NationStates Jolt Archive

Mindshock - Sex On The Brain

Channel 4 aired a documentary last night called Mindshok: Sex On The Brain.

The documentary followed two people who had suffered damage to the Right Frontal Lobe of their brain.

One man, I don’t remember his name, I’ll call him Mr A, began to developed an excessive desire for pornography, including ‘Nearly Legal’ magazines. The eventual deteriation of his frontal lobe, as a result of a aggressive malignant brain tumor, lead to him touching his 12 year old step daughter inappropriately (there was no intercourse but he touched her breasts and said inappropriate things).

The second man, Mr B, received sever head injuries while serving in the forces, and suffered extensive frontal lobe damage. His personality changed, and he began to act out towards women, and men, in a sexually explicit nature, publicly masturbating and propositioning random people.

It was explained that the right frontal lobe of the plays a role in non-verbal abilities and damage to it is referred to as pseudopsychopathy.

Pseudopsychopathy: A condition of personality following frontal lobe lesion in which immature behavior, lack of tact and restraint and other behaviors symptomatic of psychopathology are apparent but are not accompanied by the equivalent mental or emotional components of psychopathology.

Sexual behavior can also be effected by frontal lesions. Orbital frontal damage can introduce abnormal sexual behavior, while dorolateral lesions may reduce sexual interest (Walker and Blummer, 1975)

Fundamentals of Human Neuropsychology

It was further explained that essentially, frontal lobe damage removes a personal ability to connect the ‘this is wrong’ and the ‘this feels good, I don’t care’ parts of the brain. They do not appreciate that the things they are doing are in any way wrong, and self gratification is the first priority. It suggested that this type of brain injury releases a persons sexual inhibitions and that they act out their deepest desires and fantasies with no comprehension of the consequences.

Mr A describe how he felt as “not one part of being thought that this was in any way wrong. In the back of my mind there was a voice saying ‘don’t get caught’, but I didn’t care”.

All in all I found it very interesting, and in my mind it raised a couple of questions that I wanted to bring to forum:

1) If someone suffers frontal lobe damage and commits sexual crimes as a result, should they receive the same form of punishment and sentencing as someone who has made a clear choice in acting out a desire?

2) Some doctors argue that this damage simply releases the desires that the brain already harbours, so, when caught, how would anyone prove that these desires were not pre-existing and that this person would not have acted out under normal circumstances?

3) Is it feasible to suggest that every person who is convicted of a sex crime undergo testing for Right Frontal Lobe Damage to determine or rule out other explanations for their behaviour?

Thoughts & Opinions Please.

If right frontal lobe damage excuses any and all anti social behaviour and crimes then should we tolerate these crimes? If we do not tolerate the crimes then what do we do with the people who unwittingly commit them? At some point the people should be seperated from those whom they commit crimes against be it via prisons, institutions for the criminally insane or colonies of people with right frontal lobe damage.

The Entire point of the programme was that whilst these people could not for a period of time associate their actions with the concept of them being "wrong", they have learnt on an intellectual level that they are damaging, and thus cease their actions. they tend to be led by their desires, the braing damage merely removed any inhibitions they have, the programme was very interesting, and to classify it, they weren't "criminals" in the classic sense, they didnt understand they were doing anything wrong on an emotional level. psychological treatment can in fact for all intents and purposes cure these symptoms of their illness. should someone be punished for committing a crime whilst totally unaware of their affliction? or treated with compassions because of their lack of understanding? a child in most countries of the world is not tried under the same criminal process as an adult for this very reason, they are not aware of the difference between right and wrong in specific instances. the very definition of adult in the eyes of the law implies responsibility for ones actions, responsibility that only comes with understanding of what is right and wrong. these people are more like children than criminals.

darkside

The brain is very flexible, and often 'rewires' itself to restore lost functionality. It helps to keep practicing the skills (if that's the word for moral judgement). I understand that it's very humiliating and frustrating for an adult to be in some respect reduced to the level of a child or new-born baby, but a degree of recovery is very common.

The neurologist you'd see while recovering from a brain injury should be looking for just such deficiencies. Some symptoms would be very subtle, and might develop over time, but they can be treated. And diagnosing such is what neurologists DO.

(1) Should they be punished? Well, hopefully the behaviour doesn't manifest suddenly, in a rape or such. Because you're essentially punishing a child, and it's going to take several acts or intentions, and several punishments, before they'll see the pattern of what they're doing wrong. Their adult comprehension of language would help, but their adult ego and inflexibility certainly wouldn't. Could be tricky!

(2) ?

(3) We better hope that there is a reliable test for this specific type of right-frontal-lobe damage. Otherwise it will be either: no legal defence at all, or else an unprovable mitigating factor claimed by every defence lawyer who's heard about it. Think "I was beaten and abused as a child" as a mitigating factor for hate crimes and rape -- very common.

(I didn't see the program, BTW. But I've worked with teens with brain injury.)

Lobotomy?

Lobotomy?

Quite

Quite


They're probably not responsible - yet the problem is solved anyway.

Hey, bog and ms. While your light-hearted flirting can be charming, do you think this is really the right thread for it? :(

I must admit, labotomy talk really is a turn on for me.

wtf?

... in all seriousness, I think that people with this, disability, for want of a better word, should most certainly be handled differently and appropriately, and given the opportunity to relearn boundaries and behavioural skills that would allow them to function in the community again.

My initial post was merely about the things it made me think of, like the information that doctors have that show this type of injury merely releases an already present desire, which is what Q2 refered. to.

(I did a little googling, but I dont claim to be an expert).

I was merely curious.

I must admit, labotomy talk really is a turn on for me.



I was merely curious.

Prefrontal or orbital?

Prefrontal or orbital?

you missed the bit where i said i'm no expert? :)

...
My initial post was merely about the things it made me think of, like the information that doctors have that show this type of injury merely releases an already present desire, which is what Q2 refered. to.
...

Fair enough. I didn't touch Q2 because I thought it was creepy.
I mean, you could develop a drug which simulated this kind of disability, temporarily. Administer it to a suspect, and put them in a situation where they might commit the crime. They do, so you lock 'em up, even though in the real world they manage to restrain themselves.
Creepy.
EDIT: On the other hand, locking yourself up with a consenting partner and doing some of this "nothing feels wrong" drug could be a real blast. That's drugs for you: great scope for good and bad.
And, Oliver Sachs' book "The man who mistook his wife for a hat" is a great read. There was a sequel which was alright, too.