12.1 why bullies attack: insights into the neural circuitry of aggression

Heightened aggression is characteristic of multiple neuropsychiatric disorders and can have a wide variety of negative effects on patients, their families, and the public. Recent studies in humans and animals have implicated brain reward circuits in aggression and suggest that, in subsets of aggressive individuals, repeated domination of subordinate social targets is rewarding. Thus, we define novel circuitry in mice related to aspects of defensive vs proactive aggression, which we hope will shed light on human behaviors such as irritability or reactive aggression.

Source: Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry - October 1, 2020 Category: Psychiatry Authors: Scott Russo Tags: Symposium 12 Source Type: research