The Brain Development and Violence
The Brain Development and Violence
Juanita S Farmer
DeVry University
Victimology
Professor: Jeannine Quear
What causes a person to become violent? Is a person born to be a killer or do social pressures cause a person to lash out? These are questions that scientists have been searching for answers to for decades. Though there are many theories about biological influences, there is no set rule that applies to everyone that explains what makes a person turn violent. There are three events that scientist have determine that can cause damage to the brain. I will try to show how these factors can have an influence on the brain and might lead to violent behavior, they are: head injuries, malnutrition, and exposure to chemicals or poison at a young age. What do serial killers, Leonard Lake, David Berkowitz, Kenneth Bianchi, John Wayne Gacy, and Carl Panzram, all have in common? They all suffered childhood head trauma, in fact 70% of serial killers received extensive head injuries as children or adolescents (Freeman, 1998). Scientists believe that brain damage to the frontal lobe causes lack of self-control, planning, judgment, and make it impossible to develop stable and social relationships. There has also been debate that serial killers are deficient in the limbic system in the brain. The limbic system controls human's emotions and motivation. Some scientists have suggested that if the limbic system is missing, it could cause uncontrollable anger and aggression. Damage to the limbic brain, hypothalamus or temporal lobe may cause bouts of spontaneous aggression. These areas are involved with hormones, aggression, emotion and motivation; injuries to them may also result in seizures and forms of amnesia. When the prefrontal cortex is damaged in a Traumatic brain injury a person’s capacity to control aggressive behavior is often reduced or taken away completely. If a child suffers a severe TBI they may never develop an ability to understand and
Juanita S Farmer
DeVry University
Victimology
Professor: Jeannine Quear
What causes a person to become violent? Is a person born to be a killer or do social pressures cause a person to lash out? These are questions that scientists have been searching for answers to for decades. Though there are many theories about biological influences, there is no set rule that applies to everyone that explains what makes a person turn violent. There are three events that scientist have determine that can cause damage to the brain. I will try to show how these factors can have an influence on the brain and might lead to violent behavior, they are: head injuries, malnutrition, and exposure to chemicals or poison at a young age. What do serial killers, Leonard Lake, David Berkowitz, Kenneth Bianchi, John Wayne Gacy, and Carl Panzram, all have in common? They all suffered childhood head trauma, in fact 70% of serial killers received extensive head injuries as children or adolescents (Freeman, 1998). Scientists believe that brain damage to the frontal lobe causes lack of self-control, planning, judgment, and make it impossible to develop stable and social relationships. There has also been debate that serial killers are deficient in the limbic system in the brain. The limbic system controls human's emotions and motivation. Some scientists have suggested that if the limbic system is missing, it could cause uncontrollable anger and aggression. Damage to the limbic brain, hypothalamus or temporal lobe may cause bouts of spontaneous aggression. These areas are involved with hormones, aggression, emotion and motivation; injuries to them may also result in seizures and forms of amnesia. When the prefrontal cortex is damaged in a Traumatic brain injury a person’s capacity to control aggressive behavior is often reduced or taken away completely. If a child suffers a severe TBI they may never develop an ability to understand and
Cited: Freeman, S. (1998). How Serial Killers Work. Retrieved from How stuff works: http://people.howstuffworks.com/serial-killer4.htm Monbiot, G. (2013, January 7). es lead poisoning can cause voolent behavior. Retrieved from The Gardian: http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2013/jan/07/violent-crime-lead-poisoning-british-export Orfano, R. D. ( 2002, July 28). Child Violence: Is Malnutrition the Cause? . Retrieved from The Weston A. Price Foundation: http://www.westonaprice.org/childrens-health/child-violence-is-malnutrition-the-cause