Neural mechanisms of aggression

Randy J. Nelson; Brian C. Trainor

doi:10.1038/nrn2174

journal article Jul 01, 2007

Neural mechanisms of aggression

Randy J. Nelson Brian C. Trainor

Nature Reviews Neuroscience Vol. 8 No. 7 pp. 536-546 · Springer Science and Business Media LLC

View at Publisher Save 10.1038/nrn2174

Topics

No keywords indexed for this article. Browse by subject →

References

115

[1]

Berkowitz, L. Aggression: Its Causes, Consequences, and Control (Temple Univ. Press, New York, 1993).

[2]

Moyer, K. E. The Physiology of Hostility, (Markham, Chicago, 1971).

[3]

Miczek, K. A., Fish, E. W., de Bold, J. F. & de Almeida, R. M. M. Social and neural determinants of aggressive behavior: pharmacotherapeutic targets at serotonin, dopamine and γ-aminobutyric acid systems. Psychopharmacology (Berl.) 163, 434–458 (2002). 10.1007/s00213-002-1139-6

[4]

Blair, R. J. R., Peschardt, K. S., Budhani, S. & Pine, D. S., in Biology of Aggression (ed. Nelson, R. J.) 351–368 (Oxford Univ. Press, New York, 2006).

[5]

Vitiello, B. & Stoff, D. M. Subtypes of aggression and their relevance to child psychiatry. J. Am. Acad. Child Adolesc. Psychiatry 36, 307–315 (1997). This paper emphasized that our understanding and treatment of human aggressive behaviour would benefit from research on specific subtypes of aggression. The authors cluster analyses indicated that a differentiation between the impulsive–affective and controlled–predatory subtypes as qualitatively different forms of aggressive behaviour is a promising construct. 10.1097/00004583-199703000-00008

[6]

Viding, E., Frick, P. J. & Plomin, R. Aetiology of the relationship between callous–unemotional traits and conduct problems in childhood. Br. J. Psychiatry 190, 33–38 (2007). 10.1192/bjp.190.5.s33

[7]

Raine, A. Annotation: the role of prefrontal deficits, low autonomic arousal, and early health factors in the development of antisocial and aggressive behavior in children. J. Child Psychol. Psychiatry 43, 417–737 (2002). This paper was the first to review the importance of reduced autonomic arousal in the development of antisocial and aggressive behaviour in children. 10.1111/1469-7610.00034

[8]

Connor, D. F., Boone, R. T., Steingard, R. J., Lopez, I. D. & Melloni, R. H. Psychopharmacology and aggression II: a meta-analysis of nonstimulant medication effects on overt aggression-related behaviors in youth with SED. J. Emot. Behav. Disord. 11, 157–168 (2003). 10.1177/10634266030110030301

[9]

Swann, A. C. Neuroreceptor mechanisms of aggression and its treatment. J. Clin. Psychiatry 64, 26–35 (2003).

[10]

Newman, S. The medial extended amygdala in male reproductive behavior. A node in the mammalian social behavior network. Ann. NY Acad. Sci. 877, 242–257 (1999). This review summarizes studies that examined the social behaviour brain circuit and highlights how brain nuclei function in different contexts. 10.1111/j.1749-6632.1999.tb09271.x

[11]

DaVanzo, J. P., Sydow, M. & Garris, D. R. Influence of isolation and training on fighting in mice with olfactory bulb lesions. Physiol. Behav. 31, 857–860 (1983). 10.1016/0031-9384(83)90284-6

[12]

Delville, Y., De Vries, G. J. & Ferris, C. F. Neural connections of the anterior hypothalamus and agonistic behavior in golden hamsters. Brain Behav. Evol. 55, 53–76 (2000). 10.1159/000006642

[13]

Swanson, L. W. Cerebral hemisphere regulation of motivated behavior. Brain Res. 886, 113–164 (2000). 10.1016/s0006-8993(00)02905-x

[14]

Kruk, M. R. Ethology and pharmacology of hypothalamic aggression in the rat. Neurosci. Biobehav. Rev. 15, 527–538 (1991). 10.1016/s0149-7634(05)80144-7

[15]

de Bruin, J. P., van Oyen, H. G. & Van de Poll, N. Behavioural changes following lesions of the orbital prefrontal cortex in male rats. Behav. Brain Res. 10, 209–232 (1983). 10.1016/0166-4328(83)90032-3

[16]

Kruk, M. R. et al. Comparison of aggressive behaviour induced by electrical stimulation in the hypothalamus of male and female rats. Prog. Brain Res. 61, 303–314 (1984). 10.1016/s0079-6123(08)64443-x

[17]

Ferris, C. F. & Potegal, M. Vasopressin receptor blockade in the anterior hypothalamus suppresses aggression in hamsters. Physiol. Behav. 44, 235–239 (1988). 10.1016/0031-9384(88)90144-8

[18]

Kollack-Walker, S. & Newman, S. W. Mating and agonistic behavior produce different patterns of FOS immunolabeling in the male Syrian hamster brain. Neuroscience 66, 721–736 (1995). 10.1016/0306-4522(94)00563-k

[19]

Davis, E. S. & Marler, C. A. C-fos changes following an aggressive encounter in female California mice: a synthesis of behavior, hormone changes and neural activity. Neuroscience 127, 611–624 (2004). 10.1016/j.neuroscience.2004.05.034

[20]

Hasen, N. S. & Gammie, S. C. Differential FOS activation in virgin and lactating mice in response to an intruder. Physiol. Behav. 84, 681–695 (2005). 10.1016/j.physbeh.2005.02.010

[21]

Lipp, H. P. & Hunsperger, R. W. Threat, attack, and flight elicited by electrical stimulation of the ventromedial hypothalamus of the marmoset monkey Callithrix jacchus. Brain Behav. Evol. 15, 260–293 (1978). 10.1159/000123782

[22]

Dixson, A. F. & Lloyd, S. A. C. Effects of hypothalamic lesions upon sexual and social behaviour of the male common marmoset (Callithrix jacchus). Brain Res. 463, 317–329 (1988). 10.1016/0006-8993(88)90405-2

[23]

Robinson, B. W. Vocalization evoked from forebrain in Macaca mulatta. Physiol. Behav. 2, 345–354 (1967). 10.1016/0031-9384(67)90050-9

[24]

Alexander, M. & Perachio, A. A. The influence of target sex and dominance on evoked attack in rhesus monkeys. Am. J. Phys. Anthropol. 38, 543–548 (1973). 10.1002/ajpa.1330380264

[25]

Machado, C. J. & Bachevalier, J. The impact of selective amygdala, orbital frontal cortex, or hippocampal formation lesions on established social relationships in rhesus monkeys (Macaca mulatta). Behav. Neurosci. 120, 761–786 (2006). 10.1037/0735-7044.120.4.761

[26]

Emery, N. J. et al. The effects of bilateral lesions of the amygdala on dyadic social interactions in rhesus monkeys (Macaca mulatta). Behav. Neurosci. 115, 515–544 (2001). 10.1037/0735-7044.115.3.515

[27]

Butter, C. M. & Snyder, D. R. Alterations in aversive and aggressive behaviors following orbital frontal lesions in rhesus monkeys. Acta Neurobiol. Exp. 32, 525–565 (1972).

[28]

Gregg, T. R. & Siegel, A. Brain structures and neurotransmitters regulating aggression in cats: implications for human aggression. Prog. Neuropsychopharmacol. Biol. Psychiatry 25, 91–140 (2001). 10.1016/s0278-5846(00)00150-0

[29]

Davidson, R. J., Putnam, K. M. & Larson, C. L. Dysfunction in the neural circuitry of emotion regulation — a possible prelude to violence. Science 289, 591–594 (2000). 10.1126/science.289.5479.591

[30]

Anderson, S. W., Bechara, A., Damasio, H., Tranel, D. & Damasio, A. R. Impairment of social and moral behavior related to early damage in human prefrontal cortex. Nature Neurosci. 2, 1032–1037 (1999). 10.1038/14833

[31]

Volkow, N. D. et al. Brain glucose metabolism in violent psychiatric patients: a preliminary study. Psychiatry Res. 61, 243–253 (1995). 10.1016/0925-4927(95)02671-j

[32]

Soloff, P. H. et al. Impulsivity and prefrontal hypometabolism in borderline personality disorder. Psychiatry Res. 123, 153–163 (2003). 10.1016/s0925-4927(03)00064-7

[33]

Coccaro, E. F., McCloskey, M. S., Fitzgerald, D. A. & Phan, K. L. Amygdala and orbitofrontal reactivity to social threat in individuals with impulsive aggression. Biol. Psychiatry 8 January 2007 (doi: 10.1016/j.biopsych.2006.08.024). 10.1016/j.biopsych.2006.08.024

[34]

Heimburger, R. F., Whillock, C. C. & Kalsbeck, J. E. Stereotaxic amygdalotomy for epilepsy with aggressive behavior. JAMA 198, 741–745 (1966). 10.1001/jama.1966.03110200097026

[35]

Scarpa, A. & Raine, A. Psychophysiology of anger and violent behavior. Psychiatr. Clin. North Am. 20, 375–394 (1997). 10.1016/s0193-953x(05)70318-x

[36]

Tonkonogy, J. M. & Geller, J. L. Hypothalamic lesions and intermittent explosive disorder. J. Neuropsychiatry Clin. Neurosci. 4, 45–50 (1992). 10.1176/jnp.4.1.45

[37]

Coccaro, E. F. & Kavoussi, R. J. Fluoxetine and impulsive aggressive behavior in personality-disordered subjects. Arch. Gen. Psychiatry 54, 1081–1088 (1997). 10.1001/archpsyc.1997.01830240035005

[38]

New, A. S. et al. Fluoxetine increases relative metabolic rate in the prefrontal cortex in impulsive aggression. Psychopharmacology (Berl.) 176, 451–458 (2004). 10.1007/s00213-004-1913-8

[39]

Parsey, R. V. et al. Effects of sex, age, and aggressive traits in men on brain serotonin 5-HT1A receptor binding potential measured by PET using [C–11]WAY-100635. Brain Res. 954, 173–182 (2002). 10.1016/s0006-8993(02)03243-2

[40]

Kirsch, P. et al. Oxytocin modulates neural circuitry for social cognition and fear in humans. J. Neurosci. 25, 11489–11493 (2005). 10.1523/jneurosci.3984-05.2005

[41]

Winslow, J. T. & Insel, T. R. Social status in pairs of male squirrel monkeys determines the behavioral response to central oxytocin administration. J. Neurosci. 11, 2032–2038 (1991). 10.1523/jneurosci.11-07-02032.1991

[42]

Winslow, J. T. et al. Infant vocalization, adult aggression, and fear behavior of an oxytocin null mutant mouse. Horm. Behav. 37, 145–155 (2000). 10.1006/hbeh.1999.1566

[43]

DeVries, A. C., Young, S. W. & Nelson, R. J. Reduced aggressive behavior in mice with targeted disruption of the oxytocin gene. J. Neuroendocrinol. 9, 363–368 (1997). 10.1046/j.1365-2826.1997.t01-1-00589.x

[44]

Insel, T. R. Oxytocin — a neuropeptide for affiliation: evidence from behavioral, receptor autoradiographic, and comparative studies. Psychoneuroendocrinology 17, 3–35 (1992). 10.1016/0306-4530(92)90073-g

[45]

Manuck, S. B., Kaplan, J. R. & Lotrich, F. E. in Biology of Aggression (ed. Nelson, R. J.) 65–113 (Oxford University Press, New York, 2006).

[46]

Chiavegatto, S. et al. Brain serotonin dysfunction accounts for aggression in male mice lacking neuronal nitric oxide synthase. Proc. Natl Acad. Sci. USA 98, 1277–1281 (2001). 10.1073/pnas.98.3.1277

[47]

Miczek, K. A., Maxson, S. C., Fish, E. W. & Faccidomo, S. Aggressive behavioral phenotypes in mice. Behav. Brain Res. 125, 167–181 (2001). 10.1016/s0166-4328(01)00298-4

[48]

Nelson, R. J. & Chiavegatto, S. Molecular basis of aggression. Trends Neurosci. 24, 713–719 (2001). 10.1016/s0166-2236(00)01996-2

[49]

Olivier, B. Serotonergic mechanisms in aggression. Novartis Found. Symp. 268, 171–183 (2005).

[50]

Saudou, F. et al. Enhanced aggressive behavior in mice lacking 5-HT1B receptor. Science 265, 1875–1878 (1994). 10.1126/science.8091214

Showing 50 of 115 references

Cited By

816

Aggression modulator: Understanding the multifaceted role of the dorsal raphe nucleus

Koshiro Mitsui, Aki Takahashi · 2024

BioEssays

Genetic Variability of <i>MAOA</i> Gene among Aggressive Animals from the Non-Canonical Behavioral Model <i>Neogale vison</i>

A. D. Manakhov, N. A. Dudko · 2023

Генетика

Dopamine transporter blockade during adolescence increases adult dopamine function, impulsivity, and aggression

Deepika Suri, Giulia Zanni · 2023

Molecular Psychiatry

Neural Circuits for Emotion

Meryl Malezieux, Alexandra S. Klein · 2023

Annual Review of Neuroscience

Activation of glucagon-like peptide-1 receptors reduces the acquisition of aggression-like behaviors in male mice

Jesper Vestlund, Qian Zhang · 2022

Translational Psychiatry

Synergistic inhibition of histone modifiers produces therapeutic effects in adult Shank3-deficient mice

Freddy Zhang, Benjamin Rein · 2021

Translational Psychiatry

Time-of-day as a critical biological variable

Randy J. Nelson, Jacob R. Bumgarner · 2021

Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Re...

Traumatic Stress Induces Prolonged Aggression Increase through Synaptic Potentiation in the Medial Amygdala Circuits

Jacob Nordman, Xiaoyu Ma · 2020

eneuro

The Dorsal Raphe Regulates the Duration of Attack through the Medial Orbitofrontal Cortex and Medial Amygdala

Jacob Nordman, Zheng Li · 2020

eneuro

A hypothalamic circuit for the circadian control of aggression

William D. Todd, Henning Fenselau · 2018

Nature Neuroscience

Neural Circuit Mechanisms of Social Behavior

Patrick Chen, Weizhe Hong · 2018

Neuron

Two types of aggression in human evolution

Richard W. Wrangham · 2017

Proceedings of the National Academy...

Insights into the genetic foundation of aggression in Papio and the evolution of two length-polymorphisms in the promoter regions of serotonin-related genes (5-HTTLPR and MAOALPR) in Papionini

Urs Kalbitzer, Christian Roos · 2016

BMC Evolutionary Biology

Treating Traumatized Offenders and Veterans by Means of Narrative Exposure Therapy

Tobias Hecker, Katharin Hermenau · 2015

Frontiers in Psychiatry

Measuring Virgin Female Aggression in the Female Intruder Test (FIT): Effects of Oxytocin, Estrous Cycle, and Anxiety

Trynke R. de Jong, Daniela I. Beiderbeck · 2014

PLoS ONE

Excessive aggression as model of violence: a critical evaluation of current preclinical methods

Klaus A. Miczek, Sietse F. de Boer · 2013

Psychopharmacology

Differential effects of site‐specific knockdown of estrogen receptor α in the medial amygdala, medial pre‐optic area, and ventromedial nucleus of the hypothalamus on sexual and aggressive behavior of male mice

Kazuhiro Sano, Mumeko C. Tsuda · 2013

European Journal of Neuroscience

Genetic depletion of brain 5HT reveals a common molecular pathway mediating compulsivity and impulsivity

Mariana Angoa‐Pérez, Michael J. Kane · 2012

Journal of Neurochemistry

The Role of Medial Prefrontal Cortex in Memory and Decision Making

David R. Euston, Aaron J. Gruber · 2012

Neuron

Exogenous cortisol enhances aggressive behavior in females, but not in males

Robina Böhnke, Katja Bertsch · 2010

Psychoneuroendocrinology

Metrics

816

Citations

115

References

Details

Published: Jul 01, 2007
Vol/Issue: 8(7)
Pages: 536-546
License: View

Authors

Cite This Article

Randy J. Nelson, Brian C. Trainor (2007). Neural mechanisms of aggression. Nature Reviews Neuroscience, 8(7), 536-546. https://doi.org/10.1038/nrn2174

Neural mechanisms of aggression

You May Also Like