PubMed · 8920390
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B Wright. 1996. Indirect aggression.. https://doi.org/10.1016/s0965-2302(96)90049-1
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BACKGROUND: Arousal-regulating mechanisms are important in explaining individual differences in antisocial behavior. METHODS: Alterations in salivary cortisol concentration and cardiovascular activity were studied in 21 boys with oppositional defiant disorder (ODD) and 31 normal controls (NC) during a 2-hour stressful procedure involving frustration and provocation. RESULTS: Baseline levels of heart rate (HR) were significantly lower in the ODD group, but their HR levels were higher during provocation and frustration. Cortisol levels in the ODD group were overall lower than those of the NC group, and the effect of stress seemed to be minimal and similar for both groups; however, individual differences were large. Since anxiety plays an important mediating role in cortisol response, subjects were divided into one of four groups based on the intensity of their externalizing behavior and anxiousness. Cortisol increase due to stress exposure was strongest in highly externalizing and highly anxious subjects; cortisol decrease was strongest in those subjects who were high in externalizing behavior and low in anxiousness. CONCLUSIONS: The results of the study support an important role for hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis sympathetic autonomic functioning in persistent antisocial behavior in young boys.
In golden hamsters, offensive aggression is facilitated by vasopressin and inhibited by serotonin. We tested whether these neurotransmitter systems respond to modifications resulting from the stress of threat and attack (i.e., social subjugation) during puberty. Male golden hamsters were weaned at postnatal day 25 (P25), exposed daily to aggressive adults from P28 to P42, and tested for offensive aggression as young adults (P45). The results showed a context-dependent alteration in aggressive behavior. Subjugated animals were more likely to attack younger and weaker intruders than nonsubjugated controls. Conversely, subjugated animals were less likely to attack animals of similar size and age. After testing, the animals were killed, and their brains were collected to determine whether these behavioral changes are underlined by changes in the vasopressin and serotonin systems. Social subjugation resulted in a 50% decrease in vasopressin levels within the anterior hypothalamus, a site involved in the regulation of aggression. Furthermore, whereas the density of vasopressin-immunoreactive fibers within the area was not significantly altered in subjugated animals, the number of serotonin-immunoreactive varicosities within the anterior hypothalamus and lateral septum was 20% higher in subjugated animals than in their controls. These results establish puberty as a developmental period sensitive to environmental stressors. Furthermore, the results show that changes in the vasopressin and serotonin systems can correlate with behavioral alterations, supporting the role of these two neurotransmitters in the regulation of aggression.
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