title: EEG and clinical study of murderers
title: An EEG and clinical study of murderers
titleType: AlternativeTitle
Creators: name: Sayed, Z. A.
Publisher: name: The University of Edinburgh
Year: 1969
Subjects: subject: EEG
subject: Clinical Study of Murderers
subject: electroencephalographic investigation
subject: Epilepsy
subject: Criminality
subject: Electroencephalographic studies
subject: psychopathic personalities
subject: criminals
subject: Electroencephalographic recording

description: On surveying the literature it was found that the first study devoted to clinical and EEG investigations of murderers was reported hy Stafford-Clark and Taylor in 1945» Later, Hill and Pond extended the same study and published their findings in 1952. The last paper on this subject appeared in 1955. I» of the scanty literature in this area the present investigations were undertaken. The present study includes 52 murderers» In each case there were sufficient legal grounds for the patient to be regarded as mentally ill at the time of oomitting murder. All subjects were inmates of the State Mental Hospital. 18 patients were diagnosed as psychotic and the remaining 14 were considered as non-psychotic. The incidence of EEG abnormality in the former group was 77.8% and in the latter 50%« The overall incidence of EEG abnormality was 65.5%» which, compared with 15% in the normal control group, is statistically significant® This finding is in agreement with other workers indicating that a significantly higher proportion of psychiatrically ill murderers have abnormal EEGs. The EEG records were classified according to the type of abnormality as diffuse, generalized, paroxysmal or focal disturbance and the percentage was 43%, 25.4%, 19.3% and 14.3%, respectively. The age of the patient showed no relationship with presence or absence of EEG dysfunction. Similarly, a comparison of dominant frequencies in control and. experimental groups failed, to reveal a significant difference. However, 85% of the records in the experimental group demonstrated a characteristic pattern of electrical activity. Clinical information was obtained from the case notes of the patients and the records of psychiatric evidence produced at the time of trial. Forty-four items were thus selected for Kendall’s tau analysis. The apparent precipitating cause of murder was considered as the motive of murder. Half the patients committed motiveless murders. In 7 cases (21.8%) there was a clear evidence of provocation. In 6 cases (18.8%) murder was preceded by sexual activity of some kind. Motiveless murders demonstrated a significant relationship with abnormal EEGs. A statistically significant correlation was found between normal EEGs, past history of multiple convictions for petty crimes, family history of alcoholism, sex murder and the victim being below the age of sixteen. Focal EEG abnormality was associated with the diagnosis of schizophrenia and a history of psychiatric illness among the siblings. Paroxysmal abnormalities, were related to the diagnosis of psychotic depression. Diffuse EEG disturbance and history of head injury were associated. The generalized electrical disturbance was related to neurotic traits in childhood and a family history of neurosis. EEGs were rated according to the severity of disturbance. The degree of severity of dysfunction was positively correlated with four factors viz: diagnosis of schizophrenia, female victims, victims related, to the murderer and married murderers. None of the patients included in the study were suffering from epilepsy. This finding re-emphasises the point which has been stressed by several investigators that murder and epilepsy are not necessarily associated. 78% of the patients had a history of psychiatric treatment prior to committing the capital offence. More than half the patients had previous convictions for some sort of offence. It is suggested that the combination of psychiatric illness and criminal behaviour are ominous signs and such patients should be treated with caution. The incidence of EEG abnormality among psychotic murderers compared with the rate of EEG abnormality in psychotic patients reported by other workers indicates that the incidence is higher in the former. It is suggested that additional work must be done with similar aims with appropriate controls in order to elucidate the significance of these findings.