CRITERION OF BRAIN INSTABILITY - EEG (ELECTROENCEPHALOGRAM) ACTIVATION (FROM BRAIN DYSFUNCTION IN AGGRESSIVE CRIMINALS, 1978, BY RUSSELL R MONROE - SEE NCJ-53119)

• NCJ Number: 53124
• Author(s): R R MONROE; G U BALIS; D MCCULLOCH
• Date Published: 1978
• Length: 16 pages
• Corporate Author: Lexington Books
• Publication Format: Document
• Publication Type: Report (Study/Research)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

THE USE OF ELECTROENCEPHALOGRAMS (EEG) TO STUDY HARDCORE AGGRESSORS IS DISCUSSED IN LIGHT OF THE HYPOTHESIS THAT SOME AGGRESSIVE BEHAVIOR IS LINKED TO EEG ABNORMALITIES THAT REFLECT CENTRAL NERVOUS SYSTEM INSTABILITY.

Abstract

WHILE A SINGLE ROUTINE EEG IS NOT A RELIABLE MEASURE OF ELECTROENCEPHALOGRAPHIC ABNORMALITIES--EVEN IN INDIVIDUALS WITH UNQUESTIONABLE HISTORIES OF EPILEPSY--MULTIPLE EEG'S ACTIVATED BY THE ANTICONVULSANT DRUG ALPHA CHLORALOSE (PRIMIDONE) CAN BE USED AS AN OBJECTIVE MEASURE OF EPILEPTOID AND/OR MATURATIONAL INSTABILITY OF THE CENTRAL NERVOUS SYSTEM. IN A STUDY OF 93 RECIDIVIST AGGRESSORS AT MARYLAND'S PATUXENT INSTITUTION, EACH SUBJECT UNDERWENT TWO EEG SESSIONS WITHIN THE 16-WEEK EXPERIMENT PERIOD, WITH HALF THE SUBJECTS RECEIVING THE ACTIVE DRUG AND HALF RECEIVING A PLACEBO. ANALYSIS OF THE RESULT CONFIRMED AN INCREASE IN INDICATED BASELINE EEG ABNORMALITIES FOR THE ACTIVE DRUG SUBJECTS. TABULAR COMPARISONS INDICATE CUMULATIVE EEG DATA, THE EFFECT OF PRIMIDONE ON ACTIVATED EEG'S, AND PRODUCT-MOMENT CORRELATIONS WITH MACHINE SCORE THETA ACTIVITY AND CLINICAL RATINGS OF DELTA-THETA WAVES. THIS DATA SUPPORTS THE CLINICAL VALIDITY OF UTILIZING CLINICALLY SCORED DELTA-THETA AS A CRITERION VARIABLE. ALTHOUGH THE MACHINE-ANALYZED DATA SEEMED SOMEWHAT MORE CLINICALLY RELEVANT THAN THE RATER-SCORED DELTA-THETA, FURTHER REFINEMENT OF THE FORMER TECHNIQUES IS NECESSARY. REFERENCES ARE INCLUDED. (KBL)