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Raine (1997) Brain abnormalities in murderers (Method (All ps were kept…
Raine (1997) Brain abnormalities in murderers
Aim
To identify areas of brain dysfunction in individuals charged with murder and pleading not guilty by reason of insanity (NGRI)
Participants
41 murderes that pleaded NGRI. 2f, 39m. Opportunity sampling
23 had history of brain damage, 6 schizophrenia
the rest had mood disorders, substance abuse, and paranoid personality disorders
control group matched by age, gender, disorder
Method
All ps were kept medication free for 2 weeks leading up to brain scan
PS practiced continuous performance task which required them to search for targets on a screen, and press a button to indicate when the targets were spotted
PS then injected with fluorodeoxy gluclose (radioactive tracer)
Ps then completed CPT task
After 32 min, ps went to PET scanning room.
Brain was scanned to measure brain activity in the cortical and sub cortical regions
Findings
Subcortical areas (limbi sys - amygdala)
Less activity in the left side, more in the right side. Murderers may become more fearless so their violence isn't inhibited
Corpus Callosum
NGRIs had less activity in CC, which may mean that left brain may not have a chance to inhibit right of violent ideas
Cerebral Cortex
NGRIS had more activity in their occipital areas. No difference in temporal areas
Prefrontal Cortex
Lower activity - loss of self-control & altered emotions
Conclusions
Areas which are different in murders compared to controls e.g: amygdala are identified as having abnormal activity are associated with lack of fear, self-control, increased aggression, impulsive behaviour and problems controlling/expressing emotions.