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International Journal of Molecular... Oct 2022This study assessed the association between serum lipid levels and aggression in female patients with schizophrenia. The study included female patients with...
This study assessed the association between serum lipid levels and aggression in female patients with schizophrenia. The study included female patients with schizophrenia (N = 120). The participants were subdivided into two groups (aggressive and nonaggressive), with 60 participants in each group. Serum lipids-cholesterol, triglycerides, high-density lipoproteins (HDL cholesterol), and low-density lipoproteins (LDL cholesterol)-were determined. The clinical part of the study included an evaluation using psychiatric scales: the positive and negative syndrome scale (PANSS), the aggression subscale of the PANSS scale (PANSS-AG), and the overt aggression scale (OAS). Significant differences were only observed in HDL cholesterol levels, where aggressive subjects had significantly lower values of HDL cholesterol (t = 2.540; = 0.012), and the representation of subjects with low cholesterol values was almost three-times higher in the group of subjects with aggression (χ = 7.007; = 0.008) compared to the nonaggressive group. The nominally significant predictor for HDL cholesterol in nonaggressive and aggressive participants was the total value of the PANSS scores. In subjects with aggression, suicidality was not significantly associated with HDL cholesterol levels. Our findings suggest that lower HDL cholesterol is significantly associated with aggression in women with schizophrenia.
Topics: Aggression; Cholesterol; Cholesterol, HDL; Cholesterol, LDL; Female; Humans; Lipoproteins, HDL; Schizophrenia; Triglycerides
PubMed: 36233163
DOI: 10.3390/ijms231911858 -
Frontiers in Neural Circuits 2021Aggression is an adaptive behavior that plays an important role in gaining access to limited resources. Aggression may occur uncoupled from reproduction, thus offering a... (Review)
Review
Aggression is an adaptive behavior that plays an important role in gaining access to limited resources. Aggression may occur uncoupled from reproduction, thus offering a valuable context to further understand its neural and hormonal regulation. This review focuses on the contributions from song sparrows () and the weakly electric banded knifefish (). Together, these models offer clues about the underlying mechanisms of non-breeding aggression, especially the potential roles of neuropeptide Y (NPY) and brain-derived estrogens. The orexigenic NPY is well-conserved between birds and teleost fish, increases in response to low food intake, and influences sex steroid synthesis. In non-breeding , NPY increases in the social behavior network, and NPY-Y1 receptor expression is upregulated in response to a territorial challenge. In , NPY is upregulated in the preoptic area of dominant, but not subordinate, individuals. We hypothesize that NPY may signal a seasonal decrease in food availability and promote non-breeding aggression. In both animal models, non-breeding aggression is estrogen-dependent but gonad-independent. In non-breeding , neurosteroid synthesis rapidly increases in response to a territorial challenge. In , brain aromatase is upregulated in dominant but not subordinate fish. In both species, the dramatic decrease in food availability in the non-breeding season may promote non-breeding aggression, via changes in NPY and/or neurosteroid signaling.
Topics: Aggression; Animals; Birds; Fishes; Neuroendocrine Cells; Neurosteroids; Seasons; Territoriality
PubMed: 34393727
DOI: 10.3389/fncir.2021.716605 -
Acta Psychologica Mar 2022The present research examined whether the Dark Tetrad facets-narcissism, Machiavellianism, psychopathy, and everyday sadism-are predictive of engagement in athletic...
The present research examined whether the Dark Tetrad facets-narcissism, Machiavellianism, psychopathy, and everyday sadism-are predictive of engagement in athletic aggression. In Study 1, participants (N = 603) received a list of 46 sport activities and were asked to assess the level of aggressiveness of the sport activity they participate in most intensively. They also provided self-reports of the Dark Tetrad. As predicted, athletic aggression was positively related to all facets of the Dark Tetrad. Multiple regression analyses showed that psychopathy had the most robust association with the engagement in athletic aggression. Study 2 (N = 208) showed that differences in the endorsement of self-transcendence values (benevolence and universalism) accounted for the relationships between Machiavellianism and psychopathy and athletic aggression. As also predicted, most of the Dark Tetrad scales were positively related to self-enhancing values (achievement and power). However, because self-enhancing values were not related to athletic aggression, they did not account for the relationship between the Dark Tetrad and engagement in athletic aggression. Overall, it appears that people who score relatively high on antagonistic personality traits tend to care little about the well-being of other people and therefore have little hesitation in harming others in their sporting activities.
Topics: Aggression; Humans; Machiavellianism; Narcissism; Personality; Sports
PubMed: 35033966
DOI: 10.1016/j.actpsy.2022.103500 -
Journal of Psychiatric Research Feb 2019Research in aggression has distinguished two major subtypes of aggressive behavior: hostile and instrumental. Previous research has examined these subtypes in healthy...
Research in aggression has distinguished two major subtypes of aggressive behavior: hostile and instrumental. Previous research has examined these subtypes in healthy individuals and forensic samples but not in intermittent explosive disorder (IED), a disorder characterized by recurrent and severe aggressive behavior. We examined aggression subtypes in individuals with IED, healthy subjects, and psychiatric control subjects. We also considered the relationship between aggression subtypes and measures of trait anger and impulsivity to evaluate whether the hostile/instrumental dichotomy adequately captures the heterogeneity of aggressive behavior in this sample. Finally, we consider the implications of these results for research on aggression, including neuroscience research on aggression.
Topics: Adult; Aggression; Disruptive, Impulse Control, and Conduct Disorders; Female; Humans; Male; Middle Aged
PubMed: 30551023
DOI: 10.1016/j.jpsychires.2018.10.013 -
Autism Research : Official Journal of... Aug 2019Unpredictable and potentially dangerous aggressive behavior by youth with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) can isolate them from foundational educational, social, and...
Unpredictable and potentially dangerous aggressive behavior by youth with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) can isolate them from foundational educational, social, and familial activities, thereby markedly exacerbating morbidity and costs associated with ASD. This study investigates whether preceding physiological and motion data measured by a wrist-worn biosensor can predict aggression to others by youth with ASD. We recorded peripheral physiological (cardiovascular and electrodermal activity) and motion (accelerometry) signals from a biosensor worn by 20 youth with ASD (ages 6-17 years, 75% male, 85% minimally verbal) during 69 independent naturalistic observation sessions with concurrent behavioral coding in a specialized inpatient psychiatry unit. We developed prediction models based on ridge-regularized logistic regression. Our results suggest that aggression to others can be predicted 1 min before it occurs using 3 min of prior biosensor data with an average area under the curve of 0.71 for a global model and 0.84 for person-dependent models. The biosensor was well tolerated, we obtained useable data in all cases, and no users withdrew from the study. Relatively high predictive accuracy was achieved using antecedent physiological and motion data. Larger trials are needed to further establish an ideal ratio of measurement density to predictive accuracy and reliability. These findings lay the groundwork for the future development of precursor behavior analysis and just-in-time adaptive intervention systems to prevent or mitigate the emergence, occurrence, and impact of aggression in ASD. Autism Res 2019, 12: 1286-1296. © 2019 International Society for Autism Research, Wiley Periodicals, Inc. LAY SUMMARY: Unpredictable aggression can create a barrier to accessing community, therapeutic, medical, and educational services. The present study evaluated whether data from a wearable biosensor can be used to predict aggression to others by youth with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Results demonstrate that aggression to others can be predicted 1 min before it occurs with high accuracy, laying the groundwork for the future development of preemptive behavioral interventions and just-in-time adaptive intervention systems to prevent or mitigate the emergence, occurrence, and impact of aggression to others in ASD.
Topics: Adolescent; Aggression; Autism Spectrum Disorder; Biosensing Techniques; Child; Female; Humans; Male; Reproducibility of Results; Wearable Electronic Devices
PubMed: 31225952
DOI: 10.1002/aur.2151 -
Annals of the New York Academy of... Sep 2015Neurobiological processes underlying the epidemiologically established link between alcohol and several types of social, aggressive, and violent behavior remain poorly... (Review)
Review
Neurobiological processes underlying the epidemiologically established link between alcohol and several types of social, aggressive, and violent behavior remain poorly understood. Acute low doses of alcohol, as well as withdrawal from long-term alcohol use, may lead to escalated aggressive behavior in a subset of individuals. An urgent task will be to disentangle the host of interacting genetic and environmental risk factors in individuals who are predisposed to engage in escalated aggressive behavior. The modulation of 5-hydroxytryptamine impulse flow by gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) and glutamate, acting via distinct ionotropic and metabotropic receptor subtypes in the dorsal raphe nucleus during alcohol consumption, is of critical significance in the suppression and escalation of aggressive behavior. In anticipation and reaction to aggressive behavior, neuropeptides such as corticotropin-releasing factor, neuropeptide Y, opioid peptides, and vasopressin interact with monoamines, GABA, and glutamate to attenuate and amplify aggressive behavior in alcohol-consuming individuals. These neuromodulators represent novel molecular targets for intervention that await clinical validation. Intermittent episodes of brief social defeat during aggressive confrontations are sufficient to cause long-lasting neuroadaptations that can lead to the escalation of alcohol consumption.
Topics: Aggression; Alcohol Drinking; Animals; Biogenic Monoamines; Brain; Crime; Ethanol; Humans; Neuropeptides; Stress, Psychological; Violence
PubMed: 26285061
DOI: 10.1111/nyas.12862 -
BMC Psychology Mar 2023Self-compassion is negatively associated with aggressive behaviors. However, the association between self-compassion and cyber aggression toward stigmatized people...
Self-compassion is negatively associated with aggressive behaviors. However, the association between self-compassion and cyber aggression toward stigmatized people (e.g., people infected with COVID-19) has not been investigated in the COVID-19 context and the mechanism underlying this association remains underexplored. On the basis of emotion regulation theory and attribution theory, this study examined the indirect effects of self-compassion on cyber aggression toward people infected with COVID-19 through attribution and public stigma of COVID-19. Data were collected from 1162 Chinese college students (415 male, mean age = 21.61 years). Participants completed an online questionnaire including measurement of the key variables and basic demographic information. Results indicated that self-compassion was negatively associated with cyber aggression through the lower attribution of COVID-19 and lower public stigma of COVID-19. A sequential pathway from the attribution of COVID-19 to public stigma of COVID-19 was identified in the relationship between self-compassion and cyber aggression. Our findings are consistent with emotion regulation theory and attribution theory, which posit that emotion regulation strategies are associated with interpersonal mistreatment through cognitive pathways. These findings suggest that emotional self-regulation strategies can be used to reduce cyber aggression toward stigmatized people by reducing attribution and public stigma in the COVID-19 context. Self-compassion improvement could be target for the interventions aiming at alleviating public stigma and interpersonal mistreatment toward stigmatized people.
Topics: Humans; Male; Young Adult; Adult; Self-Compassion; COVID-19; Aggression; Social Stigma; Social Perception
PubMed: 36899411
DOI: 10.1186/s40359-023-01100-x -
Aggressive Behavior Sep 2019People often have to make decisions between immediate rewards and more long-term goals. Such intertemporal judgments are often investigated in the context of monetary...
People often have to make decisions between immediate rewards and more long-term goals. Such intertemporal judgments are often investigated in the context of monetary choice or drug use, yet not in regard to aggressive behavior. We combined a novel intertemporal aggression paradigm with functional neuroimaging to examine the role of temporal delay in aggressive behavior and the neural correlates thereof. Sixty-one participants (aged 18-22 years; 37 females) exhibited substantial variability in the extent to which they selected immediate acts of lesser aggression versus delayed acts of greater aggression against a same-sex opponent. Choosing delayed-yet-more-severe aggression was increased by provocation and associated with greater self-control. Preferences for delayed aggression were associated with greater activity in the ventromedial prefrontal cortex (VMPFC) during such choices, and reduced functional connectivity between the VMPFC and brain regions implicated in motor impulsivity. Preferences for immediate aggression were associated with reduced functional connectivity between the VMPFC and the frontoparietal control network. Dispositionally aggressive participants exhibited reduced VMPFC activity, which partially explained and suppressed their preferences for delayed aggression. Blunted VMPFC activity may thus be a neural mechanism that promotes reactive aggression towards provocateurs among dispositionally aggressive individuals. These findings demonstrate the utility of an intertemporal framework for investigating aggression and provide further evidence for the similar underlying neurobiology between aggression and other rewarding behaviors.
Topics: Adolescent; Aggression; Arousal; Brain Mapping; Choice Behavior; Delay Discounting; Female; Humans; Impulsive Behavior; Magnetic Resonance Imaging; Male; Nerve Net; Prefrontal Cortex; Self-Control; Young Adult
PubMed: 30989667
DOI: 10.1002/ab.21838 -
Deutsches Arzteblatt International Jun 2019Psychomotor agitation and aggressiveness in the context of mental illnessare medical emergencies. In a survey of six German psychiatric hospitals, 1.7 to 5 aggressive... (Review)
Review
BACKGROUND
Psychomotor agitation and aggressiveness in the context of mental illnessare medical emergencies. In a survey of six German psychiatric hospitals, 1.7 to 5 aggressive attacks per patient-year were reported. If talking to the patient has no calming effect, intervention with drugs is required. In this article, we review the evidence on tranquilizing drugs and discuss clinically relevant ethical and practical questions, e.g., with respect to involuntary medication.
METHODS
This review is based on pertinent articles retrieved by a selective search in MEDLINE, supplemented by a reference search.
RESULTS
The evidence for the treatment of psychomotor agitation with antipsychotic drugs and benzodiazepines is relatively good. Randomized, controlled trials and a number of Cochrane reviews are available. These publications, however, contain data only on patients who were able to give informed consent. Their findings are often not applicable to real-life emergencies, e.g., when the patient is intoxicated with alcohol or suffers from a pre-existing disease. Haloperidol has a relatively weak effect on aggression when given alone and can also cause side effects such as early dyskinesia and epileptic seizures. It should, therefore, no longer be used as monotherapy. On the other hand, haloperidol combined with benzodiazepines or promethazine and monotherapy with lorazepam, olanzapine, ziprasidone, or aripiprazole intramuscular are effective options for the treatment of aggressive psychomotor agitation.
CONCLUSION
All of these drugs, if accepted by the patient, can also have an additional, beneficial placebo effect, with the patient calming down more rapidly than could be explained on pharmacological grounds alone. It is, therefore, important in emergencies (as at other times) for the patient to be involved in treatment decisions to the greatest possible extent.
Topics: Aggression; Antipsychotic Agents; Benzodiazepines; Haloperidol; Humans; Psychomotor Agitation; Psychotic Disorders
PubMed: 31431244
DOI: 10.3238/arztebl.2019.0445 -
Proceedings of the National Academy of... Jan 2018Two major types of aggression, proactive and reactive, are associated with contrasting expression, eliciting factors, neural pathways, development, and function. The...
Two major types of aggression, proactive and reactive, are associated with contrasting expression, eliciting factors, neural pathways, development, and function. The distinction is useful for understanding the nature and evolution of human aggression. Compared with many primates, humans have a high propensity for proactive aggression, a trait shared with chimpanzees but not bonobos. By contrast, humans have a low propensity for reactive aggression compared with chimpanzees, and in this respect humans are more bonobo-like. The bimodal classification of human aggression helps solve two important puzzles. First, a long-standing debate about the significance of aggression in human nature is misconceived, because both positions are partly correct. The Hobbes-Huxley position rightly recognizes the high potential for proactive violence, while the Rousseau-Kropotkin position correctly notes the low frequency of reactive aggression. Second, the occurrence of two major types of human aggression solves the execution paradox, concerned with the hypothesized effects of capital punishment on self-domestication in the Pleistocene. The puzzle is that the propensity for aggressive behavior was supposedly reduced as a result of being selected against by capital punishment, but capital punishment is itself an aggressive behavior. Since the aggression used by executioners is proactive, the execution paradox is solved to the extent that the aggressive behavior of which victims were accused was frequently reactive, as has been reported. Both types of killing are important in humans, although proactive killing appears to be typically more frequent in war. The biology of proactive aggression is less well known and merits increased attention.
Topics: Adaptation, Physiological; Aggression; Biological Evolution; Competitive Behavior; Female; Humans; Male; Neural Pathways; Reward; Social Behavior; Violence
PubMed: 29279379
DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1713611115