biological explanations of criminal behaviours - describe
- Created by: Abi Crew
- Created on: 03-05-22 12:04
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- biological explanations for criminal behaviour
- brain abnormalities and the role of the amygdala
- the amygdala
- integral centre in the brain for emotional processing, responses, behaviour and motivation.
- it is also central in fear conditioning and positive emotional learning through sensory stimulus and messaging through the thalamus and sensory cortexes.
- yang et al (2009)
- used MRIs to investigate 27 individuals assessed as psychopaths (who are more likely to engage in criminal behaviour) compared to ‘normal’ controls using matched pair design
- found that the amygdala of the psychopaths showed an 18% reduction in size and a much thinner cortex.
- This, along with the fact that damage to the amygdala has been linked to issues with fear conditioning and impulse control in childhood, shows a direct correlation between brain abnormalities and criminality.
- the amygdala
- inherited criminality
- asserts that criminal behaviour is rooted in genetics and our evolutionary past
- Some behaviours today that we consider ‘criminal’ might have provided survival advantages in previous eras, and thus still exist in our human tendencies today
- For example, some male criminal behaviour such as assault and **** may have evolved because of historical male competition for access to females.
- MAOA
- the main enzyme gene linked to criminality
- involved in regulating serotonin and dopamine levels.
- Unregulated serotonin, for example, vastly increases impulsive activity in criminals
- The variant MAOA-L is associated with a deficiency of the enzyme, which can increase aggression according to Sohrabi (2015)
- asserts that criminal behaviour is rooted in genetics and our evolutionary past
- brain abnormalities and the role of the amygdala
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