Neurological Dysfunction Within the Biological Theory
Ross Metcalfe 12/11/2017
MET CJ 725
Blog Post: Neurological Dysfunction Within the Biological Theory
One thing that stood out most from our Forensic Psychology course was the Biological Theory to criminality. More specifically it was the neurological dysfunction caused by trauma at a young age during brain maturation that really peaked my interest
Trauma at a young age can damage a child’s brain development. This adverse development will include the destruction of the frontal cortex (abstract thought), brainstem (heart rate, blood pressure and arousal) and limbic areas (affect, attachment and emotion). Traumatized children, when faced with strenuous circumstances, will likely have a hyperarousal or dissociative adaptation to any given scenario. That child will not be able to appropriately work through a response to threat which is when issue related behavior can manifest.
All external experiences are filtered by our senses. All sensory signals (e.g., sound, sight, taste, touch), in turn, initiate cellular and molecular processes in the brain that alter neurochemistry, and ultimately, brain structure and function. This process of creating some internal representation of the external world (i.e., information) depends upon the pattern, intensity, and frequency of neuronal activity produced by sensing, processing, and storing signals. The more frequently a certain pattern of neural activation occurs, the more permanent the internal representation.
I think this topic is incredibly important because so many people think that through some sort of verbal counseling you can get past your inner demons (i.e traumatic experiences as a child) but in reality the subject may have serious neurological dysfunction from said trauma. Knowing this during treatment is key to developing an appropriate rehabilitative plan.
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