Aggression‐related brain function assessed with the Point Subtraction Aggression Paradigm in fMRI

Skibsted, Anine Persson; Cunha-Bang, Sofi da; Carré, Justin M.; Hansen, Adam E.; Beliveau, Vincent; Knudsen, Gitte M.; Fisher, Patrick M.

doi:10.1002/ab.21718

Cited by 45 publications

(29 citation statements)

References 56 publications

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“…For instance, one of the first fMRI studies to examine neural activity during the TAP included 11 men and 11 women (Krämer et al, 2007 ). Another study of 11 women and 9 men found that provocation during the PSAP elicited activation in the ACC, dorsal striatum, insula and PFC (Skibsted et al, 2017 ). This provocation-related activation correlated with aggressive behavior in the paradigm (i.e., stealing points).…”

Section: Part 2: Neurobiological Pathways To Women’s Aggressionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Aggression in Women: Behavior, Brain and Hormones

Denson

O’Dean

Blake

et al. 2018

Front. Behav. Neurosci.

116

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We review the literature on aggression in women with an emphasis on laboratory experimentation and hormonal and brain mechanisms. Women tend to engage in more indirect forms of aggression (e.g., spreading rumors) than other types of aggression. In laboratory studies, women are less aggressive than men, but provocation attenuates this difference. In the real world, women are just as likely to aggress against their romantic partner as men are, but men cause more serious physical and psychological harm. A very small minority of women are also sexually violent. Women are susceptible to alcohol-related aggression, but this type of aggression may be limited to women high in trait aggression. Fear of being harmed is a robust inhibitor of direct aggression in women. There are too few studies and most are underpowered to detect unique neural mechanisms associated with aggression in women. Testosterone shows the same small, positive relationship with aggression in women as in men. The role of cortisol is unclear, although some evidence suggests that women who are high in testosterone and low in cortisol show heightened aggression. Under some circumstances, oxytocin may increase aggression by enhancing reactivity to provocation and simultaneously lowering perceptions of danger that normally inhibit many women from retaliating. There is some evidence that high levels of estradiol and progesterone are associated with low levels of aggression. We highlight that more gender-specific theory-driven hypothesis testing is needed with larger samples of women and aggression paradigms relevant to women.

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Section: Part 2: Neurobiological Pathways To Women’s Aggressionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Aggression in Women: Behavior, Brain and Hormones

Denson

O’Dean

Blake

et al. 2018

Front. Behav. Neurosci.

116

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“…The above-mentioned studies have shown that individuals with ventromedial prefrontal impairments have diminished empathic abilities [28,29], enhanced violent behaviour [15,[30][31][32][33][34][35][36], and have an increased risk of being reactively aggressive [49]. In the same vein, another study [50] used the Point Subtraction Aggression Paradigm (PSAP; [51]) and also indicated a link between brain activity in the vmPFC and aggressive behavior proposing the vmPFC to be a neural substrate related to aggressive provocation [50].…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

tDCS targeting the Ventromedial Prefrontal Cortex reduces reactive aggression and modulates electrophysiological responses: A HD-tDCS/EEG randomized controlled trial in a forensic population.

Cs¹,

Santarnecchi²,

Sm³

et al. 2020

Preprint

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Studies have shown that impairments in the ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC) in forensic patients who also abuse cocaine and alcohol play a crucial role in are found not to be effective. A promising intervention is to modulate the vmPFC by transcranial Direct Current Stimulation (tDCS). This study aimed to investigate high definition (HD)-tDCS as an intervention to increase empathic abilities in order to reduce violent behavior in forensic patients. In addition, using electroencephalography (EEG), we examined the effects of tDCS on the event-related potentials P3 and LPP in reaction to situations that depict victims of aggression (i.e. empathy). Fifty male forensic substance use patients (25 in the active and 25 in the sham condition) were tested in a double-blind placebo-controlled study. The patients received HD-tDCS two times a day for 20 min for five consecutive days. Before and after the intervention, the patients completed self-reports, performed the Point Subtraction Aggression Paradigm (PSAP), and EEG was recorded while patients performed an empathy task. Results showed a significant decrease in aggressive responses on the PSAP and a decrease in self-reported reactive aggression in the active tDCS group. Additionally, we found an increase in LPP amplitude after tDCS intervention in the active tDCS group compared to the sham group. No effects on the P3 were found. Current findings are the first to find effects of tDCS modulating aggression and electrophysiological responses in forensic patients, thereby showing the potential for tDCS as a intervention in forensic mental healthcare.

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“…Understanding and prediction of aggression must account for this complexity in order to extract a meaningful signal from amidst considerable noise. Key factors include: developmental history—notably childhood trauma (Caspi et al, 2002 ; Gowin et al, 2013 ; Milaniak and Widom, 2015 ) presence of psychopathology (Glenn and Raine, 2009 ; Alcorn et al, 2013 ; Anderson and Kiehl, 2014 ); externalizing personality traits (Gardner et al, 2015 ; Pasion et al, 2017 ); emotional and inhibitory dysregulation (Gao et al, 2015 ; Coccaro et al, 2016 ; Hsieh and Chen, 2017 ); biological factors, including genetic variation (Tuvblad and Baker, 2011 ; Bevilacqua et al, 2012 ; Takahashi et al, 2012 ; Dorfman et al, 2014 ); and contextual/situational factors such as substance use and provocation (Miczek et al, 2002 ; Cherek et al, 2006 ; Giancola et al, 2009 ; Skibsted et al, 2017 ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Genetic and Psychosocial Predictors of Aggression: Variable Selection and Model Building With Component-Wise Gradient Boosting

Suchting

Gowin

Green

et al. 2018

Front. Behav. Neurosci.

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Rationale: Given datasets with a large or diverse set of predictors of aggression, machine learning (ML) provides efficient tools for identifying the most salient variables and building a parsimonious statistical model. ML techniques permit efficient exploration of data, have not been widely used in aggression research, and may have utility for those seeking prediction of aggressive behavior.Objectives: The present study examined predictors of aggression and constructed an optimized model using ML techniques. Predictors were derived from a dataset that included demographic, psychometric and genetic predictors, specifically FK506 binding protein 5 (FKBP5) polymorphisms, which have been shown to alter response to threatening stimuli, but have not been tested as predictors of aggressive behavior in adults.Methods: The data analysis approach utilized component-wise gradient boosting and model reduction via backward elimination to: (a) select variables from an initial set of 20 to build a model of trait aggression; and then (b) reduce that model to maximize parsimony and generalizability.Results: From a dataset of N = 47 participants, component-wise gradient boosting selected 8 of 20 possible predictors to model Buss-Perry Aggression Questionnaire (BPAQ) total score, with R2 = 0.66. This model was simplified using backward elimination, retaining six predictors: smoking status, psychopathy (interpersonal manipulation and callous affect), childhood trauma (physical abuse and neglect), and the FKBP5_13 gene (rs1360780). The six-factor model approximated the initial eight-factor model at 99.4% of R2.Conclusions: Using an inductive data science approach, the gradient boosting model identified predictors consistent with previous experimental work in aggression; specifically psychopathy and trauma exposure. Additionally, allelic variants in FKBP5 were identified for the first time, but the relatively small sample size limits generality of results and calls for replication. This approach provides utility for the prediction of aggression behavior, particularly in the context of large multivariate datasets.

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Aggression‐related brain function assessed with the Point Subtraction Aggression Paradigm in fMRI

Cited by 45 publications

References 56 publications

Aggression in Women: Behavior, Brain and Hormones

Aggression in Women: Behavior, Brain and Hormones

tDCS targeting the Ventromedial Prefrontal Cortex reduces reactive aggression and modulates electrophysiological responses: A HD-tDCS/EEG randomized controlled trial in a forensic population.

Genetic and Psychosocial Predictors of Aggression: Variable Selection and Model Building With Component-Wise Gradient Boosting

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