Abstract:.Aggression Is Regulated By Neural Circuitry Consisting

This study looked into the morphometric differences and structural aberrations of young boys diagnosed with early-onset conduct disorder in order to determine whether the abnormalities present in early years were similar to those identified in adults with antisocial personality disorder through neuroimaging technologies. This study hypothesized that boys with conduct disorder would demonstrate neurological abnormalities in structures associated with social and emotional functioning in comparison to mentally healthy boys. Using adolescent males aged from 12 to 17 (n=46), a control group of healthy boys and an experimental group made up of boys previously diagnosed with conduct disorder were neurologically investigated by acquiring magnetic resonance images to quantify the gray matter of their brains. Each image was comparatively measured in accordance with age and IQ matched controls in order to obtain accuracy of the analyses. Results identified conduct disorder symptomology as holding an inverse relationship in the gray matter volumes of frontoparietal and temporal cortices and other limbic structures. This demonstrates significant deficits in arousal sensations for fear in children, which is often used as a predictor for development of antisocial behaviors. Although it is difficult to reliably determine the prognosis for children with conduct disorders, the

Aggression is a natural part of human behavior, and can even be adaptive in certain situations. However, when aggression manifests itself in violent behaviors, it becomes problematic. Patterns of aggression change throughout childhood, adolescence, and early adulthood, and these changes usually differ between males and females (Loeber, 1997). Physical aggression is typically greatest early in life and decreases during adolescence, whereas more serious violence tends to increase with age, particularly during adolescence (Loeber, 1997). Despite the changes that occur in aggressive tendencies throughout childhood and adolescence, aggression is seen as a very stable trait, almost as stable as

van Goozen, S. H. M., Fairchild, G., Snoek, H., & Harold, G. T. (2007). The evidence for a neurobiological model of childhood antisocial behavior. Psychological Bulletin, 133. 149-182.

Two psycho-biologically distinctive modes of aggression, affective and predatory, have received substantial experimental and clinical attention during the past 30 years. Affective aggression in humans is a defensive mode of violence that is accompanied by high levels of sympathetic arousal and emotion, usually anger and fear, and is a time-limited reaction to an imminent threat. Predatory aggression in humans is an attack mode of violence that is accompanied by minimal automatic arousal, and is planned, purposeful, and emotionless.

Aggression is verbal or physical behavior intended to cause harm. Although we may not like to admit it, we all participate in aggressive behavior at some level and at some time in our lives. Do evolutionary factors play a large role in aggression? What was Freud 's theory about violence? What does more recent research say about a likely evolutionary role for violence? What does Hawley 's research say about this?

To an untrained observer, ODD may appear as the mildest form of the three disorders; however, this misunderstanding is based on observations of a limited set of behaviors that are characteristic of ASPD which do not apply to ODD. ODD is an early onset disorder, and as such, the behaviors characteristic of the disorder are characteristic of children: angry or irritable moods, argumentative or defiant behavior, and vindictiveness. These behaviors are not present in ASPD or CD. In fact, the defining characteristic that separates the behaviors observed in ODD and CD disorders is that the behaviors observed in CD impedes the basic rights of others or violate the major age-appropriate societal norms but ODD exhibit internalized behaviors that may simply annoy

Antisocial behaviour (ASB) broadly encompasses human character traits and behaviours that are generally viewed as unpleasant or immoral, such as reduced empathy, aggression and violence. Consequently, ASB is unconducive to forming healthy interpersonal relationships and functional living and on a large scale is socio-economically detrimental to societies. Therefore, research into ASB’s aetiology is important for potentially informing its prevention and management and in turn reducing its negative outcomes. This essay investigates the possible causal role of prefrontal cortex (PFC) dysfunction and structural abnormalities in ASB, focusing on specific PFC subregions; as well as the roles of other brain regions, genetics and the environment. It argues that there is significant evidence that the dysfunction of several brain regions, including the PFC and areas of other lobes, can lead to ASB. The underlying reason(s) for the dysfunction may be brain damage and/or genetic and environmental influences.

Oppositional Defiant Disorder (ODD) is a condition that is mainly characterized by negative tendencies that are openly provocative in the course of their growth. The condition make individuals considerably more uncooperative and hostile compared to their peers at similar developmental level. Impaired Neurocognitive Functions Affect Social Learning Processes in Oppositional Defiant Disorder and Conduct Disorder: Implications for Intervention explores various aspects of the critical disorder. The authors define Oppositional Defiant Disorder as a condition that is mainly distinguished by aggressive, oppositional and antisocial behaviors (Walter Matthys, 2012). Through a critical review of the article, this paper seeks to highlight various pivotal aspects of ODD. The aspects include the condition’s diagnosis, its implications on an individual’s health, medications and therapies.

The observers scored the session vivo and had no interaction with the children or the parents as they observed from the corner of a room. Data was compiled using a multiple baseline across participants and the sessions took place one to four times per a week with each session lasting between 15 and 30 minutes (Koegel, Stiebel, & Koegel). In was concluded that with changing contextual stimuli linked with aggression through the usage of functional analysis and with training functional communication in addition to ecological manipulations that it could be an effective form of treatment for the child with autism who displayed aggressive tendencies towards their younger siblings (Koegel, Stiebel, &

Best, Williams and Coccaro (2002) defined premeditated aggression as the sort of aggression one uses to try and control their external environment, like mugging someone. Impulsive aggression results from the inability to control your impulses and emotions, leading to things like temper tantrums or road rage. It is ths impulsive aggression that appears to present itself more readily in those with prefrontal injuries. This study sought to examine exactly where that dysfunction might be. In order to this they recruited twenty-four patients diagnosed with Intermittent Explosive Disorder (IED). IED tends to exhibit itself in the form of chronic impulsive aggression. 22 control subjects were also recruited. Interestingly, exclusion criteria included any past neurological illness or traumatic brain injury. Multiple neuropsychological tests of frontal lobe functioning were administered to the participants. On working memory tasks, there was no impairment suggesting that the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex was in working order. However, in all tests related to the Orbitomedial Prefrontal Cortex Circuit there was statistically significant impairment in the IED group when compared to controls. This included poor problem solving, as evidenced by the Iowa Gambling Task, and impaired recognition of facial emotion, particularly negative emotions such as disgust or anger. Interestingly, they found that the most common

"It becomes increasingly evident that some of the destruction which curses the earth is self-destruction; the extraordinary propensity of the human being to join hands with external forces in an attack upon his own existence is one of the most remarkable of biological phenomena." -Karl Menninger (1).

Due to its primary role in processing memory and emotional reactions, over the last decade and a half psychologists have been linking the amygdala to psychopathy. It is involved in aversive conditioning and instrumental learning and is thus involved in all the processes that, when impaired, produce the same functional impairments displayed by psychopaths. Two famous studies conducted by Tiihonen and Kiehl respectively have confirmed this. Tiihonen used a volumetric MRI to test and confirm the positive correlation between low amygdaloid volume and a high degree of psychopathy in violent criminals (measured by the Hare checklist-revised) while Kiehl used a functional MRI to prove reduced amygdala response during an emotional memory task in individuals who scored high on the Hare checklist-revised. However, both these studies along with numerous others were conducted using violent offenders as subjects rather than individuals with psychopathy. Although many psychopaths do exhibit violent tendencies, not all violent offenders are necessarily psychopaths. A study conducted by Raine is one of the few that did focus only on individuals exhibiting psychopathy. In his study Raine was able to show reduced prefrontal grey matter in his test subjects. Unfortunately though, he was unable to differentiate between grey matter in different regions of the prefrontal cortex. It is however clear that there is one region of the frontal cortex that could be

Through encephalon imagining studies, belligerent deportment has been shown to be a concomitant factor of structural and functional deficits in the prefrontal cortex. Evidence suggests both structural and functional abnormalities in violent or anti-social individuals and theories have been bestowed that has linked violent and anti-social behaviour to deficits as quoted by (Yang Y, Raine A. 2009) ‘’in the prefrontal cortex, temporal cortex, insula, amygdala, hippocampus/parahippocampus, and anterior/posterior cingulate gyrus’’ (Blair, 2001; Kiehl, 2006; Raine and Yang, 2006).

Personally, I found this lecture very interesting. For me, this lecture gave me some historical background with some psychological perspective of human brain. I strongly believe that it is everything in the mind. I think that we are all fervent to some psychological and neurological aspects of violence. In fact, Pinker tries to show how the drop in violence is due to measurable changes in the brains of people. On the one hand it came to cultural changes: some companies have pushed to use some more than other faculties, creating a positive spiral. For example: if the murderers are punished in a more or less effective, I will think twice about killing someone who has insulted me. In turn, knowing that I'm checking those around me, will have less

Behavioral neuroscience or biological psychology employs the principles of brain pathology to the study of human behavior through genetic, physiological, and developmental operations, as well as, the brain’s capacity to change with experience. Since the second world war, crime was largely attributed to mostly economic, political, and social factors, along with what psychologists termed at the time, the “weak character” of mental disturbance, and brain biology was rarely considered. However, new advances in neuroscience and technology have allowed a number of studies that link brain development, impairment, and injury to criminal violence. This emerging field of psychology explores the brain at a microscopic level, focusing studies on the roles that the brain’s neurons, circuitry, neurotransmitters, and basic biological processes play in defining and molding all human behavior.