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Health Law and Bio Ethics
Prof. Dr. Helena Pereira de Melo
Medical Causes of Criminal Behaviour
2º CICLO – ANO LECTIVO 2013/2014
ANGELICA SCHMIDT - Nº 003904
Lisboa, 30 de avril de 2014
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Agenda
Implications for health law: Discussion
Medical research on criminal behaviour today
Medical research on criminal behaviour then
Criminological Basics
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Criminological Basics (1/2): Definition of
Criminology• Causes, control and prevention of criminal behavior
both for individuals and society
• Interdisciplinary field in behavioral sciences, focussing on the research of sociology, psychology, psychatry, social anthropolgy as well as on writings in law
• Areas of research: forms, causes and consequences of crime, social and governmental regulations and reaction to crime
• Victiminology
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Criminological Basics (2/2): Most popular
theories
• Subcultural Theory• Ecological Approaches• Theory of cultural conflicts• Frustration-Aggression-Hypothesis• Control Theory• Psychologic and socialpsychologic theories• Medical theories
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Agenda
Implications for health law: Discussion
Medical research on criminal behaviour today
Medical research on criminal behaviour then
Criminological Basics
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• Cesare Lombroso (1883 – 1909): Types of criminals
• Ernst Kretschmer (1888 – 1964): Somatotypology
• Joseph Gall (1758 – 1828): Craniology
• Johannes Langes (1891 – 1923): Twin research
Medical Research then (1/7):
Famous Representatives
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• „L’uomo delinquente“ (1876): „born criminal“
• Pathologic and deviant characteristics of criminals
• Criminals as a primitive humans: „Degeneration-Stigmata“
• Demand: abolition of criminal liability
Medical Research then (2/7): Lombroso
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"Physique and Character" (1921): Development of specific body types
• Leptosome (thin: tends to offenses against property)
• Pyknic (thickish, prone to fraud)
• Athletic (muscular, prone to violent offenses)
Medical Research then (3/7):
Kretschmer
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Leptosom e Pyknic Athlete
.
Medical Research then (4/7):
Kretschmer
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• Founder of phrenology and skull research
• Localization of mental skills and character traits in certain brain areas
• Altered brain regions can cause personality changes or provoke violent criminal behaviour
Medical Research then (5/7): Gall
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• "Crime as Destiny" (1929)
• Assumption: chromosome abnormalities of violence criminals
• „Murderer-chromosome“ (XYY-Chromosome-Aberration)
• „Klinefelt-Syndrome“ (XXY-Chromosome-Aberration)
• Influence on genetics and chromosome-research
Medical Research then (6/7): Langes
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• Very poor methodology
• Empirically research results are not justifiable
Negative: conservative and repressive explanations, racial politics
Positive: impulses for today's medical research
Medical Research then (7/7):
Critique
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Agenda
Implications for health law: Discussion
Medical research on criminal behaviour today
Medical research on criminal behaviour then
Criminological Basics
30.04.2014 - Medical Causes of Criminal Behaviour
I Biological causes II Psychological causes
a)Prenatal Influencesb)ADHDc) Sex/Genderd)Bio-chemical
processes e)Nutritionf) Brainfunction
a) Intoxication & Drugsb)Bipolar Personality
Disorder c) Schizophreniad)Organic brain
damages
Medical Research today
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• Stress, tobacco, drug or alcohol abuse (eg, fetal alcohol syndrome) leads to severe embryonic damage
• Consequence: antisocial behavior, character neuroses
• Other factors: negative environmental influences, cognitive-emotional development
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Medical Research Today (1/10)
Prenatal Influences
• Aggression, impulsivity, "sensation-seeking“, lack of discipline, emotional instability
• Cause: neurobiological disorder, inactive neurotransmitter
• 30-50% with antisocial and aggressive behavior.
• Persons with ADHD show three times more delinquent behavior
Medical Research Today (2/10)ADHD
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• Percentage of female and male suspects: 25.4% and 74.6%
• Women: Emotional control and lower degree of aggression
• Evidence of a correlation between pre-frontal brain complex and violent behavior in males only
Medical Research Today (3/10)
Gender
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Hormons (Androgens)
Sexual hormone Testosterone
Cortisol (Adrenal Cortex) Overproduction: Anxiety Underproduction:
„sensation-seeking“
Thyroid function Over/Underproduction:
Anxiety, restlessness
Neurotransmitter (Messengers)
Serotonine Deficiency causes violent or
aggressive behavior
Noradrenalin Causes Stress
„GABA“ Influences level of
aggression and anxiety
Medical Research Today (4/10)
Bio-chemical Causes
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• American Institute of Biosocial and Medical Research:o Correlation between poor nutrition and agressiono Metabolic disorders, poisoning and biochemical
malfunction
• University of Baltimore: o Correlation between sugar and refined
carbohydrates and behavioral problems o Sugar diet reduces violent behavior
Medical Research Today (5/10)
Nutrition
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• Limbic System (Affects and Emotions)o Hypothalamus, Amygdala, Hippocampus o If damaged: misjudgment and misinterpretation of
emotions, fear, anger
• Pre-frontal Cortex o Anger Management o circulatory disorder: increased aggressive behavior
Medical Research Today (6/10)Others
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I Biological causes II Psychological causes
a)Prenatal Influencesb)ADHDc) Sex/Genderd)Biochemical processes e)Nutritionf) Brainfunction
a) Intoxiction & Drugsb)Bipolar Personality
Disorder c) Schizophreniad)Organic Braindamages
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Medical Research Today
• Alcohol o Delirium: disinhibition, aggressive behavior o Detoxication: violence attacks o Sober alcoholics: irritability, impulsivity, isolation o 13.2% of all offenses under the influence of alcohol
• Drugs o Opiates: passive state o Psychostimulants: violent behavior possibleo Hallucinogens: panic attacks, psychosis, delusional states o Drug-related crimeso Overdose: aggression, irritation
Medical Research Today (7/10)
Intoxication and Drugs
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• Affective personality disorder
• Causes: o Lack of neurotransmitters: metabolic disturbances in the
brain o Alcohol and drugs increase symptoms
• No definite causal link between disease and (violent) criminal behavior
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Medical Research Today (8/10)
Bipolar Disorder
• Affective personality disorder
• Diverse symptoms: o Delusions, hallucinationso paranoid and schizoid personality disorders o personality changes o Hypersensitivity, nervousness, increased levels of
aggression
• In an acute psychosis: high violent potential
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Medical Research Today (9/10)
Shizophrenia
• acute brain disorders: o Encephalitiso Cerebral Hemorrage Unpredictable, aggressive, psychomotoric affective behaviour
• Case of Phineas Gage:o Injury prefrontal cortex o No intellectual, but emotional-affective personality changeso After the accident: reckless, carefree, aggressive behavior
Medical Research Today (10/10)
Organic Brain Lesion
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Agenda
Implications for health law: Discussion
Medical research on criminal behaviour today
Medical research on criminal behaviour then
Criminological Basics
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• Neuro-scienceso Genetics and brain function do influence behaviour!o Doubts on individual freedom of choiceo Terms of guilt, liability and blame might loose their
meaning
• Consequences for penal law?o Elimination of guilt and liability? Elimination of
penalty?o Solution: protection to the public by medical
treatment of the patients?o problems?
Implications for health law (1/2)
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Implications for health law (2/2)
• Can people be accountable for their offenses?
• Do criminals have a personal responsibility?
• How to deal with criminals who have genetic, biologic or physic defects?
• How to deal with guilt and liability ?
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