans of the participants in tateno’s research find?
Those classified as aggressive were more likely to have frontal lobe damage
What did zagrodzka do?
Damaged the central nucleus of the amygdala of cats
What did zagrodzka find?
Damage to the amygdala was a contributing factor to predator like attacks
What are the evaluation points of the neural explanations of aggression?
Too simplistic, supporting research for role of PFC, deterministic, animal research and practical applications
What are the practical applications of the neural explanations?
Treat chronically violent schizophrenic patients
Which research did research into the practical applications of neural explanation?
Vartiainen et al
What did vartiainen et al do?
Did a double blind trial using citalopram (SSRI) to treat chronically violent schizophrenic
What did vartiainen et al find?
Found citalopram (SSRI) reduced the frequency of aggressive incidents in chronically violent schizophrenics
What an opposing point against the practical applications of neural explanation?
Serotonin drugs are very complex as an increase in serotonin can effect appetite, digestion, sleep and memory
