SUMMARY PSY3375
All tasks summarized
,TASK 1 – RISK FACTORS FOR ANTISOCIAL/VIOLENT
BEHAVIOUR
DE KOGEL & WESTGEEST (2015). NEUROSCIENTIFIC AND BEHAVIORAL GENETIC
INFORMATION IN CRIMINAL CASES IN THE NETHERLANDS
INTRODUCTION
Most common case themes:
1. Prefrontal brain damage in relation to criminal responsibility and recidivism risk
2. Neurocognitive deficits in addiction for judging criminal responsibility
Neuroscientific information:
- Assessment of the brain with imaging techniques (e.g. MRI, SPECT, PET) or EEG,
neuroendocrinological assessment (e.g. hormones, neuropeptides)
- Neurological assessment
- Referring to a certain neurobiological predisposition or damage of the brain
Behavioral genetic information:
- Heritability assessment (e.g. assessment of specific genes)
- Referring to a ‘genetic predisposition’ or family history that seems to indicate a biological
origin of a particular behavior
- Adoption studies: twins given up for adoption one grows up in good environment, other
one in a toxic environment.
JUDICIAL QUESTIONS AND CASE EXAMPLES
Neuroscientific or behavioral genetic information can be used to answer judicial questions:
- Can the defendant be considered of diminished accountability for the offense?
- To what extent is the defendant a risk to society?
- Has the defendant intended the unlawful act?
- Was the unlawful act due to guilt/negligence of the offender?
- Is there sufficient evidence to prove beyond doubt that the defendant committed the
offense?
- Is the defendant competent to stand trial?
- Was the defendant subject to excessive self-defence?
When is neuroscientific evidence used?
- When one wants to judge whether the evidence that the defendant has committed the
crime is reliable or not
o Evidence of committing the crime – reliability of statements
o E.g. is someone’s statement reliable? Can someone with retrograde and anterograde
amnesia suddenly remember what happened 3 years before?
o Often experts disagree and expert statements are looked at by other experts
- To find out whether the defendant is competent to stand trial
o Competency to stand trial
o E.g. one defendant suffered from previous cerebral haemorrhage and infarction
causing impairments in orientation, attention, language, memory, executive control,
etc. he was not able to understand the prosecution against him
- To find out whether the defendant was aware of committing the acts
o Intent or guilt
o E.g. a woman shoot people while being asleep frontal cortex activity is reduced
during first phase of deep sleep leading to automatic behaviour different sleep
disorders may relate to cases like this
, - To answer the question to what extent can the defendant be held accountable?
o Accountability
o E.g. damage to the pre-frontal brain may lead to impulsivity and an inability to control
impulses, lack of self-reflection
- When neurobiological deficits may be contributing to criminal recidivism risk
o Recidivism risk
o E.g. man becomes a stalker and dure to brain damage reducing impulse control and
intellectual ability the risk of recidivism is high
- To better understand the mechanisms of obstacles to self-control in addicted persons
o Addiction and accountability
o In NL, the most common way to look at offenders who committed offense while
intoxicated by alcohol or other addictive substances is by the ‘Culpa in causa’ principle
Culpa in cause is used in criminal law to indicate that someone ended up in a
situation that results in an unlawful act because of his/her own fault and
therefore is responsible for it
Whereas in criminal law addiction seems more as a choice, in the medical
sector addiction is seen as a (brain) disease
o E.g. neuropsychological testing may provide objective measures of or instance hyper-
responsiveness to substance-related stimuli and help identify those addicts who have
such severe problems with self-control that they should be considered of diminished
responsibility
- To argue that head injuries / brain damage may lead to the defendant being extra
vulnerable to duress and excessive self-defence
o Duress of excessive self-defence
o E.g. in the context of self-defence the defendant with head injury may be extra
vulnerable for a state in which strong emotions prevail
Guidelines and protocols for using neuroscientific information in criminal cases is needed
- Would serve to articulate the state of knowledge, and the ways in which neuroscientific
information can and cannot be used
- Would prevent biases in the assessments of experts, e.g. MRI’s are sensitive to:
o Pathology bias: the inclination of clinicians to see deviance because its suggested by
the context
o Allegiance bias: the assessments are biased in a certain direction dependent on the
process party that hired the expert
o Malingering: for instance the faking of test results by the defendant.
- Blinding of the expert to context variables (e.g. defendant’s background) and symptom
validity testing (to assess malingering) = essential components of a protocol
When is behavioral genetic information used?
- To mention the role of heritable factors in the ethology of mental disorder
o Experts use this information (and other factors, e.g. problematic family conditions) to
explain how the disorder and the problematic behavior may have come about)
- To mention the influence of the MAOA gene on aggressive behaviour
o One expert disagrees: Morse argues that evidence of a causal relationship between a
genetic variant and an elevated proneness to impulse aggression should not be
equalled to an excusing condition only if independent evidence would show that
the ability of the defendant to control strong emotions is reduced could there be an
excusing condition.
CONCLUDING REMARKS
, - Neuroscientific information may function as a double-edged sword; it could be used to
diminish someone’s accountability (thereby reducing sentence) or it can show that the
defendant is a risk for society (even when accountability reduced, can lead to longer
sentence)
- Neuroscientific information is one of the components of a larger picture
- Cases are diverse, several themes appear prefrontal brain damage
GLENN & RAINE (2014). NEUROCRIMINOLOGY: IMPLICATIONS FOR THE PUNISHMENT,
PREDICTION AND PREVENTION OF CRIMINAL BEHAVIOR
THE CURRENT STATE OF NEUROCIMINOLOGY
Neurocriminology = applies techniques and principles from neurosciences to improve understanding
of crime to predict and prevent crime
- Could lead to violence reduction
- Raises neuroethical concerns
Genetics
- Antisocial and aggressive behavior have a considerable genetic basis (concluded in twin and
adoption studies)
o Variance due to genetics between 40-60%
- Heritable influences are broadly consistent across gender and ethnicity
- Several genetic variants that increase the risk of antisocial behavior have been identified
o None of them have been significant in meta-analysis
- Genes do not operate in isolation important to consider context in which genes are active
o Influence of a single gene on aggression is small larger number of gene variants
may increase risk of aggressive behavior
- Gene-environment (G x E) interactions can increase risk for antisocial behavior and/or
produce epigenetic changes within individuals
o Genes only get active when they get triggered
- Specific genes:
o Genes implicated in serotonergic and catecholaminergic neurobiological systems
o Monoamine oxidase A (MAOA) gene in combination with toxic childhood, this gene
will increase chance for antisocial/criminal behavior
- Knowledge about individual genes may prove to be useful in improving our understanding of
the mechanisms and pathways that increase the risk of antisocial behavior
- Epigenetics: environment is equally important environmental factors influence how genes
are functionally expressed
- Having a biological parent convicted of a violent crime raises the likelihood of criminal
violence in the adoptee
Prental and perinatal influences
- Early health risk factors, sometimes together with social risk factors, are linked to an
increased probability that a young infant will develop antisocial and aggressive behavior
o Birth compilations, in combination with maternal rejection in the first year of life, are
associated with externalizing behaviour (aggression, delinquency and hyperactivity)
o Fetal maldevelopment during the second trimester has been associated with later
violent delinquency and violent offending in adulthood
Even more pronounced together with e.g. poor parenting
o Alcohol and nicotine consumption during pregnancy associated with increased
childhood aggression in the offspring
All tasks summarized
,TASK 1 – RISK FACTORS FOR ANTISOCIAL/VIOLENT
BEHAVIOUR
DE KOGEL & WESTGEEST (2015). NEUROSCIENTIFIC AND BEHAVIORAL GENETIC
INFORMATION IN CRIMINAL CASES IN THE NETHERLANDS
INTRODUCTION
Most common case themes:
1. Prefrontal brain damage in relation to criminal responsibility and recidivism risk
2. Neurocognitive deficits in addiction for judging criminal responsibility
Neuroscientific information:
- Assessment of the brain with imaging techniques (e.g. MRI, SPECT, PET) or EEG,
neuroendocrinological assessment (e.g. hormones, neuropeptides)
- Neurological assessment
- Referring to a certain neurobiological predisposition or damage of the brain
Behavioral genetic information:
- Heritability assessment (e.g. assessment of specific genes)
- Referring to a ‘genetic predisposition’ or family history that seems to indicate a biological
origin of a particular behavior
- Adoption studies: twins given up for adoption one grows up in good environment, other
one in a toxic environment.
JUDICIAL QUESTIONS AND CASE EXAMPLES
Neuroscientific or behavioral genetic information can be used to answer judicial questions:
- Can the defendant be considered of diminished accountability for the offense?
- To what extent is the defendant a risk to society?
- Has the defendant intended the unlawful act?
- Was the unlawful act due to guilt/negligence of the offender?
- Is there sufficient evidence to prove beyond doubt that the defendant committed the
offense?
- Is the defendant competent to stand trial?
- Was the defendant subject to excessive self-defence?
When is neuroscientific evidence used?
- When one wants to judge whether the evidence that the defendant has committed the
crime is reliable or not
o Evidence of committing the crime – reliability of statements
o E.g. is someone’s statement reliable? Can someone with retrograde and anterograde
amnesia suddenly remember what happened 3 years before?
o Often experts disagree and expert statements are looked at by other experts
- To find out whether the defendant is competent to stand trial
o Competency to stand trial
o E.g. one defendant suffered from previous cerebral haemorrhage and infarction
causing impairments in orientation, attention, language, memory, executive control,
etc. he was not able to understand the prosecution against him
- To find out whether the defendant was aware of committing the acts
o Intent or guilt
o E.g. a woman shoot people while being asleep frontal cortex activity is reduced
during first phase of deep sleep leading to automatic behaviour different sleep
disorders may relate to cases like this
, - To answer the question to what extent can the defendant be held accountable?
o Accountability
o E.g. damage to the pre-frontal brain may lead to impulsivity and an inability to control
impulses, lack of self-reflection
- When neurobiological deficits may be contributing to criminal recidivism risk
o Recidivism risk
o E.g. man becomes a stalker and dure to brain damage reducing impulse control and
intellectual ability the risk of recidivism is high
- To better understand the mechanisms of obstacles to self-control in addicted persons
o Addiction and accountability
o In NL, the most common way to look at offenders who committed offense while
intoxicated by alcohol or other addictive substances is by the ‘Culpa in causa’ principle
Culpa in cause is used in criminal law to indicate that someone ended up in a
situation that results in an unlawful act because of his/her own fault and
therefore is responsible for it
Whereas in criminal law addiction seems more as a choice, in the medical
sector addiction is seen as a (brain) disease
o E.g. neuropsychological testing may provide objective measures of or instance hyper-
responsiveness to substance-related stimuli and help identify those addicts who have
such severe problems with self-control that they should be considered of diminished
responsibility
- To argue that head injuries / brain damage may lead to the defendant being extra
vulnerable to duress and excessive self-defence
o Duress of excessive self-defence
o E.g. in the context of self-defence the defendant with head injury may be extra
vulnerable for a state in which strong emotions prevail
Guidelines and protocols for using neuroscientific information in criminal cases is needed
- Would serve to articulate the state of knowledge, and the ways in which neuroscientific
information can and cannot be used
- Would prevent biases in the assessments of experts, e.g. MRI’s are sensitive to:
o Pathology bias: the inclination of clinicians to see deviance because its suggested by
the context
o Allegiance bias: the assessments are biased in a certain direction dependent on the
process party that hired the expert
o Malingering: for instance the faking of test results by the defendant.
- Blinding of the expert to context variables (e.g. defendant’s background) and symptom
validity testing (to assess malingering) = essential components of a protocol
When is behavioral genetic information used?
- To mention the role of heritable factors in the ethology of mental disorder
o Experts use this information (and other factors, e.g. problematic family conditions) to
explain how the disorder and the problematic behavior may have come about)
- To mention the influence of the MAOA gene on aggressive behaviour
o One expert disagrees: Morse argues that evidence of a causal relationship between a
genetic variant and an elevated proneness to impulse aggression should not be
equalled to an excusing condition only if independent evidence would show that
the ability of the defendant to control strong emotions is reduced could there be an
excusing condition.
CONCLUDING REMARKS
, - Neuroscientific information may function as a double-edged sword; it could be used to
diminish someone’s accountability (thereby reducing sentence) or it can show that the
defendant is a risk for society (even when accountability reduced, can lead to longer
sentence)
- Neuroscientific information is one of the components of a larger picture
- Cases are diverse, several themes appear prefrontal brain damage
GLENN & RAINE (2014). NEUROCRIMINOLOGY: IMPLICATIONS FOR THE PUNISHMENT,
PREDICTION AND PREVENTION OF CRIMINAL BEHAVIOR
THE CURRENT STATE OF NEUROCIMINOLOGY
Neurocriminology = applies techniques and principles from neurosciences to improve understanding
of crime to predict and prevent crime
- Could lead to violence reduction
- Raises neuroethical concerns
Genetics
- Antisocial and aggressive behavior have a considerable genetic basis (concluded in twin and
adoption studies)
o Variance due to genetics between 40-60%
- Heritable influences are broadly consistent across gender and ethnicity
- Several genetic variants that increase the risk of antisocial behavior have been identified
o None of them have been significant in meta-analysis
- Genes do not operate in isolation important to consider context in which genes are active
o Influence of a single gene on aggression is small larger number of gene variants
may increase risk of aggressive behavior
- Gene-environment (G x E) interactions can increase risk for antisocial behavior and/or
produce epigenetic changes within individuals
o Genes only get active when they get triggered
- Specific genes:
o Genes implicated in serotonergic and catecholaminergic neurobiological systems
o Monoamine oxidase A (MAOA) gene in combination with toxic childhood, this gene
will increase chance for antisocial/criminal behavior
- Knowledge about individual genes may prove to be useful in improving our understanding of
the mechanisms and pathways that increase the risk of antisocial behavior
- Epigenetics: environment is equally important environmental factors influence how genes
are functionally expressed
- Having a biological parent convicted of a violent crime raises the likelihood of criminal
violence in the adoptee
Prental and perinatal influences
- Early health risk factors, sometimes together with social risk factors, are linked to an
increased probability that a young infant will develop antisocial and aggressive behavior
o Birth compilations, in combination with maternal rejection in the first year of life, are
associated with externalizing behaviour (aggression, delinquency and hyperactivity)
o Fetal maldevelopment during the second trimester has been associated with later
violent delinquency and violent offending in adulthood
Even more pronounced together with e.g. poor parenting
o Alcohol and nicotine consumption during pregnancy associated with increased
childhood aggression in the offspring
