amygdala - evaluation

• RESEARCH supports RO over active amygdala in aggressive B

  Coccaro et al (07) - fMRI scans of people with IED and control while viewed images of faces

  IED - high levels of amygdala activity when angry face shown compared to control

  people react to mild everyday threats with extreme rage and aggressions > over active amygdala

  objective - trust

  quasi - difficult to establish cause and effect
• Research supports RO under active amygdala in aggressive B

  Gao et al (10) - longitudinal - controls participant variables

  1795 participants tested for fear to noise (sweating) at age 3

  20 years later, those who committed crimes were those who had shown no fear

  didn't measure amygdala activity

  maybe be causal relationship between under active amygdala and subsequent lack of fear / antisocial and criminal behaviour
• REDUCTIONIST

  considers RO amygdala alone as bio explanation for CB

  Raine et al (97) - aggressive murderers = over active amygdala (measured high glucose metabolism) and low activity in PFC (measured low glucose metabolism)

  PFC - wise owl and regulates our impulsive urges

  R suggests - interaction between over active amygdala (guard dog) and under active PFC (wise owl) that fully explains serious aggression

  Amygdala alone doesn't offer complete explanation of the RO brain on CB

  simple / easy to understand and make applications
• OTHER EXPLANATIONS - for CB contradict with bio

  Social Psychological - consider the way people socialise, influence of role models and environmental factors, rather than focussing on physical, internal explanation

  supported - sometimes people have the biological brain of a criminal yet don't engage in criminal acts / aggression

  shouldn't overlook RO environment in CB

  biological determinism - negative implications if we neglect social issues > unemployment and poverty

  Diathesis Stress Model
• CONCLUSIONS

  • shouldn't neglect environmental causes also linked to crime
  • socially sensitive - such areas - worthy of government funding, can't make predictions of B by looking at brains
  • doesn't explain non-violent crimes
  • partially explains aggressive crimes but to fully explain all forms of CB we need to look at other explanations
  • why is it over / under active in the first place, explains the process not why (trauma, abuse, head damage)
  • Lynn Finlay - crime isn't a natural category, it's socially constructed so can't have a biological explanation