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Brain Injuries & Disorders - Coggle Diagram
Brain Injuries & Disorders
Diseases
some diseases have been linked with criminal/anti-social behaviour -> 1920 epidemics of encephalitis lethargica among children was linked to destructiveness, impulsiveness, arson & abnormal sexual behaviour
Other diseases like dementia & brain tumours have been linked to various forms of deviant/anti-social behaviour
Abnormal Brainwave Activity
Measured by EEG
Abnormal EEG readings among 'clearly insane' murderers & psychopathic criminals -> e.g. Schizophrenia (Ed Gein)
Injuries
Brain Injuries have been linked to criminal behaviour
Some studies have shown prisoners are more likely than non-prisoners to have suffered brain injuries
Phineas Gage
American railroad foreman known for having survived a traumatic brain injury
Iron rod shot through his skull and through the left side of the frontal lobe in his brain
His personality changed and he became disrespectful and unreliable unlike before the incident
He died 12 years after the injury from an epileptic seizure
Key Idea
Injuries, disorders & diseases of the brain may cause it to malfunction in ways that change personality, morals or self-control, leading to criminal behaviour
Evaluation
Strengths
In a few cases brain injury/disease has led to major changes in an individual’s personality.
There is some correlation between abnormal EEG readings and psychopathic criminality
Weaknesses
Crime caused by brains injury/disease is rare. A sufferer’s original personality is more important to whether or not they engage in crime
Prisoners have a higher likelihood of brain injury as a result of criminality rather than the cause of it
Prisoners are more likely than non-prisoners to have a brain injury -> Jayshawn Boyd