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Topic:
Psychopathy: Normal Individuals Brain and a Brain of a Psychopath
Term Paper Instructions:
Explain the difference between a normal individuals brain and a brain of a psychopath, listing each part of the brain that is different and how that difference makes a psychopath.
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Brain Abnormalities in Psychopaths
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Introduction
There is a general opinion that is common carried around in most discussions related to psychopathy and brain deficiencies. It is a common notion that each person has some element of psychopathy, with a varying degree of the same. This is to mean that in us some level of brain malfunction that affects the way think and even act (Ahuja, 2002). For some people it is more pronounced than in others and thus the difference in the way that react to different situations. Some people have the ability to withstand great pressure while other simply give in at the slightest level of discomfort. Some have the ability to manipulate others while others are simply okay with being manipulated not for lack of intelligence but for the association satisfaction they get from the same. In a study that was conducted in the year 2005 by cited by Belinda Board and Katarina Fritzon, he wanted to show that, this is actually a reality; that every person has some relative levels of psychopathy (Reville, 2012). The study indicated that this is especially so in the business realm, where most of the business leaders have some heightened elements pointing to higher psychopathy tendencies. In the study, Belinda Board and Katarina Fritzon indicate that the readers were subjected to the idea that business leaders have highly developed characteristics such as being persuasive, highly focused, lacking empathy, having superficial charm, high level of independence and mostly egocentric (Reville, 2012). The main difference between the psychopaths and the business leaders is that the former have the heightened tendencies to break the law, physically aggressive behavior, and uncontrolled impulsivity. This thus raises the question of differences that exist between the psychopaths and the normal people. The best way to determine these difference is looking at the brain physiology and psychology to determine the elemental aspects that set these two groups of people apart (Keysers, 2013).
Elements of psychopathy in of all people
In a study cited by Belinda Board and Katarina Fritzon at the Surrey University, there is an element of psychopathy in every other person that the only difference is mainly the degree to which these elements show in their real life (Reville, 2012). Specifically the study made reference to the business leaders, looking at the various characteristics that make most business people. There is an underlying element that is quite common among the business leaders and one that makes them stand out in a field that require cut-throat brilliance and aggression. According to the study, most of the business leaders tend to have characteristics that border the psychopathy realm, this is in light to the fact that most of them will show, no empathy, high independence, great level of focus, superficial charm, egocentricity, and high levels persuasiveness. This were characteristics that were actually according to the study were more prevalent in the business leaders that they were in the criminals (Reville, W. (2012). The main difference that led to the difference between the two was that the business leaders did not show signs of impulsivity, high tendencies to break the law and physical aggression which are highly associated with psychopath criminals (Nickerson, 2014). This is a research study that sheds light on the elemental foundation of the psychopathic tendencies. However, it also leaves a lot of questions unanswered relative to the differences that actually set apart persons that are normal and those that are suffering from psychopathic tendencies (Who is a psychopath, 1996). However, it is important to note that the study actually reigns on the idea which is common in such discussions, indicating that most of the people if not all of them have some tendencies that indicate predisposition to psychopathy even if they are not highly developed. It is a common notion that, all persons have some element of brain dysfunction that affects the way we react to different situations and stimuli in the environment that we find ourselves in (Phys.org, 2016). however, there differences in the brain physiology and psychology that sets apart persons that can be considered medically to be psychopaths and those that are considered to be medically normal (Reville, 2012).
The psychopaths are Different
This topic is one that has elicited massive interest in quite a number fields relative to the impact that the findings will have in various sectors. There has been a trend in the scholarly realm to try and understand why criminals act the way they do and why the rest of the population does not act like the criminals. It is for this reason that myriads of researchers have set their focus to understand the physiological characteristics of the criminals and what in their brain causes them to act the way they do. Understanding the human physiology is one thing, however understanding a dysfunctional human being is different thing all together. In quite a number of research, the main reasons that have been cited as the cause of dysfunctional people is the functional ability of their amygdala or their frontal cortex. Ideally, the amygdala is an almond shaped organ found in the brain and is the one that is responsible for processing emotions (Who is a psychopath, 1996). As such, when the organ is defective, the person in question is going to exhibit signs of lack of or poor emotional maturity. The frontal cortex on the other hand is part of the brain that is responsible for the decision making. This means that persons that have a dysfunctional frontal cortex are likely to make poor decisions, relative to the social norms; ones that would lead medical practitioners to medically label the person a psychopath. Other than the scholarly realm, these elements in light of the characteristics associated with psychopaths relative to their brain physiology and function are finding their way in the American courts (Inside A psychopath's brain: The sentencing debate, 2010). As such, where a person is considered to have psychopathic characteristics resulting from damage of poor development of parts of his brain, the court may argue that he or she should be exonerated based on this medical evidence (Inside A psychopath's brain: The sentencing debate, 2010).
Unlike the normal murderers that kill their victims in the heat of the moment and are later on engulfed in guilty and self-pity; the psychopaths on the other hand do not in any way experience remorse for their actions. In most of the cases, their actions strengthen their character and sense of worth (The Huffington Post, 2013). As such they derive pleasure from their acts, regardless of the social norm or amount of distress their actions cause their victims. It is also common among the psychopaths to find that they do not show signs of fear (Who is a psychopath, 1996). While it is a general reaction for anyone to experience fear when they are exposed to certain stimuli in their environment, for Psychopaths, they do not have such reactions and in even where there may be some signs of fear, it is highly repressed or poorly developed and expressed along normal thresholds (Nickerson, 2014). It is also common among the psychopaths to break the law for no apparent reason (Wanjek, 2015). Most of the psychopaths that have been convicted have been found to have a historical element of committing grieve crimes repeatedly and without any form self-control and the urge to stop from breaking the law.
The Different Structure and Function in Psychopaths’ Brains
To understand the differences it is crucial to understand the function and the structure of the parts of the brain responsible for psychopathy. One of the two main parts of the brains...
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