title: Are batterers different from other criminals? An fMRI study.
abstract: Intimate partner violence (IPV) is a complex and global phenomenon that requires a multi-perspective analysis. Nevertheless, the number of neuroscientific studies conducted on this issue is scarce as compared with studies of other types of violence, and no neuroimaging studies comparing batterers to other criminals have been conducted. Thus, the main aim of this study was to compare the brain functioning of batterers to that of other criminals when they are exposed to IPV or general violence pictures. An fMRI study was conducted in 21 batterers and 20 other criminals while they observed IPV images (IPVI), general violence images (GVI) and neutral images (NI). Results demonstrated that batterers, compared with other criminals, exhibited a higher activation in the anterior and posterior cingulate cortex and in the middle prefrontal cortex and a decreased activation in the superior prefrontal cortex to IPVI compared to NI. The paired t-test comparison between IPVI and GVI for each group showed engagement of the medial prefrontal cortex, the posterior cingulate and the left angular cortices to IPVI in the batterer group only. These results could have important implications for a better understanding of the IPV phenomenon.
authors.affiliation: School of Psychology,Department of Personality, Assessment and Psychological Treatment, University of Granada (UGR), Spain, The Brain, Mind and Behavior Research Center at University of Granada (CIMCYC-UGR), Spain, nbueso@ugr.es.
authors.forename: Natalia
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Bueso-Izquierdo
authors.affiliation: School of Psychology,Department of Personality, Assessment and Psychological Treatment, University of Granada (UGR), Spain, The Brain, Mind and Behavior Research Center at University of Granada (CIMCYC-UGR), Spain.
authors.forename: Juan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Verdejo-Román
authors.affiliation: Institute of Neuroscience Federico Olóriz, University of Granada, Spain, Psychiatry Department, Bellvitge University Hospital, Bellvitge Biomedical Research Institute-IDIBELL, CIBERSAM, Barcelona, Spain.
authors.forename: Oren
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Contreras-Rodríguez
authors.affiliation: School of Psychology,Department of Personality, Assessment and Psychological Treatment, University of Granada (UGR), Spain, The Brain, Mind and Behavior Research Center at University of Granada (CIMCYC-UGR), Spain.
authors.forename: Martina
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Carmona-Perera
authors.affiliation: School of Psychology,Department of Personality, Assessment and Psychological Treatment, University of Granada (UGR), Spain, The Brain, Mind and Behavior Research Center at University of Granada (CIMCYC-UGR), Spain, Centro de Investigaciones Biomédica en Red de Salud Mental (CIBERSAM), UGR. Spain, and.
authors.forename: Miguel
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Pérez-García
authors.affiliation: The Brain, Mind and Behavior Research Center at University of Granada (CIMCYC-UGR), Spain, School of Education, Department of Developmental and Educational Psychology, University of Granada (UGR), Spain.
authors.forename: Natalia
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Hidalgo-Ruzzante
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001931:Brain Mapping / Q000379:methods*; D057237:Criminals; D006179:Gyrus Cinguli / Q000503:physiopathology*; D006801:Humans; D000066511:Intimate Partner Violence; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D017397:Prefrontal Cortex / Q000503:physiopathology*
keywords: batterers; intimate partner violence; neuroimaging