ELECTROENCEPHALOGRAMS IN PSYCHOPATHIC PERSONALITY AND IN MURDERERS (FROM APPLICATIONS OF ELECTROENCEPHALOGRAPHY IN PSYCHIATRY, 1965, BY WILLIAM P WILSON)

• NCJ Number: 55847
• Author(s): J R KNOTT
• Date Published: 1965
• Length: 11 pages
• Corporate Author: Law Reform Cmssn of Australia
• Publication Format: Document
• Publication Type: Report (Study/Research)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

DATA RELATING ELECTROENCEPHALOGRAPHIC (EEG) ABNORMALITIES TO PSYCHOPATHIC PERSONALITIES AND MURDERERS ARE REVIEWED IN THIS SURVEY OF EEG RESEARCH FROM 1942 THROUGH THE EARLY 1960'S.

Abstract

THE EARLIEST DATA CONNECTING EEG ABNORMALITIES TO PSYCHOPATHS WERE CONTRIBUTED BY HILL AND WATTERSON, WHO FOUND IN 1942 THAT BASED ON 151 CASES OF DIAGNOSED PSYCHOPATHY, 55 PERCENT EVIDENCED ABNORMAL EEG'S, WHILE ONLY 15 PERCENT OF A CONTROL SAMPLE OF 52 YOUNG ADULTS SHOWED ABNORMALITIES. OTHER EARLY RESEARCH REASONABLY AGREED WITH HILL AND WATTERSON, WHO WENT ON TO INQUIRE INTO THE DISTRIBUTION OF NORMALITY-ABNORMALITY AS THEY MIGHT BE RELATED TO ANY PARTICULAR TYPE OF PSYCHOPATHY. OF THEIR PATIENTS, 66 WERE CLASSIFIED AS AGGRESSIVE, WHILE 38 WERE TERMED INADEQUATE. HILL LATER DESCRIBED THE FOLLOWING FOUR TYPES OF ACTIVITY WHICH HE CONSIDERED SENSITIVE TO THE 'AGE FACTOR' IN NORMAL CHILDREN AND WHICH DECREASES WITH AGE: (1) CENTRAL-TEMPORAL THETA ACTIVITY, (2) FOCAL POSTERIOR SLOW WAVE ACTIVITY, (3) DOMINANT THETA ACTIVITY IN POSTCENTRAL AREAS, AND (4) ALPHA VARIANT IN OCCIPITAL AREAS, WITH A SUBHARMONIC COMPONENT. THERE HAVE BEEN A FEW FINDINGS WHICH DISAGREE WITH THESE EARLY RESEARCH RESULTS. SIMON, O'LEARY, AND RYAN, REPORTING ON 96 MILITARY CASES, WERE UNABLE TO DISCOVER ANY REMARKABLY GREATER INCIDENCE OF EEG ABNORMALITY IN PSYCHOPATHS THAN WOULD BE EXPECTED IN A CONTROL GROUP. IN THEIR ORIGINAL DISCLOSURES, HILL AND WATTERSON ATTEMPTED TO RELATE EEG ABNORMALITY TO MORBIDITY IN THE FAMILY CONSTELLATION AND TO HEAD TRAUMA; HOWEVER, NO GREATER INCIDENCE OF HEAD TRAUMA AMONG PSYCHOPATHS WAS FOUND. SUCH PROBLEMS WERE ALSO EXPLORED BY GOTTLIEB ET AL. WHO FOUND A GREATER CHANCE OF EEG ABNORMALITIES IF THERE WAS A POSITIVE FAMILY HISTORY OF PSYCHOSIS, MALADJUSTED PERSONALITY, ALCOHOLISM, OR EPILEPSY. WITH RESPECT TO MURDER, ONE OF THE EARLIEST AND MOST FASCINATING REPORTS--HILL, SARGANT, AND HEPPENSTALL--DEALT WITH MATRICIDE. THERE APPEARED TO BE SOME RELATIONSHIP IN A YOUNG ASSAILANT'S EEG BETWEEN THE OCCURRENCE OF SLOW ACTIVITY AND THE LEVEL OF BLOOD SUGAR. RECREATING THE MAN'S DIETARY CONDITION AT THE TIME OF THE MURDER, INVESTIGATORS WERE ABLE TO CONVINCE THE JURY THAT, DUE TO THIS PHYSIOLOGICAL CONDITION, THE ASSAILANT WAS UNABLE TO APPRECIATE FULLY THE NATURE OF THE ACT. A BIBLIOGRAPHY IS PROVIDED. (KBL)