Criminal - TBI and criminal behaviour

What does TBI stand for?

Traumatic brain injury (can immediately abbreviate in exams to TBI tho)

What areas which regulate behaviour could be affected by a TBI?

- Amygdala

- Pre-Frontal cortex

- Hippocampus

- Hypothalamus

What sort of things can cause a TBI?

- Traffic accidents

- Assaults

- Being struck by something

How many young adult males in prison have a form of TBI?

60%

Why can damage to the PFC increase risk of criminal behaviour?

This area of the brain assesses risk and determines an appropriate response

How can damage to the PFC increase risk of criminal behaviour?

- Damage could lead to things being wrongly seen as a threat

- Could also lead to poor regulation of behaviour and over the top responses

- Can lead to an inability to learn appropriate social behaviour

- Can lead to difficulty interpreting behaviour of others leading to inappropriate sexual behaviour

How can damage to the amygdala increase risk of criminal behaviour? (talk about sides)

- Right side of amygdala causes an exitatory effect so makes responses stronger

- Left side has inhibitory effect so makes responses weaker

- Uneven activity can mean more responses are exitatory leading to impulsivity or explosiveness and lack or self control

What studies can support the idea that TBIs increase risk of criminal behaviour?

- Raine

- Blair et al

- Animal studies

How can Raine's results be relevant to the TBI theory of criminal behaviour?

Murderers had

- LOWER activity in pre-frontal cortex than controls

- LOWER activity in LEFT amygdala than controls

- HIGHER activity in RIGHT

(Also don't forget the weaknesses of Raine's research)

What did Blair et al do?

Looked at the brains of convicted psychopaths

What did Blair et al find?

PET scans revealed that there was impairment between the PFC and amygdala which he believed made it difficult for individuals to moderate emotional reactions. He thought psychopaths never appropriator develop empathy and thus act more impulsively

Describe two animal studies which are strengths of the TBI theory of criminal behaviour.

- Bulls become less aggressive when left side of amygdala stimulated (Delgado)

- Cats become more aggressive when hypothalamus stimulated

What accidents could have caused a TBI in Fred West?

- He had a motorbike accident and was in a coma for a while

- He also sustained another TBI when he was hit by a fire escape

What happened to Fred West's behaviour after his TBIs?

He became especially sexually forceful and often misinterpreted signals