Neural

• Neural explanation

  dysfunction of the brain and nervous system

  this includes activity of brain structures like the prefrontal cortex, and neurotransmitters
• Raine says there are 4 main predictors for becoming a violent offender:

  • poor functioning of frontal lobe
  • Low resting heart rate
  • Complications during birth
  • Mother smoking or drinking while pregnant 
• Mirror neurons

  Offenders with APD can experience empathy but they do so more sporadically then the rest of us

  found that only when offenders were asked to empathise did their empathy reaction activate 

  This suggests that’s APD individuals are not totally without empathy, but may have a neural switch that can be turned on and off unlike the normal brain which the empathy switch is permanently on
• Prefrontal cortex

  the part of the brain involved in regulating and controlling behaviour

  Raine reported that there are lots brain imaging studies, demonstrating the individuals with antisocial personalities have reduced activity in the prefrontal cortex
• A reduced amount of grey matter (11%) was found in the prefrontal area for the antisocial personality disorder group in comparison to the control group. The APD group also showed a reduced autonomic response during the stressful situation.

  this shows that there is a brain deficit in people with APD, which may be the cause of APD behaviours such as lack of fear, lack of conscience and poor arousal 
• A strength of the neural explanation is support for the link between crime and the frontal lobe.

  Reviewed evidence of frontal lobe damage (including the prefrontal cortex) and antisocial behaviour.

  People with such 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.
• A limitation is the link between neural differences and APD may be complex.

  Other factors may contribute to APD, and offending.

  study of group of men who scored high on psychopathy, had experienced various risk factors during childhood, such as being raised by a convicted parent and being physically neglected.

  these early childhood experiences may cause APD and the neural differences associated with it

  This suggests that the relationship between neural differences, APD and offending is complex