The Human Brain and Antisocial Behavior
Introduction
Human brain mechanism is highly linked to the anti-social behaviors of individuals. The attempt to reduce the crimes rate has continuous posed as a social issue as the crimes rate is growing fast despite the implemented strategies (Glenn, & Raine, 2011). The recent imaging studies o the brain suggests that the violent and antisocial behaviors of individuals are associated with the structural as well as the functional shortage in the cortex prefrontal but these studies are characterized by heterogeneity and this makes it unclear whether the conclusions of the study apply to psychopaths and non-violent individuals (Glenn, & Raine, 2011). The functioning of the brain is linked to the antisocial behaviors of human beings because of the alterations of the brain in the genes. The most structural parts of the brain that are linked to the antisocial behaviors with regard to the way the surrounding areas provide risk factors expression for the development of antisocial behaviors.
Antisocial behavior is defined as the form of failure in the conformation of the social norms in order to behave as the law state and expects. The abnormalities of the brain lead to the abnormalities of the brain in that these created abnormalities develops abnormalities in cognitive, emotional and behavioral abnormalities which lead to antisocial conducts predispose (Glenn, & Raine, 2011). This is proven by the increasing brain impairments evidence increase which is particularly the impairment of the prefrontal cortex. Various research on magnetic imaging have thus shown that those individuals with the disorder of antisocial personality have a reduction of at least eleven percent in the gray prefrontal matter along with reduced activity of the autonomic during the process of designing social stressor in eliciting secondary emotions of guilt, embarrassment and shame (Glenn, & Raine, 2011). Structural impairments of prefrontal are directed by the prefrontal functional impairments. This involves reduced functioning of the brain in the growing range of the antisocial density. Those individuals who perform murder have thus been established to demonstrate reduced glucose metabolism in the prefrontal cortex which is influenced by the region of the brain which is challenged by repeated task performance (Raine, 2016). The impairment additionally characterizes the violent offenders impulsively which thus suggests that the prefrontal cortex is a brain structure which acts as a responsive brake in emergent situations on the emotions that are provided by the structures of limbic (Glenn, & Raine, 2011). The studies of the brain imaging are highly supported by the neurological and neuropsychological studies which indicate that the results of those finding are robust.
However, the cortex prefrontal is not the only brain part that is linked to antisocial conduct. The recent reviews have thus documented different imaging examinations which demonstrate the impairment of the temporal, cingulate cortex, amygdala, hippocampus and angular to be additional areas which affect antisocial conduct (Glenn, & Raine, 2011). Dysfunctional circuits of the brain can yield antisocial behavior by breaking down the moral feelings of an individual. This is explained by the antisocial theory of neural moral which holds that individuals develop feelings breakdown in the normal circuit of neutral which is activated during the process of making moral choices by an individual. The areas that are involved includes the PFC, PFC ventral, gyros angular, cingulated posterior and amygdala which are interconnected to implicating antisocial conducts (Glenn, & Raine, 2011). The antisocial implications which are generated by the overlapping of the distinct structures and the judgment of moral tasks provides a foundation that the impairment of the brain results in antisocial of individuals because the impairments disrupts the emotions of the moral structure of an individual as well as the choices of decisions resulting to the occurrences of antisocial conducts (Raine, 2016). This is because the impairment influences individuals to break the social and moral rules which result to antisocial conduct.
50% of the antisocial behaviors occurrences are genetically generated as the genes are not fixed and this influences the individuals brain as the impairment of the genes creates an impairment in the brain antisocial behaviors are expected to rise with the combination of social and biological risks factors (Raine and Yang, 2006). The social environment interacts with brain directly because social experiences can create impairments of the brain. For example birth, complications can create brain impairments with then influences the excitement of individuals to conduct antisocial behaviors. Psychosocial influences additionally influence the functioning of the brain which results to modifications of the brain structure which results in the antisocial outcome. The reduction of prefrontal cortex glucose metabolism predisposes to individual’s violence especially to the individuals who are from benign family set ups (Raine and Yang, 2006). Low arousal of physiological is linked with antisocial conduct in those individual from benign origins. This is because those individuals are associated with lack of risk social factors which push them into antisocial conduct as the biological factors have a greater role of explanatory (Raine and Yang, 2006).
The social life of an individual is also linked to the antisocial conduct because of the experiences that are derived from social life. For instance, stress influences the functioning of the brain because it causes an emotional breakdown (Havard, 2011). When an individual is undergoing through high and persistent levels of stress they frequently react by demonstrating antisocial conducts thus becoming hostile and irritable because the brain has incapability of controlling emotions. Violent and dis-attachment are also some of the predispositions to antisocial conducts which are modulated by life adversity. Genetic factors highly contribute in this as well as the period in which the particular individual experienced exposure. Various studies, therefore, prove that molecular changes, functional and structural changes in the human brain increase stress effects on antisocial conduct (Havard, 2011). The impulsive aggression takes part in the manifestation f criminal conduct as well as violent because it is considered to be the most crucial symptom of mental disorder which includes antisocial disorders of personality and borderline. Studies have suggested that the influence of the prefrontal context on anti-social behaviors is influenced by different subdivisions of the prefrontal cortex. These divisions include orbitofrontal cortex, medial cortex, dorsolateral cortex and the ventrolateral cortex the abnormality of the prefrontal cortex regions results to the abnormality of the brain which in turns affects the mode of controlling emotions. According to the different researchers, the impairment of the orbit medical cortex may lead to the inability of an individual to demonstrate appropriate emotions to the behaviors consequences and this leads to the low capability of selecting choices and the affiliated issues of behavior. This is supported by the fact that the incapability of PFC to full control impulses and emotions contributor in the aggression of impulses and socially unappreciated behaviors which cause damages to an individual as well as to others (Havard, 2011).
Individuals who are seen as aggressive in vulnerable situations result to this impairment, therefore, leads to violent conducts as well as emotional reactivity (Havard, 2011). Functional and structural imaging studies of the brain illustrate that PFC hypo-functioning and most the orbit medial part is interconnected to the regulation impairment of aggressive conduct and emotions. Behaviors which are not normal and morally right are associated with sub-cortical activity increase in amygdala which results from prefrontal control deficit of antisocial emotions. The abnormality may, therefore, predispose a person to dysregulation of emotions and behaviors that are aggressive because of the impairment of the brain (Havard, 2011). The brain and antisocial behaviors are directly connected because the abnormalities of an individual’s conduct are influenced by the state of their brain.
The human brain is connected to antisocial behavior because according to the recent research on the neuroscience proves that the brain of criminals are different from the minds of the other individuals (Veit, Flor, Hermann, Grodd & Birbaumer, 2002). The results generated from the research indicated the presence of at least 18% reduction of the middle frontal of the gyrus for the individuals who portrays antisocial behaviors as compared to individuals with accurate mental status. In addition the findings also indicated that the individuals also posses nine percent volume reduction of the orbital frontal gyrus in both frontal lobe sections of the brain (Veit, Flor, Hermann, Grodd & Birbaumer, 2002).
Deformation of another part of the brain by the name amygdale was also indicated to be an influencing factor on antisocial behaviors to individuals. The research therefore indicated that psychopaths show an outer layer thinning of the brain part cortex and this was indicated by a reduction of 18% (Lorida , Palumbo, & pallegrin, 2014). The amygdale can be defined as part of the brain which is storage or a location of emotions. This section must therefore have the capability of controlling emotions successful in order to eliminate anti-social behaviors room individuals. Those individuals whose amygdala has a reduction cause antisocial behaviors because they are unable to control their emotions. For instance an individual with amygdala reduction is incapable of controlling emotions (Lofrida , Palumbo, & pallegrin, 2014). This is because if the individual is subjected to stress or emotions they are therefore expected to respond in an antisocial behavior which may include committing crimes of being involved in drug activities. This is because they tend to lack emotions which are like empathy or guilty because they tend to focus on the negative deeds. Psychopaths therefore have no emotions, guilt or remorse because they are unable to reflect on the outcomes of their actions because they emotions are not well spread (Lofrida , Palumbo, & pallegrin, 2014).
The brain is therefore effective in controlling antisocial behavior because the minds of criminals involved in antisocial behaviors tend to react differently (Lofrida , Palumbo, & pallegrin, 2014). The mutual feature of antisocial rule breaking conduct is the central influence of antisocial behaviors. Antisocial behavior is characterized by failure to follow the moral guidelines which is driven by the mental or the brain condition of an individual (Lofrida , Palumbo, & pallegrin, 2014). The frontal lobe impairment has been linked to be influencing antisocial behaviors and mostly murder. This is because the individuals are unable to control aggressive behavior of impulses which are associated with decreased orbitofrontal metabolism, decreased medical frontal and frontal regions. The reduction of the frontal lobe leads to a decrease in the blood flow in the frontal which in turn leads to increased aggressive and antisocial conducts (Lofrida , Palumbo, & pallegrin, 2014).
Several studies have established that reduced gray frontal steers antisocial behaviors in the psychopathic individuals (Blair, 2004). The individuals with lobe epilepsy tend to respond in aggressive ways because they are associated with conduct disorder. Similar findings therefore show that individuals with lesions of arbitofrontal are disinherited typically because of the implusive with unconsidered antisocial behaviors. Reduced metabolism is associated with agrssive responses of individuals because it causes individuals to react in a negative mode (Blair, 2004).
The temporal lobe is an addition part of the brain which is largely associated with anti social conduct. This is influenced by cases of abnormalities his is caused by the reduction of the grey frontal (Blair, 2004). Although the results of the research were not consistent abnormality is therefore associated with misconduct because of the incapability of the brain to handle situations or pressure. Reduced bilateral metabolism which is located in the gyrus middle temporal was found to be present in aggressive children who also have epilepsy of the temporal lobe. His is supported by the recent research which indicates that aggressive individuals have reduced flow of blood on the right side of the gyrus middle temporal (Blair, 2004).
In the anterior inferior temporal cortex individuals with reduced cortex metabolism are established to respond with violence (Raine, 2002). This is therefore caused by the education of blood flow in the left side of the inferior anterior temporal cortex. On the part of the superior temporal gyrus the study revealed the deficits of activation in psychopathic and antisocial individuals which is localized to the upper posterior of the gyrus superior temporal in the processing of semantic task. This is caused by reduced activation in the left side hemisphere temporal superior gyrus in conducting memory tasks effectively. Violent individuals are therefore established to hold reduced metabolism because reduced flow of blood leads to reduced impulsive which thus causes individuals to b violent (Raine, 2002).
Dysfunction of the OFC is linked with poor control of inhibitory, decision making emotions, and punishment processing in antisocial persons and the involvement of DLPFC dysfunction may also lead to poor perseveration off responses (Raine, 2002). It is therefore car that the impairment of a brain region can lead to antisocial behavior based on distinct reasons. However there are no established brain structures that are linked to the development of antisocial conduct. This is because the larger number of the impairments of neural across different cognitive and domains effectives are highly related to antisocial lifestyle adoption (Raine, 2002).
In conclusion, the brain configuration is the most influential aspect in antisocial behaviors. This is because the brain is effective in controlling the conduct and decision-making procedures of an individual. The biological set up of the brain is, therefore, crucial to the development of antisocial behaviors. The breakdown of any part of the brain may result in the occurrence of antisocial conduct because the individual’s ability to control emotions is broken. This gives rise to the development of emotional impairments which in turn influences and increases the urge of an individual to break the social and moral rules. The impairment of the brain can be solved by health nutrition because poor nutrition is reported to be associated with the poor functioning of the brain. This results to neurocognitive which is the impairment of the brain parts which increases the chances of antisocial conduct. Low IQ of an individual is interconnected with poor nutrition and this reduces the ability to control brain functions because of the resulted break down which slow the development of the brain.
Reference
Blair R.J.R. (2004). The Roles of Orbital Frontal Cortex In The Modulation Of Antisocial Behavior. Pdf
Glenn, A.L, & Raine, A. (2011). Antisocial Personality Disorders. In J. Decety & J. Cacioppo (Eds). The Oxford Handbook of Social Neurosioscience (Pp.885-894). New York University Pres.
Harvard. (2011). On the brain. The criminal mind. The Harvard Mahoney neuroscience institute letter.pdf
Lofrida C., Palumbo S., & pallegrin S.,.(2014). Molecular genetics and antisocial: where do we stand? Pdf
Raine A. & Yang Y. (2006).Neural Foundations to Moral Reasoning and Antisocial Behaviors. University of Southern California, USA
Raine A. (2016).From Genes to Brain to Antisocial Behavior. Pdf
Raine A.,.(2002). Biosocial Studies of Antisocial And Violent Behavior In Children And Adults: Review. Pdf
Veit B., Flor H., Hermann C., Lotze M., Grodd W., & Birbaumer N. (2002). Brain Circuits Involved In Empotonal Learning in Antisocial Behavior and Social Phobia In Humans. Pdf
