Essay Sample about Prefrontal Cortex. Biological Psycology

The prefrontal cortex is the area of the brain which is used in rational thinking. It controls the emotions as well, and the decisions taken by a person during various emotional states are controlled or modulated by this region. Here is part of a free essay sample about the prefrontal cortex area of the brain created in cooperation with students and essay writers of our friendly service.

One particular role of this region is in the determination of criminal intent and crime-related activities. That is the reason that juveniles are more prone to make rash decisions due to the underdevelopment of this prefrontal region. But that is not the end of the story, as other regions of the brain are also important in making a person criminal. Amygdala is another region of the brain, which has been found to be of some significance in determining the actions taken by a person (Freberg, 2018). It can be said that different regions of the brain are involved in the decision-making process, and the prefrontal region can be thought of as the main modulator in the process. However, it cannot act alone and needs information from other regions of the brain.

A person cannot be exempted from a crime on the basis of his underdeveloped prefrontal cortex because other factors also come into play. Apart from various regions of the brain, the environment also plays an important role in making a person delinquent. So, taking the prefrontal cortex as the sole standard to measure the levels of crime-related behavior in a person cannot be justified at all. However, laws can be made to reduce the punishment for such people because the prefrontal region is the ultimate modulator of decisions, and its underdevelopment, when combined with the negative environmental factors, can easily lead to crimes. Just like we deal with juvenile criminals, adults with such brain structures can also be given the same type of treatment. But it would be wrong to assume that a person with an underdeveloped prefrontal cortex cannot be held responsible for his crimes.

Essay References

Freberg, L. (2018). Discovering behavioral neuroscience: an introduction to biological psychology. Cengage Learning.