Violence and the Brain

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Violence and the Brain

Is there a biological basis for violent behavior in the brain? Recent research links "neurological impairments and psychoses" to violent behavior (1).

The "psychological effects" of brain damage and disease can cause the mind to lose touch with reality leading to criminal and violent behavior (1). As a result, free will may be deserted in an individual suffering from abnormalities and chemical imbalances in the brain (2). Consequently, legal issues arise because violent offenders with mental illnesses or brain injuries are not always to blame due to the biological nature of their diseases (2). However, violence in psychiatric and neurological patients can be prevented for the most part through medication and "social support services" (1).

A PBS video, "The Violent Mind" sparked my interest in the relationship between violence and the brain. The video presented several cases of violent assault which could be attributed to chemical imbalances in the brain (2). For example, the video illustrated the story of David Garabedian, a quiet passive man who murdered a customer of the lawn car company where David was an employee (2). David mixed lawn chemicals in their undiluted form which caused him to experience physical and mental changes in his body (2). Dr. David Bear, a physician from Vanderbuilt Medical School who looked into Davids case, claimed organophosphates in the insecticide poisoned the enzyme that clears away acetylcholine in the hypothalamus (2). Moreover, Dr. Bear stated that acetylcholine sends signals between the cells which coordinate aggression (2). This explains Davids reaction when the customer caught David urinating on her lawn (2). Before the urination episode, the action potential...

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...h violent crimes of 17 "loners" (6). She links the patterns of their crimes "with seizures, which often are preceded by auras, frequently cause irrational behavior and loss of normal bodily functions and are generally followed by a sense of disorientation" (6). According to Pontius, the seizures resulted from "limbic kindling" due to the loners lack of interpersonal relationships (6). Bottled up feelings, emotions, and memories were "triggered by people and objects" as stated by Pontius (6).

The research reviews and excerpt from the PBS video, "The Violent Mind", presented in this paper strongly support the evidence of a biological basis for violence in the brain.

Internet Sources:

http://www.crime-times.org/96d/w96dp9.htm

http://www.crime-times.org/98a/w98ap10.htm

http://www.crime-times.org/96d/w96dp6.htm

PBS video: Episode 8 "The Violent Mind"

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