Neurotransmitters &
Brain function
Phineas Gage
An iron rod got impaled into his left cheek, behind his left eye and out
through the top of his skull. The accident had left a mark on his personality,
as it was reported that he had changed to someone who was shy and clam
to being rude and aggressive.
The areas which were affected were the
ventromedial region of the frontal lobes
on both sides, which caused a defect in
rational decision making and the
processing of emotion.
Charles Whitman
In 1966 he killed 16 people and wounded 32 others by firing rifles, a
shotgun and handguns at the University of Texas. The shooting spree ended
when Charles Whitman was shot by a police officer. Later it became known
that several hours prior to the shooting he had already killed his mother and
his wife. Charles Whitman was found to have a brain tumour in the region of
the amygdala (a small almond-shaped structure involved in, among other
things, emotion regulation and the fight-and-flight response.
Addiction
Addiction occurs in all criminal populations. The research suggests that the
co-occurrence rate of addictions may imply that addition prone personalities
exist. The disease model of adduction is a familiar concept in terms of
alcohol and drugs. This therefore assumes a genetic or biological
predisposition for addiction. However, the cognitive behavioural model of
addition focuses on the social-psychological influences of why individuals
may turn to addiction.
McGuire (1997)
This theory describes the following components of addiction:
Salience – the dominance of the addictive behaviour in thoughts, feelings
and behaviour.
Brain function
Phineas Gage
An iron rod got impaled into his left cheek, behind his left eye and out
through the top of his skull. The accident had left a mark on his personality,
as it was reported that he had changed to someone who was shy and clam
to being rude and aggressive.
The areas which were affected were the
ventromedial region of the frontal lobes
on both sides, which caused a defect in
rational decision making and the
processing of emotion.
Charles Whitman
In 1966 he killed 16 people and wounded 32 others by firing rifles, a
shotgun and handguns at the University of Texas. The shooting spree ended
when Charles Whitman was shot by a police officer. Later it became known
that several hours prior to the shooting he had already killed his mother and
his wife. Charles Whitman was found to have a brain tumour in the region of
the amygdala (a small almond-shaped structure involved in, among other
things, emotion regulation and the fight-and-flight response.
Addiction
Addiction occurs in all criminal populations. The research suggests that the
co-occurrence rate of addictions may imply that addition prone personalities
exist. The disease model of adduction is a familiar concept in terms of
alcohol and drugs. This therefore assumes a genetic or biological
predisposition for addiction. However, the cognitive behavioural model of
addition focuses on the social-psychological influences of why individuals
may turn to addiction.
McGuire (1997)
This theory describes the following components of addiction:
Salience – the dominance of the addictive behaviour in thoughts, feelings
and behaviour.
