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Neuroscientists are quite certain of the functions of many areas of the brain. For example, the prefrontal cortex is the part of the brain associated with our complex ideas and behaviors.
But the organ also contains a lot of mysteries, like why some people are incurable psychopaths, or why, after a traumatic brain injury, a person's personality can change completely to become violent and aggressive.
In a new study published in the journal Journal of Neuroscience, researchers at the University of Pennsylvania and Nanyang Technological University attempted to answer questions about violent behavior and to determine whether criminal tendencies could be controlled by brain stimulation.
They recruited 86 adult participants, half of whom received 20 minutes of non-invasive brain stimulation, half of which were not. Then, they were asked to read two hypothetical scenarios, one on a physical assault (someone breaking a drink on someone's head to chat with his girlfriend) and one on one. sexual assault (where intimate preliminaries led to rape).
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Immediately after hearing the stories, participants were asked to rate the likelihood that they behaved as the protagonist had. Those in the group who had electrical stimulation were 47% and 70% less likely to report to the person in the history of committing the crimes.
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"The ability to manipulate such complex and fundamental aspects of cognition and behavior from the outside of the body has enormous social, ethical, and possibly social implications. to be a legal day, "said Roy Hamilton. Penn's Perelman School of Medicine and lead author of the study.
The team focused on the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex in the upper and frontal brain because it is an area that has been linked to antisocial behavior in previous research.
"We chose our approach and our behavioral tasks specifically based on our assumptions about areas of the brain that might be relevant to generating aggressive intentions," Hamilton said. "We were pleased to see at least some of our main confirmed predictions."
A frontal lobotomy, a highly invasive prefrontal lobe surgery, was used in the past to treat mental illness and violent criminals. Psychologist Adrian Raine, professor of Penn Integrates Knowledge and author of the study, said that the stimulation technique is completely different. Rather than removing parts of the brain that may be at fault, it may be more beneficial to stimulate them rather – by stimulating their activity.
"We say the opposite," he said. "That the front part of the brain needs to be better connected to the rest of the brain."
He added that they only did 20-minute sessions, and they saw an effect. "What if we had more sessions, and if we did it three times a week for a month," he said.
However, there is still work to be done. The results of the study showed that people were more morally opposed to acts, but the likelihood that they actually commit an act – pinning pins in a voodoo doll – has not changed.
But with further research, the authors hope that similar treatment could be offered to convicted criminals in the future, alongside traditional interventions such as cognitive-behavioral therapy.
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"This is not the magic bullet that will do away with aggression and crime," Raine said. "But can direct transcranial stimulation be proposed as an intervention technique for first-time delinquents to reduce their likelihood of returning to custody?"
Perhaps, said Hamilton, "the secret to having less violence in your heart is to have a properly stimulated mind."
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