Synonyms
Definition
In most general terms, aggression refers to behavior that is harmful to others or expresses the intention to do so.
Impact of Psychoactive Drugs
Types of Aggression
Aggressive acts are shaped by social experiences via action on molecular events in discrete ascending aminergic pathways from the mesencephalon to the limbic and cortical targets, and the cascade of these intracellular events is increasingly understood. Aggressive behavior is an important behavioral adaptation in all phyla of living creatures, mainly serving reproductive purposes. In addition, maladaptive types of aggressive behavior are the focus of human and veterinary medicine and also of the criminal justice system. Types of aggression differ in terms of their ontogenetic and phylogenetic origins, motivations, and functions, and all indications are in their neurobiological mechanisms. Clinicians distinguish between those types of...
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
Buckholtz JW, Meyer-Lindenberg A (2008) MAOA and the neurogenetic architecture of human aggression. Trends Neurosci 31:120–129
De Boer SF, Koolhaas JM (2005) 5-HT1A and 5-HT1B receptor agonists and aggression: a pharmacological challenge of the serotonin deficiency hypothesis. Eur J Pharmacol 526:125–139
Haller J, Kruk MR (2006) Normal and abnormal aggression: human disorders and novel laboratory models. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 30:292–303
Lesch KP, Merschdorf U (2000) Impulsivity, aggression, and serotonin: a molecular psychobiological perspective. Behav Sci Law 18:581–604
Miczek KA, DeBold JF, Fish EW, de Almeida RMM (2002) Social and neural determinants of aggressive behavior: pharmacotherapeutic targets at 5-HT, DA and GABA systems. Psychopharmacology 163:434–458
Miczek KA, Faccidomo SP, Fish EW, DeBold JF (2007) Neurochemistry and molecular neurobiology of aggressive behavior. In: Blaustein JD (ed) Handbook of neurochemistry and molecular neurobiology. Behavioral neurochemistry, neuroendocrinology and molecular neurobiology. Springer, Berlin, pp 286–336
Nelson RJ (2006) Biology of aggression. Oxford University Press, New York
Nelson RJ, Chiavegatto S (2001) Molecular basis of aggression. Trends Neurosci 24:713–719
Niehoff D (1998) The biology of violence: how understanding the brain, behavior and environment can break the vicious circle of aggression. The Free Press, New York
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2010 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg
About this entry
Cite this entry
Miczek, K.A., de Almeida, R.M.M. (2010). Aggression. In: Stolerman, I.P. (eds) Encyclopedia of Psychopharmacology. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-540-68706-1_276
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-540-68706-1_276
Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg
Print ISBN: 978-3-540-68698-9
Online ISBN: 978-3-540-68706-1
eBook Packages: Biomedical and Life SciencesReference Module Biomedical and Life Sciences