Sadistic Crime

One area of the brain in which sadistic crime is believed to be influenced by is the prefrontal cortex (Bufkin & Luttrell, 2005; Raine, Buchsbaum & LaCasse, 1997; Rosenbloom, Schmahmann & Price, 2012; Schiltz, Witzel, Bausch-Hölterhoff & Bogerts, 2013; Wiebking & Northoff, 2013; Yang & Raine, 2008; Yang, Glenn & Raine, 2008). This area of the brain, as indicated by its name, is located in the frontal lobe. Rosenbloom et al. (2012) states that the “prefrontal cortex consists of three major regions, including the orbitofrontal cortex (OFC), anterior cingulate cortex (ACC), and dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC)” (p. 266). Raine et al. (1997) found that murderers pleading the defence of insanity exhibited signs of lower relative glucose in areas of the prefrontal cortex compared with the controls, proving anomalies in this area of the brain. It is further found that an impairment in the prefrontal cortex, has a detrimental impact on the way an individual acts in social situations, and as such show characteristics of APD (Ruocco & Platek, 2006; Schiltz et al., 2013).
Such characteristics associated with the prefrontal cortex as well as APD include, but are not limited to, poor decision-making, problem-solving and reasoning, inability to identify feelings/emotions in another individual, easily get angry and cannot control their anger, impulsivity, pathological lying, incompetence in planning and organising, lack of empathy as well as misperceived threats (Bufkin & Luttrell, 2005; Raine et al., 1997; Rosenbloom et al., 2012; Ruocco & Platek, 2006; Schiltz et al., 2013; Wiebking & Northoff, 2013; Yang & Raine, 2008; Yang et al.,