NCJ Number
50451
Date Published
1978
Length
15 pages
Annotation
AN EXTENSIVE REVIEW OF RESEARCH CONCERNING THE BIOLOGICAL ASPECTS OF VIOLENT BEHAVIOR IS GIVEN. IT IS CONCLUDED THAT COURTS NEED TO DIFFERENTIATE BETWEEN OFFENDERS WHO SUFFER FROM BIOLOGICAL PROBLEMS AND THOSE WHO DO NOT.
Abstract
ANIMAL STUDIES RELATING BLOOD AND BRAIN LEVELS OF VARIOUS CHEMICALS TO AGGRESSIVE OR VIOLENT BEHAVIOR ARE SUMMARIZED. HUMAN STUDIES HAVE ALSO FOUND THAT VIOLENT BEHAVIOR MAY BE THE RESULT OF STRUCTURAL BRAIN DAMAGE, NEUROPSYCHIATRIC DISORDERS, DRUG OR ALCOHOL ADDICTIONS, TUMORS, CERTAIN DISEASES AFFECTING THE BRAIN, NUTRITION, AND ALLERGY REACTIONS. MINIMAL BRAIN DYSFUNCTION, TEMPORAL LOBE EPILEPSY, ELECTROENCEPHALOGRAM ABNORMALITIES, AND NEUROLOGICAL SYNDROMES ARE DESCRIBED. THE RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN HORMONE LEVELS AND AGGRESSIVE BEHAVIOR ARE EXAMINED ALSO. TREATMENTS FOR THESE DISORDERS ARE SUGGESTED. IT IS RECOMMENDED THAT COURTS REQUEST THOROUGH PHYSIOLOGICAL, AS WELL AS PSYCHOLOGICAL, EVALUATIONS OF VIOLENT OFFENDERS TO ISOLATE THOSE INDIVIDUALS WHOSE VIOLENT BEHAVIOR IS CAUSED FROM BIOLOGICAL AS OPPOSED TO SOCIOECONOMIC OR PERSONAL FACTORS. A BIBLIOGRAPHY IS INCLUDED. (GLR)