NCJ Number
56892
Journal
ARCHIVES OF NEUROLOGY Volume: 30 Issue: 1 Dated: (JANUARY 1974) Pages: 26-35
Date Published
1974
Length
10 pages
Annotation
FOCUSING ON INDIVIDUAL OR PERSONAL VIOLENCE RATHER THAN GANG OR MASS DELINQUENCY, SELECTED CLINICAL OBSERVATIONS ON THE PSYCHIATRIC, NEUROLOGICAL, AND NEUROPSYCHOPATHIC DIMENSIONS OF AGGRESSION ARE CONSIDERED.
Abstract
STUDIES OF THE PSYCHIATRIC ASPECTS OF CRIME HAVE LINKED SCHIZOPHRENIA AND MANIC-DEPRESSIVE PSYCHOSIS WITH MURDER AND ELEMENTS OF EPISODIC DYSCONTROL THEORY WITH SEVERAL TYPES OF BEHAVIOR, INCLUDING SPOUSE AND CHILD ABUSE AND A HISTORY OF TRAFFIC VIOLATIONS AND ACCIDENTS. ADDITIONALLY, NEUROLOGICAL RESEARCH HAS FORGED LINKS BETWEEN HUMAN AGGRESSION AND GENETIC ABNORMALITIES, EPILEPSY, AND THE EFFECTS OF SUCH ORGANIC CONDITIONS AS HUNTINGTON CHOREA, PRESENILE DEMENTIA, OR DRUG WITHDRAWAL. A LARGE BODY OF EXPERIMENTAL EVIDENCE ALSO EXISTS CORRELATING AGGRESSIVE BEHAVIOR WITH GROSS PATHOLOGICAL LESIONS, ESTABLISHING, FOR EXAMPLE, THAT LESIONS MADE IN THE HYPOTHALAMUS OF ANIMALS PREDICTABLY INDUCE RAGE REACTIONS. HOWEVER, AT LEAST ONE STUDY HAS FOUND THAT A NUMBER OF PATHOLOGICAL STATES PREFERENTIALLY INVOLVE THE HIPPOCAMPUS, FREQUENTLY WITHOUT SEIZURES OR TRANSFORMATIONS IN PERSONALITIES. IN THE AREA OF ELECTROENCEPHALOGRAPHIC (EEG) RESEARCH, A HIGHER NUMBER OF PAROXYSMAL EEG ABNORMALITIES HAVE BEEN FOUND AMONG SUICIDAL SUBJECTS AND IN PSYCHOPATHIC INDIVIDUALS. THE TREATMENT OF THESE CONDITION HAS INVOLVED BOTH MEDICAL AND NEUROSURGICAL APPROACHES. PSYCHOTHERAPY HAS PROVED RELATIVELY INEFFECTIVE, WHILE A NUMBER OF CLASSES OF PHARMACOLOGICAL AGENTS HAVE MADE INROADS IN THE TREATMENT OF VIOLENT OFFENDERS. SURGICAL APPROACHES INCLUDING AMYGDALOTOMIES, HYPOTHALAMOTOMIES, THALAMOTOMIES, AND CINGULOTOMIES, HAVE MET WITH VARYING MEASURES OF SUCCESS. REFERENCES ARE INCLUDED. (KBL)