The prefrontal cortex (PFC) is an important part of the brain and is responsible for executive function. It is in charge of thought analysis, helps us to think abstractly and is contracted to the regulation of behaviour. The PFC is also concerned with governing social control which is why research has been carried out into finding a relationship between dysfunction of the PFC and antisocial behaviour (ASB) (http://www.wisegeek.org). According to the 1988 Crime and Disorder Act ASB is defined as ‘Acting in a manner that caused or was likely to cause harassment, alarm or distress to one or more persons’ (http://www.police-foundation.org.uk).
The case of Phineas Gage was a phenomenon which lead to a surge in research on the PFC and its functions. O’Driscoll and Leach (1998) published an article called ‘No longer Gage’ which reported Gage’s personality change after his prefrontal region was damaged by an iron pole being driven through his brain. They noted that his fellow co-workers, who previously thought highly of him, described him after the accident as ‘fitful,
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At the age of three his parents began to notice a problem as JP would walk long distances without fear and also became bossy and would steal money from other children at school. At a later age, JP continued to participate in more ASB, such as stealing cars from neighbours and relatives. This is again another case showing the effects that prefrontal damage can have on behaviour. JP and DT are only single case studies and therefore findings are hard to generalise to the wider population, however as they both suggest similar conclusions the validity of the findings is improved and there are many more case studies which show and support these findings such as those wrote about in the article; Developmental outcomes after early PFC damage (Eslinger et al,