brain injuries and disorders/diseases

• disease?

  encephalitis lethargica (sleeping sickness)

  an epidemic that spread across the globe in the 1920s.

  around 500,000 cases reported world-wide.

  correlation between the sickness and criminal behaviours.

  the disease was linked to boys committing arson and deviant behaviour.
• damage?

  Charles Whitman murdered his wife and mother and carried out a mass shooting killing 17 and injuring 31.

  It is believed his outbursts were caused by a brain tumour that was in a part of the brain controlling aggression and impulses.

  HOWEVER, his father was a gunman, so he could have been influenced at an early age to violence.
• dysfunction?

  Murderers has a 11% reduction in activity in the pre-frontal cortex which is responsible for regulating emotion and behaviour.
• strengths?

  -there are many real-life cases that support how the brain can cause criminality. Charles Whitman shows how brain conditions can influence impulsive and aggressive behaviour since here was a brain tumour found in his amygdala which controls impulses and aggression, meaning it could have caused him to commit murder.

  -EEG readings review brain activity, helping correlate abnormal brain activity with psychopathic criminality. The higher the brain activity the more likely someone may commit crime since this high activity may lead to more risk-taking and impulsive behaviours.
• weaknesses?

  -research into brain activity and EEG readings is not conclusive as high brain activity has also been found in mental health condition such as Tourette’s. This means we must acknowledge not everyone with high brain activity is likely to commit a crime.

  -it is possible that brain injuries occur because of crime rather than causing it. Criminals are likely to engage in fighting or behaviours that cause them harm, therefore brain damage is not the cause of criminality.