Neural explanation- Biological

• Neural explanation


  AN explanation of behaviour In terms of dysfunctions of the brain and nervous system.

  This includes the activity of brain structures like the hypothalamus and neurotransmitters such as serotonin.
• How does neural explanations explain criminals?

  Evidence suggests that there may be neural differences in the brains of criminals and non-criminals. Much of the evidence is linked to antisocial personality disorder.
• What is antisocial personality disorder?

  This is a mental condition in which a person has long-term patterns of manipulating, exploiting or violating the rights of others.

  Associated with reduced emotional responses, a lack of empathy for the feelings of others.

  It is a condition that characterises many convicted criminals.
• Research support for role prefrontal cortex in APD

  • Raine, has conducted many brain imaging studies on the APD brain, which have shown that people with the condition have reduced activity in the prefrontal cortex.
  • Prefrontal cortex is responsible for regulating emotional behaviour.
  • Raine et al found an 11% reduction in the volume of grey matter in the prefrontal cortex of people with APD compared to controls.
• How are mirror neurones linked to APD?

  • Offenders with APD can experience empathy but they do so more sporadically than the rest of the population.
• Research support for mirror neurones?

  • Keysers, found that only when criminals were asked to empathise (with a person experiencing pain in a film) did their empathy reaction activate (controlled by mirror neurones).
  • This suggests that APD individuals are not without empathy but they have a switch in the brain that can turn empathy on and off, unlike the normal brain where the switch is permanently on.
• Brain evidence

  • For the link between crime and the frontal lobe.
  • Kandel and Freed, reviewed evidence of frontal lobe damage and antisocial personality disorder.
  • People with damage tended to show impulsive behaviour, emotional instability and an inability to learn from their mistakes.
  • This supports the idea that brain damage may be a causal factor in offending behaviour.
• Intervening variables

  • Link between neural differences and APD may be complex, as other factors contribute to APD.
  • Farrington et al, studied men who scored highly on APD. These individuals have experienced various risk factors during childhood such as being raised by a criminal or physical neglect.
  • It could be that these childhood experiences caused the neural differences such as reduced activity of the frontal lobe due to trauma.
  • The relationship between neural differences and APD is too complex and other variables may have had an impact.
• Biological determinism

  • Suggests that criminal behaviour is determined by genetic/neural factors which cannot be controlled by the person.
  • This means the person can’t help how they behave and should not be held responsible for a crime.
  • However our justice system is based on the notion that we all have the responsibility for our actions. Trials by jury is based on the principle of establishing guilt, whether an individual has consciously chosen under their own free will to commit the offence they are accused of.
  • Suggesting we should maybe excuse some people.