In 1997 Adrian Raine conducted a study that focused on brain abnormalities in murderers that were shown by the use of positron emission tomography (PET). “The aim of his experiment was to see if murderers who pleaded not guilty by the reason of insanity (NGRI) showed signs of brain abnormalities with PET scans. Raine used 41 participants, 39 of which were male and 2 of which were females. The prisoner’s reasons for insanity varied. Six said they were schizophrenic, 23 said it was due to a head injury, 3 blamed drug abuse, 2 claimed it was an affective disorder, 2 gave the excuse of epilepsy, 3 said the insanity was due to hyperactivity or learning difficulties, and 2 claimed to have a personality disorder. There was a control group that was also selected.
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Each of the participants, NGRI or control, were injected with a glucose tracer that would be used for the PET scans. The glucose tracer was used to track the brain activity, and send off positively charged particles that would be read by the PET scan machine. The PET scan would then show images of the brain activity by using the glucose tracers. All of the participants then had to perform tasks that required them to detect signals for 32 minutes. The results showed that the NGRIs had less activity in the pre-frontal cortex, which is linked to self-control and emotion. They also had lower activity in the amygdala and medial temporal hippocampus, which caused them to lack inhibition of violent behavior, and caused failure to learn consequences for violence.” In conclusion, the brain images were useful for Raine’s study. It determined a relationship between the biological factors and behavior of the criminals. Raine’s study has helped other psychologists be able to determine links between violent crimes and brain regions. (Raine, “The Classic Study: Brain Abnormalities in
Each of the participants, NGRI or control, were injected with a glucose tracer that would be used for the PET scans. The glucose tracer was used to track the brain activity, and send off positively charged particles that would be read by the PET scan machine. The PET scan would then show images of the brain activity by using the glucose tracers. All of the participants then had to perform tasks that required them to detect signals for 32 minutes. The results showed that the NGRIs had less activity in the pre-frontal cortex, which is linked to self-control and emotion. They also had lower activity in the amygdala and medial temporal hippocampus, which caused them to lack inhibition of violent behavior, and caused failure to learn consequences for violence.” In conclusion, the brain images were useful for Raine’s study. It determined a relationship between the biological factors and behavior of the criminals. Raine’s study has helped other psychologists be able to determine links between violent crimes and brain regions. (Raine, “The Classic Study: Brain Abnormalities in