Alcohol has been linked to the manifestation of anti-social behaviors. Lesions or other types of insults to the brain also result in anti-social behavior. This is known because studies have shown that alcohol has the same effect as lesions on the brain in terms of behavior. Alcoholics and people who have suffered brain insult, but who are not alcoholics, sometimes exhibit anti-social behavior.
Location
Studies have consistently found that damage to the frontal lobe area of the brain, an area involved with decision-making and rational thought, is related to anti-social behaviors in brain injury patients, according to Adrian Raine and Yaling Yang in "Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience," making alcohol intoxication similar to brain injury. The researchers note that there are likely biological processes related to anti-social behavior in this area of the brain. Specifically, MRI imaging studies have revealed that people who engage in anti-social behaviors are known to have decreased blood flow in this area.
Outcomes
Rule-breaking behavior is a key component to anti-social behaviors. When people consume alcohol, the areas of the brain related to anti-social behaviors do not function the same way they do when people are sober. Therefore, processes in the brain occur that manifest outwardly as anti-social behavior.
Considerations
A study conducted by Robert Young and colleagues, published in "Alcohol and Alcoholism" in 2007, found that alcohol misuse among adolescents only had a small effect on anti-social behavior and alcohol-related conduct trouble in the short run. Therefore, anti-social behavior may cause adolescents to drink and not vice versa.
Mechanism
When alcohol is consumed, it depresses the brain in a way that can lead to mood and behavior changes, according to Bryan Kolb and Ian Q. Whishaw in the book the "Fundamentals of Human Neuropsychology." Specifically, alcohol affects the frontal lobes, which make up an area of the brain related to anti-social behaviors. However, the disruption to the neuronal system seems to be more of an important factor than actual brain structure, according to Raine and Yang. Essentially, the neuronal system sends messages to direct brain activity by firing brain chemicals called neurotransmitters. Alcohol can inhibit how well brain cells produce and absorb these neurotransmitters.
Theory
Anti-social behavior is linked to the breakdown of neural networks in the brain that direct thinking and feelings about moral behavior, as discussed by Raine and Yang. Although this is not the only explanation for anti-social behavior, it accounts for much of the overlap between morality and anti-social-type disorders. This is because all anti-social disorders have a rule-breaking component, which is essentially related to moral behavior, according to the researchers.
References
- "Alcohol and Alcoholism"; A longitudinal study of alcohol use and antisocial behaviour in young people; Robert Young et al.; 2007
- "Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience"; Neural Foundations to Moral Reasoning and Antisocial Behavior; Adrian Raine & Yaling Young; 2006
- "Fundamentals of Human Neuropsychology"; Bryan Kolb & Ian Q. Whishaw; 2003
