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Scientists first investigated and described the mechanism of activation of a chain of neurons in the brain responsible for the tendency to aggression

Neurophysiologists from Mount Sinai Hospital in New York (USA) found a special zone in the pleasure center in the human brain, the activity and structure of the neurons of which determines the degree of an individual's tendency to dominate and other forms of unmotivated aggression towards others, reports the journal Nature.



The task that the Scott Rousseau group set itself was to search for and investigate the mechanisms that determine the behavioral and nervous mechanisms of the chain that control aggressive and non-aggressive social behavior. “Our research showed for the first time that the persecution of other people“ includes ”a chain of nerve cells in the main pleasure center, which makes such a pastime enjoyable for some individuals. Moreover, we have shown that manipulation of the level of activity of this chain affects the work of cells in the pleasure center and allows you to change the aggressiveness of human behavior, ”said research leader Scott Russo .

The scientists managed to track the nature of neural mechanisms that directly modulate the motivational component of aggression based on the results of observations and experiments with several groups of adult male mice. A part of them, having already managed to continue their kin, thrashed around the representatives of the younger generation, who had just reached puberty and did not show signs of aggression towards the “grandfathers”.
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Rodent brain activity was monitored with an encephalograph. After each series of “executions” in relation to young animals, scientists took blood samples from troublemakers.

As confirmed by experiments, the tendency to "hazing" was manifested in 30% of males, the remaining 70% did not show any desire to mock the young. A comparison of the “patterns” of brain activity and the contents of blood samples from “aggressors” and calm mice helped explain the reason for the propensity to aggression of part of the males.

In general, as Scott points out on his project laboratory’s website, aggressive social behavior is antagonistic in nature, while normal social behavior is neutral. A number of mental disorders, including autism, schizophrenia, and mood disorders, characterized by impairments in social behavior, are thought to be partly due to impairments in the function of reward chains. For example, the hypothalamus is known to encode the initiation of aggression, while the ventral striatum controls social reward and motivation. Accordingly, deviations in the work of links of neural chains in these brain segments will inevitably manifest themselves at the external level.

The experiments demonstrated that the differences in the behavior of “dominants” and normal rodents were determined by the same chain of neurons, localized in the so-called stem of the pineal gland - a small part of the lower brain that is responsible for the production of hormones, sexual behavior and control of pleasure. More specifically, a special group of nerve cells is responsible for the tendency to dominate, which “turns on” during acts of aggression and stimulates in its holder a sense of pleasure from the suffering and pain delivered to others. Accordingly, people or animals whose activity of this chain of neurons is increased have all chances to become “aggressors”, otherwise aggression towards the environment is rarely manifested.

A series of further experiments showed that it is possible to suppress the work of this chain with the help of the universal “inhibiting” brain molecule - gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA). Similarly, by manipulating the same cells, the level of aggression can be artificially increased. According to Rousseau, the activation of GABA receptors actually led to an instantaneous change in the behavior of mice, turning the male “grandfathers” into calm inhabitants.

The results obtained by scientists, the neural chains discovered by them and an understanding of the mechanisms of their work will be able to help create the latest drugs that can effectively put out and prevent outbreaks of aggression and the desire to suppress their environment, to deal with other psychological disorders.

Read more here.



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Source: https://habr.com/ru/post/395873/


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