Brain Influence Criminal Behavior

The topic of whether criminal behavior is influenced by environment, biology or both has been discussed for many years in the psychological community. Studies have shown that biology can have impact on an individual’s propensity for criminal behavior. This can be seen through personality traits, genetics, and also through the brain. This paper is going to look specifically on the way that the brain influences criminal behavior, and why specific individuals are more likely to engage in criminal activities. There are several ideas of how the brain can influences criminal behaviors. Some of these ideas are, aggressive behavior, antisocial behavior, brain abnormalities, and learned criminal behavior.
Brain and Aggressive Behavior Aggressive and violent behavior is often times linked with criminal behavior. One of the ways to explain aggressive behavior is poor functioning in specific areas of the brain. One theory is that aggressive behavior can be caused by poor emotional regulation. Emotional regulation in influenced by several areas of the brain. According to Bufkin and Luttrell, “Emotion is …show more content…
Research has shown that genes play a significant role on antisocial behavior and that these genes influence the brain and can cause abnormalities. Research has show that a specific gene is an influential factor in the development of antisocial behavior; this gene is the MAOA gene (Raine, 2008). The research has shown that “ At least seven genes to date meet the criteria of being both associated with antisocial/aggressive behavior in humans or animals and of being thought to influence brain structure: MAOA, 5HTT, BDNF, NOTCH4, NCAM, tlx, and Pet-1-ETS. The MAOA as an example, the enzyme that this gene codes for breaks down serotonin, a neurotransmitter that is low in antisocial individuals” (Raine, 2008). This is just one theory on how the brain influences antisocial