2. Access Psychology Hannah Butler hannahldraper@stvincent.ac.uk

3. Murder: An unlawful killing of another person Burglary of a house: Illegal entry into a house for the purposes of committing an offence. Usually that offence will be theft. Gang mugging: An assault upon a person especially with the intent to rob by a gang (a group of individuals) who usually carry weapons. Fraud: An intentional deception made for personal gain or to damage another individual Anti-social behavior: behavior that lacks consideration for others and may cause damage to the society for example cruelty, violence, theft, playing loud music. Sexual assault: refers to forcing an unwilling person to engage in or suggest behavior involving the genitals or breasts, typically ranging from grabbing or touching over clothes to forced penetration of the vagina, mouth, or anus. Breaking the speed limit: Not adhering to the maximum or minimum speed permitted by law in a given area under specified circumstances Drug taking: To consume a chemical substance, such as a narcotic or hallucinogen, which is prohibited by law and that affects the central nervous system, causing changes in behavior and often addiction. Vandalism: is the behavior attributed originally to the Vandals, by the Romans, in respect of culture: ruthless destruction or spoiling of anything beautiful or venerable. The term also includes criminal damage such as graffiti and defacement directed towards any property without permission of the owner.

4. Controversial questions If criminals are born that way, why should we invest money in rehabilitation programs? If there is a gene for criminality should we should abort the foetus? If criminals are born that way, are prisons are a waste of time?

5. Raine (2002) Adrian Raine is a British psychologist. He is noted for his research on the neurobiological and biosocial causes of antisocial and violent behaviour in children and adults.

6. The aim of the experiment was to discover if murderers who have pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity (NGRI) show evidence of brain abnormalities. The study used PET scans to examine the brains of 41 people (39 males and 2 females) who were charged with murder and were pleading Not Guilty for Reasons of Insanity (NGRI), and compared them with 41 controls. All the NGRIs were referred to the imaging centre for legal reasons, such as to obtain evidence for the defence. The reasons for the referrals included schizophrenia, head injury, and personality disorders.

7. What is a PET scan? Positron emission tomography (PET) scans are used to produce detailed three- dimensional images of the inside of the body. The images clearly show the part of the body being investigated and can highlight how effectively certain functions of the body are working.

8. Back to Raine.... The participants were matched by age and sex to a control group of participants. The participants with schizophrenia were matched with other people with the same diagnosis but no history of murder. All offenders were in custody and were kept medication free for the two weeks before brain scanning. The control group were also medication free.

9. All of the participants were injected with a glucose tracer, required to work at a continuous performance task that was based around target recognition for 32 minutes, and then given a PET scan. The NGRIs were compared with the controls on the level of activity (glucose metabolism) in right and left hemispheres of the brain in 14 selected areas. The researchers looked at activity in six cortical areas (part of the cerebral cortex which is the outermost layer of nerve tissues of the cerebral hemispheres) and eight subcortical areas.

10. The cerebral cortex is commonly described in terms of four areas or lobes; Prefrontal Parietal Temporal Occipital In this study, compared to the controls, the NGRIs were found to have less activity in their prefrontal and parietal areas more activity in their occipital areas no difference in their temporal areas.

11. The results from the subcortical areas found less activity in the corpus callosum. They also found an imbalance of activity between the two hemispheres in three other subcortical structures. In the amygdala and the hippocampus, compared to the controls, the NGRIs had less activity in the left side and more activity in the right side. Also, in the thalamus the NGRIs had more activity in the right side, though no difference in the left side.

13. Raine et al. argue that the difference in activity in the amygdala (which is part of the limbic system) can be seen to support theories of violence that suggest it is due to unusual emotional responses such as lack of fear. The authors also comment on the differences in corpus callosum activity between the NGRIs and the controls, and suggest this can be matched up to evidence of people with a severed corpus callosum which show they can have inappropriate emotional expression and an inability to grasp long-term implications of a situation.

14. Other findings ** DEVELOPMENT AND FRONTAL LOBE DEFICIT ** Prefrontal lobe develops relatively late, sometimes not full developed until early 20s. This may explain peak in antisocial behaviour by male teenagers! There is a correlation between teenagers with anti social tendencies and either slow maturation of frontal lobe or damage to prefrontal lobe.

15. Is crime in the genes? * Can violence be seen as a disease, in the same way that alcoholism is now viewed? * Are we programmed – think evolution – to be violent?! * Since early 1990's science has 'swung' more towards genetic explanations for behaviour. * Could a genetic excuse be used by a lawyer to get their client off a murder charge?

16. Genes/biology or something else? * A man who has suffered head injury in a road accident beats up another man in an unprovoked attack. * A teenage girl with an average IQ participates in vandalism with her friends. * A husband who participates in domestic violence. * A body-builder who experiences extreme road rage. * A child with ADHD who is loud and abusive.

17. Brunner et al (1993) HG Brunner is a Dutch Professor who specialises in clinical genetics. Studying a large Dutch family in 1993, H. G. Brunner and colleagues found that all of the male family members with one particular genetic defect had borderline retardation and reacted aggressively when angry, fearful or frustrated. Crimes committed by the affected males included arson, attempted rape, and exhibitionism.

18. A gene is the basic unit of ________ in a living _________. All living things __________ on genes. Genes hold the ___________ to __________ and maintain their _____________ and pass genetic __________ to ____________. Traits / heredity / offspring / build / organism / depend / information / cells

19. Genes are found in our chromosomes and they hold information that determines our features. MAOA is a gene which is found within the X chromosome. Our chromosomes are found in the nuclei of our cells so they are pretty tiny! That particular gene (MAOA) is responsible for creating an enzyme that breaks down key mood-regulating messengers, most importantly here serotonin.

20. A gene is a long strand of DNA A Chromosome is a double chain of DNA Humans have 23 pairs of chromosomes A Genome is a complete set of DNA (20000 genes) Every now and then then things go wrong CHROMOSOME ABNORMALITIES

21. The role of genetics and neurotransmitters in aggressive behaviour The defect Brunner et al. discovered in the impulsive, aggressive males was a mutation in the gene that codes for an enzyme, monoamine oxidase A (MAOA), which metabolizes the brain chemicals serotonin, dopamine, and norepinephrine. Abnormal levels of all three substances -- and serotonin in particular -- have been implicated in aggression and criminal behaviour.

22. Brunner syndrome A rare genetic disorder caused by an MAOA mutation leads to MAOA deficiency and in turn an excess of monoamine transmitters, causing excessive impulsive behaviour including hypersexuality, sleep disorder and extreme mood swings as well as a tendency to violence, which is known as Brunner syndrome.

23. Brunner syndrome is caused by a monoamine oxidase A (MAOA) deficiency, which leads to an excess of monoamines in the brain, such as serotonin, dopamine, and norepinephrine (noradrenaline). In both mice and humans, a mutation was located on the eighth exon of the MAO-A gene, which created a dysfunctional MAO-A gene. The regular function of MAO-A, breaking down monoamines, is disrupted, and monoamines build up within the brain. Mice that lacked a functional MAO-A gene displayed higher levels of aggression, in comparison to mice with a functional MAO-A gene

24. Brunner's findings have been used to argue that genetics, rather than decision-making processes, can cause criminal activity. ] Evidence supporting the genetic defence stems from both Brunner's findings and a series of studies on mice. To prove the correlation between MAO-A deficiency and aggression in courts, it is often contended that individuals cannot be held accountable for their genes, and as a result, should not be held responsible for their dispositions and resulting actions.

25. Homework Do further research into these 2 studies. Summarise them both