NCJ Number
75556
Journal
Journal of Forensic Sciences Volume: 26 Issue: 1 Dated: (January 1981) Pages: 123-128
Date Published
1981
Length
6 pages
Annotation
In this article, various behavioral and neurophysiological models are suggested to objectify and quantify the defense of insanity and to assess dangerousness in someone who is being considered for release from custody.
Abstract
Two cases of homicide are described. In each case, an idea represented in memory became conscious through a specific external releasing stimulus that had acquired significance during traumatic bodily experiences of youth. Such an acquired releasing stimulus catapulted the patients into aggressive action, uninhibited by social constraints to such an extent that the phenomenon can be viewed as being analogous to a violent state during a seizure, such as seen in temporal lobe pathology. The patient's encounter with a specific releasing stimulus is analogous to the elicitation of rage by electrical stimulation of the amygdala in diagnostic neurosurgery. Neurophysiological testing within various models is discussed though which this phenomenon could be further elucidated with potential application for the assessment of criminal responsibility and dangerousness when release from custody is considered. The study's goal is to assist in establishing a future, refined classification and neurophysiological understanding of a subform of schizophrenia with sudden aggressive acting out. The two clinical cases presented suggest that a further element of classification may ultimately be needed. Seven references are supplied. (Author abstract modified)