Abstract
Aggression takes several forms and can be offensive or defensive. Aggression between animals of the same species or society aims to inflict harm upon another for the purpose of protecting a resource such as food, reproductive partners, territory, or status. This chapter explores the neurobiology of aggression. We summarize the behavior of aggression, rodent models of aggression, and the correlates of aggressive behavior in the context of neuroendocrinology, neurotransmitter systems, and neurocircuitry. Translational implications of rodent studies are briefly discussed, applying basic research to brain imaging data and therapeutic approaches to conditions where aggression is problematic.
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
Adams DB (2006) Brain mechanisms of aggressive behavior: an updated review. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 30(3):304–318. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neubiorev.2005.09.004
Agrati D, Fernández-Guasti A, Ferreño M, Ferreira A (2011) Coexpression of sexual behavior and maternal aggression: the ambivalence of sexually active mother rats toward male intruders. Behav Neurosci 125(3):446–451. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0023085
Albert DJ, Walsh ML, Gorzalka BB, Mendelson S, Zalys C (1986) Intermale social aggression: suppression by medial preoptic area lesions. Physiol Behav 38(2):169–173. https://doi.org/10.1016/0031-9384(86)90151-4
Albert DJ, Walsh ML, Jonik RH (1993) Aggression in humans: what is its biological foundation? Neurosci Biobehav Rev 17(4):405–425
Aleyasin H, Flanigan ME, Russo SJ (2018) Neurocircuitry of aggression and aggression seeking behavior: nose poking into brain circuitry controlling aggression. Curr Opin Neurobiol Neurobiol Behav 49:184–191. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.conb.2018.02.013
de Almeida RM, Ferrari PF, Parmigiani S, Miczek KA (2005) Escalated aggressive behavior: dopamine, serotonin and GABA. Eur J Pharmacol 526(1–3):51–64. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ejphar.2005.10.004
de Almeida RM, Ferreira A, Agrati D (2014) Sensory, hormonal, and neural basis of maternal aggression in rodents. In: Miczek KA, Meyer-Lindenberg A (eds) Neuroscience of aggression, Current Topics in Behavioral Neurosciences. Springer Berlin Heidelberg, Berlin, Heidelberg, pp 111–130. https://doi.org/10.1007/7854_2014_312
Anderson SW, Bechara A, Damasio H, Tranel D, Damasio AR (1999) Impairment of social and moral behavior related to early damage in human prefrontal cortex. Nat Neurosci 2(11):1032–1037. https://doi.org/10.1038/14833
Ase AR, Reader TA, Hen R, Riad M, Descarries L (2008) Altered serotonin and dopamine metabolism in the CNS of serotonin 5-HT(1A) or 5-HT(1B) receptor knockout mice. J Neurochem 75(6):2415–2426. https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1471-4159.2000.0752415.x
Austerman J (2017) Violence and aggressive behavior. Pediatr Rev 38(2):69–80. https://doi.org/10.1542/pir.2016-0062
Barber N (2008) Evolutionary social science: a new approach to violent crime. Aggress Violent Behav 13(3):237–250. http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1359178908000190
Been LE, Gibbons AB, Meisel RL (2019) Towards a neurobiology of female aggression. Neuropharmacology 156:107451. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuropharm.2018.11.039
Beiderbeck DI, Neumann ID, Veenema AH (2007) Differences in intermale aggression are accompanied by opposite vasopressin release patterns within the septum in rats bred for low and high anxiety. Eur J Neurosci 26(12):3597–3605. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1460-9568.2007.05974.x
Biro L, Toth M, Sipos E, Bruzsik B, Tulogdi A, Bendahan S, Sandi C, Haller J (2017) Structural and functional alterations in the prefrontal cortex after post-weaning social isolation: relationship with species-typical and deviant aggression. Brain Struct Funct 222(4):1861–1875. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00429-016-1312-z
Blair RJR (2016) The neurobiology of impulsive aggression. J Child Adolesc Psychopharmacol 26(1):4–9. https://doi.org/10.1089/cap.2015.0088
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(1–3):125–139. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ejphar.2005.09.065
de Boer SF, Olivier B, Veening J, Koolhaas JM (2015) The neurobiology of offensive aggression: revealing a modular view. Physiol Behav 146(July):111–127. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.physbeh.2015.04.040
Bosch OJ (2013) Maternal aggression in rodents: brain oxytocin and vasopressin mediate pup defence. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 368(1631):20130085. https://doi.org/10.1098/rstb.2013.0085
Bosch OJ, Neumann ID (2010) Vasopressin released within the central amygdala promotes maternal aggression. Eur J Neurosci 31(5):883–891. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1460-9568.2010.07115.x
Bosch OJ, Meddle SL, Beiderbeck DI, Douglas AJ, Neumann ID (2005) Brain oxytocin correlates with maternal aggression: link to anxiety. J Neurosci Off J Soc Neurosci 25(29):6807–6815. https://doi.org/10.1523/JNEUROSCI.1342-05.2005
Brieden T, Ujeyl M, Naber D (2002) Psychopharmacological treatment of aggression in schizophrenic patients. Pharmacopsychiatry 35(3):83–89. https://doi.org/10.1055/s-2002-31523
Bufkin JL, Luttrell VR (2005) Neuroimaging studies of aggressive and violent behavior: current findings and implications for criminology and criminal justice. Trauma Violence Abuse 6(2):176–191. https://doi.org/10.1177/1524838005275089
Buitelaar JK, van der Gaag RJ, Cohen-Kettenis P, Melman CT (2001) A randomized controlled trial of risperidone in the treatment of aggression in hospitalized adolescents with subaverage cognitive abilities. J Clin Psychiatry 62(4):239–248. https://doi.org/10.4088/jcp.v62n0405
Caramaschi D, de Boer SF, Koolhaas JM (2007) Differential role of the 5-HT1A receptor in aggressive and non-aggressive mice: an across-strain comparison. Physiol Behav 90(4):590–601. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.physbeh.2006.11.010
Cases O, Seif I, Grimsby J, Gaspar P, Chen K, Pournin S, Müller U, Aguet M, Babinet C, Shih JC (1995) Aggressive behavior and altered amounts of brain serotonin and norepinephrine in mice lacking MAOA. Science (New York, N.Y.) 268(5218):1763–1766. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.7792602
Chamero P, Marton TF, Logan DW, Flanagan K, Cruz JR, Saghatelian A, Cravatt BF, Stowers L (2007) Identification of protein pheromones that promote aggressive behaviour. Nature 450(7171):899–902. https://doi.org/10.1038/nature05997
Chiavegatto S, Dawson VL, Mamounas LA, Koliatsos VE, Dawson TM, Nelson RJ (2001) Brain serotonin dysfunction accounts for aggression in male mice lacking neuronal nitric oxide synthase. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 98(3):1277–1281. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.031487198
Coccaro EF, Sripada CS, Yanowitch RN, Luan Phan K (2011) Corticolimbic function in impulsive aggressive behavior. Biol Psychiatry 69(12):1153–1159. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biopsych.2011.02.032
Davidson RJ (2000) Dysfunction in the neural circuitry of emotion regulation--a possible prelude to violence. Science 289(5479):591–594. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.289.5479.591
Demas GE, Kriegsfeld LJ, Blackshaw S, Huang P, Gammie SC, Nelson RJ, Snyder SH (1999) Elimination of aggressive behavior in male mice lacking endothelial nitric oxide synthase. J Neurosci Off J Soc Neurosci 19(19):RC30
van Elst T, Ludger BH, Thiel T, Geiger E, Haegele K, Lemieux L, Lieb K, Bohus M, Hennig J, Ebert D (2003) Frontolimbic brain abnormalities in patients with borderline personality disorder. Biol Psychiatry 54(2):163–171. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0006-3223(02)01743-2
van Erp AM, Miczek KA (2000) Aggressive behavior, increased accumbal dopamine, and decreased cortical serotonin in rats. J Neurosci Off J Soc Neurosci 20(24):9320–9325
Falkner AL, Dollar P, Perona P, Anderson DJ, Lin D (2014) Decoding ventromedial hypothalamic neural activity during male mouse aggression. J Neurosci Off J Soc Neurosci 34(17):5971–5984. https://doi.org/10.1523/JNEUROSCI.5109-13.2014
Falkner AL, Grosenick L, Davidson TJ, Deisseroth K, Lin D (2016) Hypothalamic control of male aggression-seeking behavior. Nat Neurosci 19(4):596–604. https://doi.org/10.1038/nn.4264
Ferrari PF, Van Erp AMM, Tornatzky W, Miczek KA (2003) Accumbal dopamine and serotonin in anticipation of the next aggressive episode in rats: microdialysis and anticipation of aggression. Eur J Neurosci 17(2):371–378. https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1460-9568.2003.02447.x
Ferris CF (2000) Adolescent stress and neural plasticity in hamsters: a vasopressin-serotonin model of inappropriate aggressive behaviour. Exper Physiol 85 Spec No:85S–90S
Field EF, Whishaw IQ, Pellis SM, Watson NV (2006) Play fighting in androgen-insensitive tfm rats: evidence that androgen receptors are necessary for the development of adult playful attack and defense. Dev Psychobiol 48(2):111–120. https://doi.org/10.1002/dev.20121
Fortman G, Bas de. (2005) Violence among peoples in the light of human frustration and aggression. Eur J Pharmacol 526(1–3):2–8. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ejphar.2005.09.035
Frye CA, Walf AA, Kohtz AS, Zhu Y (2014) Progesterone-facilitated lordosis of estradiol-primed mice is attenuated by knocking down expression of membrane progestin receptors in the midbrain. Steroids 81:17–25. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.steroids.2013.11.009
Gammie SC, Nelson RJ (1999) Maternal aggression is reduced in neuronal nitric oxide synthase-deficient mice. J Neurosci Off J Soc Neurosci 19(18):8027–8035
Gammie SC, Nelson RJ (2001) CFOS and PCREB activation and maternal aggression in mice. Brain Res 898(2):232–241. https://doi.org/10.1016/s0006-8993(01)02189-8
Gammie SC, Huang PL, Nelson RJ (2000) Maternal aggression in endothelial nitric oxide synthase-deficient mice. Horm Behav 38(1):13–20. https://doi.org/10.1006/hbeh.2000.1595
Giovenardi M, de Azevedo MS, da Silva SP, do E S Hermel E, Gomes CM, Lucion AB (2005) Neonatal handling increases fear and aggression in lactating rats. Physiol Behav 86(1–2):209–217. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.physbeh.2005.07.011
Golden SA, Aleyasin H, Heins R, Flanigan M, Heshmati M, Takahashi A, Russo SJ, Shaham Y (2017a) Persistent conditioned place preference to aggression experience in adult male sexually-experienced CD-1 mice. Genes Brain Behav 16(1):44–55. https://doi.org/10.1111/gbb.12310
Golden SA, Heins C, Venniro M, Caprioli D, Zhang M, Epstein D, Shaham Y (2017b) Compulsive addiction-like aggressive behavior in mice. Biol Psychiatry 82(4):239–248. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biopsych.2017.03.004
Gorlova AV, Pavlov DA, Ushakova VM, Zubkov EA, Morozova AY, Zorkina YA, Inozemtsev AN, Chekhonin VP (2019) Chronic exposure to ultrasonic frequencies selectively increases aggression in rats. Dokl Biol Sci 486(1):69–71. https://doi.org/10.1134/S0012496619030074
Granic I (2014) The role of anxiety in the development, maintenance, and treatment of childhood aggression. Dev Psychopathol 26(4 Pt 2):1515–1530. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0954579414001175
Halász J, Liposits Z, Meelis W, Kruk MR, Haller J (2002) Hypothalamic attack area-mediated activation of the forebrain in aggression. Neuroreport 13(10):1267–1270. https://doi.org/10.1097/00001756-200207190-00010
Haller J (2017) Studies into abnormal aggression in humans and rodents: methodological and translational aspects. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 76(Pt A):77–86. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neubiorev.2017.02.022
Haller J (2018a) The role of central and medial amygdala in normal and abnormal aggression: a review of classical approaches. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 85:34–43. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neubiorev.2017.09.017
Haller J (2018b) Preclinical models of conduct disorder - principles and pharmacologic perspectives. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 91:112–120. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neubiorev.2016.05.032
Haller J, Kruk MR (2006) Normal and abnormal aggression: human disorders and novel laboratory models. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 30(3):292–303. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neubiorev.2005.01.005
Harat M, Rudaś M, Zieliński P, Birska J, Sokal P (2015) Deep brain stimulation in pathological aggression. Stereotact Funct Neurosurg 93(5):310–315. https://doi.org/10.1159/000431373
Hasen NS, Gammie SC (2005) Differential Fos activation in virgin and lactating mice in response to an intruder. Physiol Behav 84(5):681–695. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.physbeh.2005.02.010
Hasen NS, Gammie SC (2006) Maternal aggression: new insights from Egr-1. Brain Res 1108(1):147–156. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.brainres.2006.06.007
Hashikawa K, Hashikawa Y, Tremblay R, Zhang J, Feng JE, Sabol A, Piper WT, Lee H, Rudy B, Lin D (2017) Esr1+ cells in the ventromedial hypothalamus control female aggression. Nat Neurosci 20(11):1580–1590. https://doi.org/10.1038/nn.4644
Hernandez-Lallement J, van Wingerden M, Kalenscher T (2018) Towards an animal model of callousness. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 91(August):121–129. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neubiorev.2016.12.029
Hinsberger M, Sommer J, Kaminer D, Holtzhausen L, Weierstall R, Seedat S, Madikane S, Elbert T (2016) Perpetuating the cycle of violence in south African low-income communities: attraction to violence in young men exposed to continuous threat. Eur J Psychotraumatol 7(January):29099. https://doi.org/10.3402/ejpt.v7.29099
Hong W, Kim D-W, Anderson DJ (2014) Antagonistic control of social versus repetitive self-grooming behaviors by separable amygdala neuronal subsets. Cell 158(6):1348–1361. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cell.2014.07.049
Hoptman MJ (2015) Impulsivity and aggression in schizophrenia: a neural circuitry perspective with implications for treatment. CNS Spectr 20(3):280–286. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1092852915000206
Hsu Y, Earley RL, Wolf LL (2006) Modulation of aggressive behaviour by fighting experience: mechanisms and contest outcomes. Biol Rev Camb Philos Soc 81(1):33–74. https://doi.org/10.1017/S146479310500686X
Huf G, Alexander J, Gandhi P, Allen MH (2016) Haloperidol plus promethazine for psychosis-induced aggression. Cochrane Database Syst Rev 11:CD005146. https://doi.org/10.1002/14651858.CD005146.pub3
de Jong TR, Neumann ID (2018) Oxytocin and aggression. Curr Top Behav Neurosci 35:175–192. https://doi.org/10.1007/7854_2017_13
Juntti SA, Tollkuhn J, Wu MV, Fraser EJ, Soderborg T, Tan S, Honda S-I, Harada N, Shah NM (2010) The androgen receptor governs the execution, but not programming, of male sexual and territorial behaviors. Neuron 66(2):260–272. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuron.2010.03.024
Kim-Cohen J, Caspi A, Taylor A, Williams B, Newcombe R, Craig IW, Moffitt TE (2006) MAOA, maltreatment, and gene-environment interaction predicting children’s mental health: new evidence and a meta-analysis. Mol Psychiatry 11(10):903–913. https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.mp.4001851
Kisko TM, Wöhr M, Pellis VC, Pellis SM (2017) From play to aggression: high-frequency 50-khz ultrasonic vocalizations as play and appeasement signals in rats. Curr Top Behav Neurosci 30:91–108. https://doi.org/10.1007/7854_2015_432
Knapp P, Chait A, Pappadopulos E, Crystal S, Jensen PS, T-MAY Steering Group (2012) Treatment of maladaptive aggression in youth: CERT guidelines I. engagement, assessment, and management. Pediatrics 129(6):e1562–e1576. https://doi.org/10.1542/peds.2010-1360
Kudryavtseva NN, Smagin DA, Bondar NP (2011) Modeling fighting deprivation effect in mouse repeated aggression paradigm. Prog Neuro-Psychopharmacol Biol Psychiatry 35(6):1472–1478. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pnpbp.2010.10.013
Lansford JE (2018) Development of aggression. Curr Opin Psychol Aggres Viol 19(February):17–21. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.copsyc.2017.03.015
Laredo SA, Orr VN, McMackin MZ, Trainor BC (2014) The effects of exogenous melatonin and melatonin receptor blockade on aggression and estrogen-dependent gene expression in male California mice (Peromyscus Californicus). Physiol Behav 128(April):86–91. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.physbeh.2014.01.039
Lee GP, Bechara A, Adolphs R, Arena J, Meador KJ, Loring DW, Smith JR (1998) Clinical and physiological effects of stereotaxic bilateral amygdalotomy for intractable aggression. J Neuropsychiatry Clin Neurosci 10(4):413–420. https://doi.org/10.1176/jnp.10.4.413
Lee H, Kim D-W, Remedios R, Anthony TE, Chang A, Madisen L, Zeng H, Anderson DJ (2014) Scalable control of mounting and attack by Esr1+ neurons in the ventromedial hypothalamus. Nature 509(7502):627–632. https://doi.org/10.1038/nature13169
Lin D, Boyle MP, Dollar P, Lee H, Lein ES, Perona P, Anderson DJ (2011) Functional identification of an aggression locus in the mouse hypothalamus. Nature 470(7333):221–226. https://doi.org/10.1038/nature09736
MartÃn-Sánchez A, McLean L, Beynon RJ, Hurst JL, Ayala G, Lanuza E, MartÃnez-Garcia F (2015) From sexual attraction to maternal aggression: when pheromones change their behavioural significance. Horm Behav 68(February):65–76. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.yhbeh.2014.08.007
McDonald MM, Markham CM, Alisa N, Elliott Albers H, Huhman KL (2012) GABAA receptor activation in the lateral septum reduces the expression of conditioned defeat and increases aggression in Syrian hamsters. Brain Res 1439(February):27–33. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.brainres.2011.12.042
McHenry JA, Robison CL, Bell GA, Bolaños-Guzmán CA, Vialou VV, Nestler EJ, Hull EM (2016) The role of ΔFosB in the medial preoptic area: differential effects of mating and cocaine history. Behav Neurosci 130(5):469–478. https://doi.org/10.1037/bne0000160
Meloni M, Williams S, Martin P (2016) The biosocial: sociological themes and issues. Sociol Rev Monogr 64(1):7–25. https://doi.org/10.1002/2059-7932.12010
Miczek KA, Maxson SC, Fish EW, Faccidomo S (2001) Aggressive behavioral phenotypes in mice. Behav Brain Res 125(1–2):167–181. https://doi.org/10.1016/s0166-4328(01)00298-4
Miczek KA, Fish EW, Almeida RMM, Faccidomo S, Debold JF (2006) Role of alcohol consumption in escalation to violence. Ann N Y Acad Sci 1036(1):278–289. https://doi.org/10.1196/annals.1330.018
Miczek KA, Takahashi A, Gobrogge KL, Hwa LS, de Almeida RMM (2015) Escalated aggression in animal models: shedding new light on mesocorticolimbic circuits. Social Behavior 3(June):90–95. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cobeha.2015.02.007
Mucignat-Caretta C, Cavaggioni A, Caretta A (2004) Male urinary chemosignals differentially affect aggressive behavior in male mice. J Chem Ecol 30(4):777–791
Munley KM, Rendon NM, Demas GE (2018) Neural androgen synthesis and aggression: insights from a seasonally breeding rodent. Front Endocrinol 9:136. https://doi.org/10.3389/fendo.2018.00136
Nakata M, Sano K, Musatov S, Yamaguchi N, Sakamoto T, Ogawa S (2016) Effects of prepubertal or adult site-specific knockdown of estrogen receptor β in the medial preoptic area and medial amygdala on social behaviors in male mice. Eneuro 3(2):ENEURO.0155-15.2016. https://doi.org/10.1523/ENEURO.0155-15.2016
Natarajan D, de Vries H, Saaltink D-J, de Boer SF, Koolhaas JM (2009) Delineation of violence from functional aggression in mice: an ethological approach. Behav Genet 39(1):73–90. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10519-008-9230-3
Nautiyal KM, Tanaka KF, Barr MM, Tritschler L, Le Dantec Y, David DJ, Gardier AM, Blanco C, Hen R, Ahmari SE (2015) Distinct circuits underlie the effects of 5-HT1B receptors on aggression and impulsivity. Neuron 86(3):813–826. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuron.2015.03.041
Nelson RJ, Trainor BC (2007) Neural mechanisms of aggression. Nat Rev Neurosci 8(7):536–546. https://doi.org/10.1038/nrn2174
Niederkofler V, Asher TE, Okaty BW, Rood BD, Narayan A, Hwa LS, Beck SG, Miczek KA, Dymecki SM (2016) Identification of serotonergic neuronal modules that affect aggressive behavior. Cell Rep 17(8):1934–1949. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.celrep.2016.10.063
Nyberg J, Sandnabba K, Schalkwyk L, Sluyter F (2004) Genetic and environmental (inter)actions in male mouse lines selected for aggressive and nonaggressive behavior. Genes Brain Behav 3(2):101–109
Olivier B, van Oorschot R (2005) 5-HT1B receptors and aggression: a review. Eur J Pharmacol 526(1–3):207–217. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ejphar.2005.09.066
Pavlov DA, Gorlova AV, Ushakova VM, Zubkov EA, Morozova AY, Inozemtsev AN, Chekhonin VP (2017) Effects of chronic exposure to ultrasound of alternating frequencies on the levels of aggression and anxiety in CBA and BALB/c mice. Bull Exp Biol Med 163(4):409–411. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10517-017-3815-x
Pompili E, Carlone C, Silvestrini C, Nicolò G (2017) Focus on aggressive behaviour in mental illness. Riv Psichiatr 52(5):175–179. https://doi.org/10.1708/2801.28344
Raine A, Ishikawa SS, Arce E, Lencz T, Knuth KH, Bihrle S, LaCasse L, Colletti P (2004) Hippocampal structural asymmetry in unsuccessful psychopaths. Biol Psychiatry 55(2):185–191. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0006-3223(03)00727-3
Rice CJ, Sandman CA, Lenjavi MR, Baram TZ (2008) A novel mouse model for acute and long-lasting consequences of early life stress. Endocrinology 149(10):4892–4900. https://doi.org/10.1210/en.2008-0633
Robb AS, Schwabe S, Ceresoli-Borroni G, Nasser A, Yu C, Marcus R, Candler SA, Findling RL (2019) A proposed anti-maladaptive aggression agent classification: improving our approach to treating impulsive aggression. Postgrad Med 131(2):129–137. https://doi.org/10.1080/00325481.2019.1574401
Sakurai K, Zhao S, Takatoh J, Rodriguez E, Lu J, Leavitt AD, Min F, Han B-X, Wang F (2016) Capturing and manipulating activated neuronal ensembles with cane delineates a hypothalamic social-fear circuit. Neuron 92(4):739–753. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuron.2016.10.015
Seo D, Patrick CJ, Kennealy PJ (2008) Role of serotonin and dopamine system interactions in the neurobiology of impulsive aggression and its comorbidity with other clinical disorders. Aggress Violent Behav 13(5):383–395. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.avb.2008.06.003
Shih JC, Chen K, Ridd MJ (1999) Monoamine oxidase: from genes to behavior. Annu Rev Neurosci 22:197–217. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.neuro.22.1.197
Smagin DA, Park J-H, Michurina TV, Peunova N, Glass Z, Sayed K, Bondar NP, Kovalenko IN, Kudryavtseva NN, Enikolopov G (2015) Altered hippocampal neurogenesis and amygdalar neuronal activity in adult mice with repeated experience of aggression. Front Neurosci 9:443. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnins.2015.00443
Spiteri T, Musatov S, Ogawa S, Ribeiro A, Pfaff DW, Agmo A (2010) The role of the estrogen receptor alpha in the medial amygdala and ventromedial nucleus of the hypothalamus in social recognition, anxiety and aggression. Behav Brain Res 210(2):211–220. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bbr.2010.02.033
Sternson SM (2013) Hypothalamic survival circuits: blueprints for purposive behaviors. Neuron 77(5):810–824. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuron.2013.02.018
Stowers L (2002) Loss of sex discrimination and male-male aggression in mice deficient for TRP2. Science 295(5559):1493–1500. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1069259
Summers CH, Winberg S (2006) Interactions between the neural regulation of stress and aggression. J Exp Biol 209(Pt 23):4581–4589. https://doi.org/10.1242/jeb.02565
Summers CH, Korzan WJ, Lukkes JL, Watt MJ, Forster GL, Øverli Ø, Höglund E et al (2005) Does serotonin influence aggression? Comparing regional activity before and during social interaction. Physiol Biochem Zool 78(5):679–694. https://doi.org/10.1086/432139
Swann AC (2003) Neuroreceptor mechanisms of aggression and its treatment. J Clin Psychiatry 64(Suppl 4):26–35
Takahashi A, Quadros IM, de Almeida RMM, Miczek KA (2012) Behavioral and pharmacogenetics of aggressive behavior. Curr Top Behav Neurosci 12:73–138. https://doi.org/10.1007/7854_2011_191
Takahashi A, Nagayasu K, Nishitani N, Kaneko S, Koide T (2014) Control of intermale aggression by medial prefrontal cortex activation in the mouse. PLoS One 9(4):e94657. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0094657
Tobore TO (2019) On the neurobiological role of oxidative stress in alcohol-induced impulsive, aggressive and suicidal behavior. Substance Use Misuse 54(14):2290–2303. https://doi.org/10.1080/10826084.2019.1645179
Tóth M, Halász J, Mikics É, Barsy B, Haller J (2008) Early social deprivation induces disturbed social communication and violent aggression in adulthood. Behav Neurosci 122(4):849–854. https://doi.org/10.1037/0735-7044.122.4.849
Toth M, Fuzesi T, Halasz J, Tulogdi A, Haller J (2010) Neural inputs of the hypothalamic ‘aggression area’ in the rat. Behav Brain Res 215(1):7–20. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bbr.2010.05.050
Trainor BC, Workman JL, Jessen R, Nelson RJ (2007a) Impaired nitric oxide synthase signaling dissociates social investigation and aggression. Behav Neurosci 121(2):362–369. https://doi.org/10.1037/0735-7044.121.2.362
Trainor BC, Lin S, Sima Finy M, Rowland MR, Nelson RJ (2007b) Photoperiod reverses the effects of estrogens on male aggression via genomic and nongenomic pathways. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 104(23):9840–9845. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.0701819104
Tulogdi A, Biro L, Barsvari B, Stankovic M, Haller J, Toth M (2015) Neural mechanisms of predatory aggression in rats—implications for abnormal intraspecific aggression. Behav Brain Res 283(April):108–115. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bbr.2015.01.030
Unger EK, Burke KJ, Yang CF, Bender KJ, Fuller PM, Shah NM (2015) Medial amygdalar aromatase neurons regulate aggression in both sexes. Cell Rep 10(4):453–462. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.celrep.2014.12.040
Vasileva O, Balyasnikova N (2019) (Re)Introducing Vygotsky’s thought: from historical overview to contemporary psychology. Front Psychol 10:1515. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2019.01515
Veenema AH (2009) Early life stress, the development of aggression and neuroendocrine and neurobiological correlates: what can we learn from animal models? Front Neuroendocrinol 30(4):497–518. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.yfrne.2009.03.003
Veenema AH, Neumann ID (2007) Neurobiological mechanisms of aggression and stress coping: a comparative study in mouse and rat selection lines. Brain Behav Evol 70(4):274–285. https://doi.org/10.1159/000105491
Veenema AH, Neumann ID (2009) Maternal separation enhances offensive play-fighting, basal corticosterone and hypothalamic vasopressin MRNA expression in juvenile male rats. Psychoneuroendocrinology 34(3):463–467. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psyneuen.2008.10.017
Veenema AH, Torner L, Blume A, Beiderbeck DI, Neumann ID (2007) Low inborn anxiety correlates with high intermale aggression: link to acth response and neuronal activation of the hypothalamic paraventricular nucleus. Horm Behav 51(1):11–19. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.yhbeh.2006.07.004
Veening JG, Coolen LM, de Jong TR, Joosten HW, de Boer SF, Koolhaas JM, Olivier B (2005) Do similar neural systems subserve aggressive and sexual behaviour in male rats? Insights from c-Fos and pharmacological studies. Eur J Pharmacol 526(1–3):226–239. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ejphar.2005.09.041
Veit R, Flor H, Erb M, Hermann C, Lotze M, Grodd W, Birbaumer N (2002) Brain circuits involved in emotional learning in antisocial behavior and social phobia in humans. Neurosci Lett 328(3):233–236. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0304-3940(02)00519-0
Vitiello B, Stoff DM (1997) Subtypes of aggression and their relevance to child psychiatry. J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry 36(3):307–315. https://doi.org/10.1097/00004583-199703000-00008
Wang Y, He Z, Zhao C, Li L (2013) Medial amygdala lesions modify aggressive behavior and immediate early gene expression in oxytocin and vasopressin neurons during intermale exposure. Behav Brain Res 245(May):42–49. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bbr.2013.02.002
Wang L, Talwar V, Osakada T, Kuang A, Guo Z, Yamaguchi T, Lin D (2019a) Hypothalamic control of conspecific self-defense. Cell Rep 26(7):1747–1758.e5. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.celrep.2019.01.078
Wang L, Simms J, Peters CJ, Fontaine MT-L, Kexin L, Michael Gill T, Jan YN, Lily Y (2019b) TMEM16B calcium-activated chloride channels regulate action potential firing in lateral septum and aggression in male mice. J Neurosci 39:3137–3118. https://doi.org/10.1523/JNEUROSCI.3137-18.2019
Wong LC, Wang L, D’Amour JA, Yumita T, Chen G, Yamaguchi T, Chang BC et al (2016) Effective modulation of male aggression through lateral septum to medial hypothalamus projection. Curr Biol 26(5):593–604. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2015.12.065
Yang Y, Raine A (2009) Prefrontal structural and functional brain imaging findings in antisocial, violent, and psychopathic individuals: a meta-analysis. Psychiatry Res Neuroimaging 174(2):81–88. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pscychresns.2009.03.012
Yang CF, Chiang MC, Gray DC, Prabhakaran M, Alvarado M, Juntti SA, Unger EK, Wells JA, Shah NM (2013) Sexually dimorphic neurons in the ventromedial hypothalamus govern mating in both sexes and aggression in males. Cell 153(4):896–909. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cell.2013.04.017
Acknowledgments
This work was supported by grants from the National Natural Science Foundation of China (31970940, 31671100, and 31622027), the Zhejiang Provincial Natural Science Foundation of China (LR18H090001), the Non-profit Central Research Institute Fund of the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences (2018PT31041), the Program for Introducing Talents in Discipline to Universities, and the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (2019QNA5001).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2020 Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd.
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Helmy, M., Zhang, J., Wang, H. (2020). Neurobiology and Neural Circuits of Aggression. In: Wang, H. (eds) Neural Circuits of Innate Behaviors. Advances in Experimental Medicine and Biology, vol 1284. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-15-7086-5_2
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-15-7086-5_2
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Singapore
Print ISBN: 978-981-15-7085-8
Online ISBN: 978-981-15-7086-5
eBook Packages: Biomedical and Life SciencesBiomedical and Life Sciences (R0)