⭐️ neural & hormonal mechanisms in aggression✅ Flashcards
neural mechanisms:
what parts of the Brain is known as the limbic system?
why is the reactivity of the amygdala in humans an important predictor of aggressive behave?
who’s study illustrated the amygdala activity?
amygdala, hypothalamus
the more reactive the amygdala = more aggressive the person
gospic et al
neural mechanisms:
what happened in gospic et al’s study?
what did they find?
when given the drug, what were the 2 effects of the benzodiazepine drug?
- ppts were subjected to mild provocation
- when ppts reacted aggressively, FMRI scans showed a heightened reactivity of the amygdala
1- decreased the activity of the amygdala
2- halved the number of rejections = illustrating the role of the amygdala
neural mechanisms:
what is the OFC?
what are normal levels of serotonin in the OFC linked too?
what happens if there is a serotonin deficiency?
what does the frontal cortex do?
orbitofrontal cortex
reduced firing of neurons = greater behavioural self- control.
reduces self-control, leading to an increase in aggressive impulsive behaviour
expresses aggression
neural mechanisms:
what did virkunnen et al do?
what did they find?
they compared levels of a serotonin breakdown product in the cerebrospinal fluid of violent impulsive and non- violent impulsive offenders
the levels were significantly lower in impulsive offenders
hormonal mechanisms:
what hormone is associated with aggression?
what study found men become more aggressive to other men at age 20+ when test. levels are the highest?
why does test. have a role in regulating social behave?
testosterone
daly and wilson
due to its influence on certain areas of the brain linked to aggression
hormonal mechanisms:
what did Dolan et al. find a positive correlation between?
what did these men have?
test. levels and aggressive behaviours in a sample of 60 male offenders in max. security hospitals
most of them had personality disorders + histories of violent- impulsive behaviour
hormonal mechanisms:
what hormone plays a role in the aggression of women?
when do levels of prog. fluctuate?
what did Ziomkiewicz kind?
progesterone
during the ovulation cycle, lowest during and after menstruation.
a negative correlation bet. prog. levels and self reputed aggression. suggesting low levels of progesterone are linked to increased aggression in women.
neural ao3:
✅strength?
❌weakness?
✅ research to support - Sumer found that the removal of a brain tumour pushing on then am amygdala of a 14 yr old girl made her less aggressive, supporting the idea of the significance of the amygdala in agg
❌the limbic system explanation has more recent research showing the non-limbic brain structures are also involved In aggression. its not a whole explanation . biologically reductionist
hormonal ao3:
✅ strength?
❌ weakness
✅ there is support from research with animals, showing the role of testosterone in various species.
❌ theres mixed evidence of the link between testosterone and aggression in humans.
