For many people, anger is an almost automatic response to life'schallenges. In clinical psychiatry, scientists look at not only theimpact of aggressive behavior on the individual, their loved onesand the community but also the triggers in the brain that lead toaggressive response. The neurobiology of aggression is not wellunderstood, but scientists are aware of a relationship between theneurotransmitter serotonin and certain aggressive behaviors. Theobjective of this study was to explore whether higher levels ofanother brain chemical called dopamine, involved in pleasure andreward, increased aggressive response in its subjects. Toscientists' surprise, it was not as they first theorized. "The results of this study were astonishingly opposite of whatwas previously hypothesized," says Ingo Vernaleken, M.D., leadauthor of the study and research scientist for the department ofpsychiatry at RWTH Aachen University in Aachen, Germany."Subjects with more functional dopaminergic reward-systemswere not more aggressive in competitive situations and couldconcentrate even more on the game. Subjects with lower dopaminergiccapacity were more likely to be distracted by the cheatingbehavior." In this study, 18 healthy adults in their twenties were tested foraggression using the psychological behavioral task known as thepoint subtraction aggression paradigm (PSAP). Participants wereasked to play a computer game that required them to press a barmultiple times with the incentive of winning money, but they werealso told that an adversary in the next room who is able to cheatmay steal some of their winnings. What the paranoid participantsdid not know was that there was no adversary. The computer programis designed to perform randomized deductions of the subjects'monetary reward to simulate the cheating competitor.The participanthad three choices to react: punish the cheater, shield against theadversary by repeatedly pressing a defense button, or continueplaying the game in order to maximize their ability to win cash,which indicated resilience. "The PSAP focuses on aggressive reaction within a competitivesituation," says Vernaleken. "Aggression and itsneurobiological mechanisms in humans have been only moderatelyinvestigated in the past. Furthermore, most of the previous studiesmainly covered the more reactive part of aggression, which merelyreflects impulsive behavior and appears to be associated merelywith the serotonin system. This investigation focuses on theassociation with the dopaminergic reward-system, which reflectsgoal-directed aggression." Subjects' brains were imaged using positron emission tomography,which provides a range of information about physiological functionsinside the body, depending on the imaging probe used. In thisinvestigation, F-18 FDOPA, a biomarker that lights up enzymes'ability to synthesize this transmitter, was used and the uptake ofthis drug in the brain was analyzed to gauge the correlationbetween the participants' dopamine synthesis capacity andaggressive behavior. Results of the study showed a significant impact on aggressiveresponse in areas in the brain where dopamine synthesis waspresent, especially in the basal ganglia, which among otherfunctions include the motivation center. Minimized aggression wasassociated with higher dopamine levels in both the midbrain and thestriatum, which plays a role in planning and executive function.People with greater capacity for dopamine synthesis were moreinvested in the monetary reward aspect of the PSAP, instead ofacting in defense or with aggression against their perceivedadversary, whereas subjects with lower capacities had a highervulnerability to act either aggressive, defensive or both. "Thus, we think that a well-functioning reward system causesmore resilience against provocation," says Vernaleken."However, we cannot exclude that in a situation where thesubject would directly profit from aggressive behavior, in absenceof alternatives, the correlation might be the other wayaround." Further research is required to explore the link between dopamineand a range of aggressive behavior. More insight into theserelationships could potentially lead to new psychological therapiesand drug treatments to moderate or prevent aggressive response. I am an expert from custom-popdisplays.com, while we provides the quality product, such as Wooden Display Stands Manufacturer , China Floor Display Racks, Acrylic Display Holders,and more.
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