Abnormal Brain Activity Could Be The Cause of Crime

Criminal activity could be all in the brain, meaning offenders cannot control their behaviour and need treatment to help them stay on the straight and narrow, according to a British academic.



Many repeat offenders, killers and psychopaths share abnormal patterns of activity that could help to explain why they turn to crime, neuroimaging of their brains by Adrian Raine has previously found.

Psychopaths and murderers also have low activity in the front parts of the brain related to processing emotions, self-awareness and being sensitive to violence.


Now, in his new book The Anatomy of Violence, Raine, a criminology professor at the University of Pennsylvania, says that those who commit domestic violence, aggressive teens or lesser offenders also share those abnormalities and keep doing 'the same wrong things'.

He says: 'The seeds of sin are brain-based' but could be tackled with the right treatment.


'The finding suggests that many people currently being punished for their crimes cannot actually control their behaviour, and should be seen as suffering from a disorder that needs treatment,' he said.

Raine and a team of neuroscientists found that the ventromedial prefrontal cortex - a part of the brain associated with decision-making - is found to be shrunken in habitual criminals with psychopathic tendencies.

In repeat impulsive offenders, the part of the brain related to learning from your mistakes - the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex - has been found to be underdeveloped.

Previously, research has shown that low activity in the anterior cingulate is linked to a higher risk of reoffending while shrunken amygdalas, related to emotions and morality, have been found in teenagers with conduct disorders - described by doctors as aggressive and anti-social traits.
These include burglary, violence and pathological lying.

Graeme Fairchild, a clinical psychology lecturer at Southampton University,said: 'If the parts of your brain involved in feeling guilt or empathy are damaged, then there is an issue of diminished responsibility. It is too early to use this research in courts, but we have to ask if they are truly to blame for their behaviour.'