Neurobiology of Aggression and Violence

Acts of violence account for an estimated 1.43 million deaths worldwide annually. While violence can occur in many contexts, individual acts of aggression account for the majority of instances. In some individuals, repetitive acts of aggression are grounded in an underlying neurobiological susceptibility that is just beginning to be understood. The failure of "top-down" control systems in the prefrontal cortex to modulate aggressive acts that are triggered by anger provoking stimuli appears to play an important role. An imbalance between prefrontal regulatory influences and hyper-responsivity of the amygdala and other limbic regions involved in affective evaluation are implicated. Insufficient serotonergic…

• UD
  U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs
• NI
  National Institutes of Health

  Award: MO1-RR-00071
• NI
  National Institute of Mental Health

  Award: MO1-RR-00071
• NC
  National Center for Research Resources

  Award: MO1-RR-00071
• NC
  NIH Clinical Center