Neurophysiological and neuropsychological structures are factors that may be involved in the commission of criminal behavior, however, their evaluation in the forensic expert field is far from being considered as evidence or support in court cases in our context. The objective of this research was to identify the neurophysiological and neuropsychological bases involved in criminal behaviors through a quantitative systematic review. For this purpose, previous research housed in Scopus and Pubmed was taken into account. For this reason, a total of 15 articles were identified and analyzed through the application of inclusion and exclusion criteria. The results suggest that most of the neurophysiological structures involved in crimes come from areas linked to the frontal lobe and the limbic system or nearby. Likewise, it was identified that offenders present neuropsychological deficiencies related to decision-making, self-regulation, emotional recognition, aggressiveness, anticipation, planning, among others. In conclusion, it was possible to identify that those evaluated do indeed present neurophysiological and neuropsychological anomalies; however, the commission of criminal behaviors also depends on other biological and social factors. Finally, the systematic review opens the gap to the importance of including forensic neuropsychological evaluation for the clarification of crimes, thus generating one more piece of evidence in judicial processes.
cerebro
Cerebro, hormonas y genes: conocimientos biológicos de la homosexualidad y transexualidad en una muestra chilena. Brain, hormones, and genes: biological knowledge of homosexuality and transsexuality in a Chilean sample
Introduction: Sexual orientation and gender identity have some biological bases based on genes, perinatal hormones and brain dimorphisms that have been studied in recent decades. The objectives of this study are to know the psychometric properties of a questionnaire to evaluate biological knowledge of homosexuality and transsexuality and to investigate such knowledge in a Chilean sample.
Methodology: 144 people from three regions of Chile were surveyed. A sociodemographic survey and the Biological Knowledge of Homosexuality and Transsexuality Questionnaire (BKHT) were applied. The results show that the instrument is valid and reliable for the sample used. It is also noted that 75,7% of the respondents obtained between 1 and 6 correct answers out of a maximum of 18. Of the sociodemographic variables, only religious beliefs and having dealt with homosexuality and transsexuality in their sex education classes are predictors of the BKHT scores.
Conclusions and Recommendations: BKTH is valid and reliable to be applied in Chilean population samples. The sample evaluated has low levels of knowledge about the biological basis of homosexuality and transsexuality. It is recommended to replicate this research in larger samples, in other regions of Chile and in other Latin American countries.
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El Cerebro y la Música
Sound and music share a lot, but they are not totalitarian synonyms. Each one has some qualities or elements that define them even when they are equivocally seen as equals. Sound is a physical event, while music is an art that uses that event as material to develop itself. In our brain, music is processed through neural networks that involve areas of auditory and motor processing, in turn, their perception and execution involve various cognitive functions. Although current knowledge of the structures involved in hearing and the effect of music in our brain is still uncertain, a review of the most up-to-date literature on the subject is useful.
