The Brains of Violent Males Essay -- Compare Contrast Suicide Homicide

The Brains of Violent Males It becomes increasingly evident that some of the destruction which curses the earth is self-destruction the extraordinary propensity of the human being to join hands with outside(a) forces in an attack upon his own existence is one of the most remarkable of biological phenomena. -Karl Menninger (1). Violence is everywhere in our society- in movies, television programs, video games, and professed(prenominal) sports such as boxing and wrestling. In 2000, 28,663 deaths were related to firearms. 58% were reported as suicides and 39% were reported as homicides (2). The objective of this paper is to qualitatively quantify and compare the brains of male murderers and male suicide victims. Even though more than females attempt suicide, males are used for comparison because males are four times more promising to die from a suicide attempt (3). Male suicidal individuals have a higher success rate because they are more likely to kill themselves in a viol ent manner (i.e. using a gun). At first glance, most people would argue that homicide and suicide are mated behaviors, yet the relationship may not be that straightforward. If it is assumed that the brain dictates behavior and that suicide and homicide are independent behaviors, one would expect that researchers would find differences betwixt the brains of suicide victims and murderers. At the other extreme, suicide and homicide can be considered similar behaviors because in both cases an individual engages in cleanup position someone, the only thing that differs is where the killing impulse is directed. Homicide is directed towards the external world, whereas suicide is aggression turned inward. When the cause of unhappiness can be attributed to an external s... ...robiology of suicide.http//www.afsp.org/research/articles/Mann/mann1.htm8) Decision-making processes following damage to the prefrontal cortex, Article from Brain (2002).http//brain.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/reprin t/125/3/624.pdf 9) Whats different about a Killers Brain? Whitley Striebers web pagehttp//www.unknowncountry.com/news/?id=2085 10) Why? The neuroscience of suicide forcible clues to suicide , Scientific American article.http//www.sciam.com/article.cfm?articleID=000D8D31-6937-1E1B-8B3B809EC588EEDF11) Paxil & murder/ suicide. A story about how the maker of Paxil held liable in murder/suicide.http//www.baumhedlundlaw.com/media/ssri/Paxil_murder.htm12) The judicial decision of a killer. ABC news web page which contains pictures of normal brain and a murderers brain http//abcnews.go.com/sections/wnt/DailyNews/killer_brain021023.html