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Serotonin and impulsive aggression

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  22 May 2015

Emil F. Coccaro ,
Jennifer R. Fanning ,
K. Luan Phan  and
Royce Lee
Emil F. Coccaro*
Affiliation:
Clinical Neuroscience & Psychopharmacology Research Unit, Department of Psychiatry (MC#3077), Pritzker School of Medicine, University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, USA
Jennifer R. Fanning
Affiliation:
Clinical Neuroscience & Psychopharmacology Research Unit, Department of Psychiatry (MC#3077), Pritzker School of Medicine, University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, USA
K. Luan Phan
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry, University of Illinois College of Medicine, Chicago, Illinois, USA Mental Health Service Line, Jesse Brown Veterans Administration Medical Center, Chicago, Illinois, USA Departments of Psychology, and Anatomy and Cell Biology, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, USA
Royce Lee
Affiliation:
Clinical Neuroscience & Psychopharmacology Research Unit, Department of Psychiatry (MC#3077), Pritzker School of Medicine, University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, USA
*
*Address for correspondence: Emil Coccaro, University of Chicago, Department of Psychiatry, 5841 S. Maryland Avenue, MC 3077, Chicago, IL 60637, USA. (Email: ecoccaro@bsd.uchicago.edu)
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Abstract

Aggression is a behavior with evolutionary origins, but is often both destructive and maladaptive in today’s society. Research over the past several decades has confirmed the involvement of neurotransmitter function in aggressive behavior. This research has centered around the “serotonin hypothesis.” As this literature continues to grow, guided by pre-clinical research and aided by the application of increasingly sophisticated neuroimaging methodology, a more complex picture has emerged. As current pharmacological and therapeutic interventions are effective but imperfect, it is hoped that new insights into the neurobiology of aggression will reveal novel avenues for treatment of this destructive and costly behavior.

Keywords

Aggressionneuroimagingneurotransmittersreceptorsserotonin

Information

Type
Review Articles
Information
CNS Spectrums , Volume 20 , Special Issue 3: Violence in the Psychiatric Setting , June 2015 , pp. 295 - 302
Copyright
© Cambridge University Press 2015 

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