Aggression and anxiety: social context and neurobiological links.
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TLDR
Differences in the activity of the hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal axis, brain arginine vasopressin, and the serotonin systems, among others, which contribute to the distinct behavioural phenotypes related to aggression and anxiety are discussed.Abstract:
Psychopathologies such as anxiety- and depression-related disorders are often characterized by impaired social behaviours including excessive aggression and violence. Excessive aggression and violence likely develop as a consequence of generally disturbed emotional regulation, such as abnormally high or low levels of anxiety. This suggests an overlap between brain circuitries and neurochemical systems regulating aggression and anxiety. In this review, we will discuss different forms of male aggression, rodent models of excessive aggression, and neurobiological mechanisms underlying male aggression in the context of anxiety. We will summarize our attempts to establish an animal model of high and abnormal aggression using rats selected for high (HAB) vs. low (LAB) anxiety-related behaviour. Briefly, male LAB rats and, to a lesser extent, male HAB rats show high and abnormal forms of aggression compared with non-selected (NAB) rats, making them a suitable animal model for studying excessive aggression in the context of extremes in innate anxiety. In addition, we will discuss differences in the activity of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis, brain arginine vasopressin, and the serotonin systems, among others, which contribute to the distinct behavioural phenotypes related to aggression and anxiety. Further investigation of the neurobiological systems in animals with distinct anxiety phenotypes might provide valuable information about the link between excessive aggression and disturbed emotional regulation, which is essential for understanding the social and emotional deficits that are characteristic of many human psychiatric disorders.read more
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Mitochondrial function in the brain links anxiety with social subordination
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Maternal aggression in rodents: brain oxytocin and vasopressin mediate pup defence
TL;DR: This review provides a detailed overview of the role of OXT and AVP in MA and the link to anxiety, where both neuropeptides are also modulators of anxiety, which determines the extent of MA.
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Role of the vasopressin 1b receptor in rodent aggressive behavior and synaptic plasticity in hippocampal area CA2.
Jerome H. Pagani,Meilan Zhao,Z. Cui,S K Williams Avram,Douglas A. Caruana,Serena M. Dudek,W S Young +6 more
TL;DR: The data indicate that the hippocampal CA2 is important for attacking in response to a male intruder and that the Avpr1b, likely through its role in regulating CA2 synaptic plasticity, is a necessary mediator.
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Maternal nurturing is dependent on her innate anxiety: The behavioral roles of brain oxytocin and vasopressin
TL;DR: The maternal brain undergoes remarkable physiological and behavioral changes in the peripartum period to meet the demands of the offspring to play important roles in the regulation of maternal behavior.
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Animal models of depression and anxiety: What do they tell us about human condition?
Inga D. Neumann,Gregers Wegener,Judith R. Homberg,Hagit Cohen,David A. Slattery,Joseph Zohar,Jocelien D A Olivier,Aleksander A. Mathé +7 more
TL;DR: Four rodent models with good face-, construct-, and predictive-validity are presented: the Flinders Sensitive rat line (FSL); the genetically "anxious" High Anxiety-like Behavior (HAB) line; the serotonin transporter knockout 5-HTT(-/-) rat and mouse lines; and the post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) model induced by exposure to predator scent, that they have employed to investigate the nature of depression and anxiety.
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