Raine et al

• What type of study is Raine et al. (1997) considered?

  A Classic Biological Study
• Who conducted the classic study on brain abnormalities in murderers?

  Adrian Raine
• What plea were the American prisoners in Raine's study entering?

  Not Guilty by Reason of Insanity (NGRI)
• What opportunity did Raine take when scanning the brains of prisoners pleading NGRI?

  To compare the prisoners’ scans with a control group
• What did previous research on animals by Mirsky & Siegel (1994) suggest?

  A link between brain structure and aggression
• What was unknown about the findings of Mirsky & Siegel before Raine's experiment?

  If they could be generalised to humans
• What brain imaging technique did Raine use in his study?

  Positron Emission Tomography (PET)
• Why is Raine's study considered a natural (or quasi-) experiment?

  Because the participants’ criminal background was naturally-occurring
• What increasing importance is illustrated by Raine's study?

  The link between Cognitive and Biological psychology
• What type of technique is PET?

  A brain imaging technique
• What is injected into the participant in a PET scan?

  A glucose solution
• What is the glucose solution tagged with?

  A radioactive tracer
• What does a PET scan show as having a higher relative amount of the radioactive tracer?

  Active brain regions
• How does the radioactive signal appear on a PET scan?

  Coloured in active regions as “hot”
• What part of the brain is supposed to restrain aggression?

  The prefrontal cortex
• Which brain region was linked to aggression in cats?

  The thalamus
• What task were all participants given during the brain scan?

  Continuous Performance Task (CPT)
• What does the Continuous Performance Task (CPT) involve?

  Concentration
• What was the aim of Raine et al.'s study?

  To find differences in brain activity between murderers and non-murderers
• Which brain areas did Raine focus on in his study?

  Prefrontal cortex, corpus callosum, amygdala, MTL/hippocampus, thalamus
• What was Raine trying to determine by examining brain structure in relation to aggression?

  If animal study findings could be generalised to humans
• What was the independent variable (IV) in Raine's study?

  Whether the participant was NGRI or a control
• What is the experimental design of Raine's study?

  Independent groups design
• What was the dependent variable (DV) in Raine's study?

  Relative glucose levels in various brain areas
• How many offenders pleading NGRI were in Raine's sample?

  41
• How many controls were in Raine's sample?

  41
• What was the mean age of the NGRIs in Raine's sample?

  34.3
• What was the gender distribution among the NGRIs in Raine's sample?

  39 men and 2 women
• What type of sample were the NGRIs considered to be?

  An opportunity sample
• Where were the participants tested in Raine's study?

  University of California
• How long did the participants perform the CPT for after the glucose tracer injection?

  32 minutes
• How long were participants allowed to practice the CPT before the injection?

  Ten minutes
• What control did Raine implement regarding medication?

  None of the participants were on medication
• How long were NGRIs kept medication-free before the PET scan?

  For 2 weeks
• What were the PET scans broken down into for measurement?

  Digital “slices” and “boxes”
• In which lobe did the NGRIs show less activity?

  Frontal lobe
• What cognitive functions are associated with the prefrontal cortex?

  Rational thinking, self-restraint, and memory
• In which lobe did NGRIs show less activity, which is associated with abstract thinking?

  Parietal lobe
• In which lobe did NGRIs show more activity?

  Occipital lobe
• What structure showed less activity in the NGRIs, which connects the brain hemispheres?

  Corpus callosum