Aggression - Neural Mechanisms

Aggression - Neural Mechanisms

1. Research

   • Some drugs are known to dec S levels
   • Mann et al 1990: Gave 35 pps dexfen, he assessed hostility & agg levels using a questionnaire. Found inc levels of hostility & agg in M but not F. However, this study shows S has an affect on agg levels of M but not F. The results on self reports could be due to stereotypical roles of either gender (social desirability).
   • Bond 2005: Looked at ppl that took antidepressants. Found that those on AntiD tend to have reduced irritability & impulsive agg. Supports the role of S.
   • Delville et al 1997: Found that drugs that inc S production lead to dec levels of agg, suggesting that dec levels of S are linked to inc agg.
   • Linnoila & Virkunen 1992: Found a relationship between dec levels of S & highly explosive violent beh, suggesting that a lack of S is linked to agg
   • Popova et al 1991: Found that animals selected for domesticity because of low agg levels had lower S levels, than their wild, more agg counterparts. Supporting the link between S & agg.

2. IDA

   • Use of Animals: Cant be applied to humans as we do not have the same brain structure or live in the same environment.
   • Reductionist: Reduces complex human beh to being just to do with one simple explanation.

3. The role of serotonin:

   • It is thought to inhibit agg responses to emotional stimuli that would normally lead to an agg response.
   • Low levels of S are associated with inc susceptibility to impulsive beh, agg & violent suicide.