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Frontal Lobe Dysfunction and Aggression: Conceptual Issues and Research Findings

NCJ Number
180409
Journal
Aggression and Violent Behavior Volume: 5 Issue: 2 Dated: March/April 2000 Pages: 147-157
Author(s)
Keith A. Hawkins; Krista K. Trobst
Date Published
2000
Length
11 pages
Annotation
After a discussion of normal frontal lobe functions, this article describes the types of problems that result from frontal lobe damage, followed by an analysis of the ways in which these frontal lobe deficiencies may be related to violence; relevant research regarding this relationship is reviewed.
Abstract
There is compelling evidence of an association between frontal lobe brain dysfunction and aggressive behavior. Reports indicate that as many as 70 percent of patients with traumatic brain injury have displayed sufficient irritability and aggression to cause significant distress to their families. Even among psychiatric patients with personality disorders not known to have sustained a brain injury, the occurrence of neurological "soft-signs" has been related to aggression. Among the most striking findings are those of Lewis and her colleagues in studies of death-row inmates. All 15 death-row inmates examined by Lewis and her colleagues (1986) had histories of severe head trauma. Five displayed major neurological impairment, and seven others had neurological soft signs. Similar findings were reported for juveniles condemned to death in the United States (Lewis et al., 1988). Spellacy (1978) has argued that violence in these populations is just one of a variety of behaviors that reflect poor impulse control, along with such behaviors as immature attention-seeking, ego-centeredness, and careless automobile driving. Demonstrations of a high level of brain dysfunction among offenders does not prove a causal connection between that and criminality in general or violent behavior in particular. There are, however, theoretical reasons for predicting such a connection. Some of the most compelling evidence regarding the association between frontal lobe functioning and aggression comes from studies of individuals with no known history of brain injury. The determination of a relationship between executive weaknesses and aggression within noninjured populations would suggest an association between "subclinical" frontal lobe deficits (coupled with otherwise intact neuropsychological functioning) and a heightened propensity toward aggression. Evidence of a relationship between executive weaknesses and aggression in normal subjects with no known brain injuries suggests that aggressive impulses are sensitive to even relatively minimal levels of frontal lobe dysfunction in at least some individuals. 32 references

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