Abstract
Abstract
This is a literature review discussing previous studies on the associations between impulsive aggression and the serotonergic system in adults, adolescents, and children. The review demonstrates that there is a clear association between low cerebrospinal fluid serotonin and impulsive aggression. However, studies on neurotransmitter receptor profiles, functional imaging, genetics, and epigenetics reviewed in this article suggest a more complicated picture that includes consideration of gene vs. environment in the evaluation of risk. Serotonin supplementation studies suggest that selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors may reduce impulsive aggression in some adults but are less effective in adults with pathological aggression and also in children and adolescents. Child and adolescent studies are less conclusive, in part due to the heterogeneous physiologic and psychosocial changes occurring over the course of development. The author thus concludes that psychiatrists can reduce risk in these special patient populations by creating safer environments in the form of changes in policy and increased support services.
Subject
Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health,Pediatrics, Perinatology and Child Health
Reference84 articles.
1. Aggression is related to frontal serotonin receptor distribution as revealed by PET in healthy subjects;Witte;Hum Brain Mapp,2009
2. VS Reduction in receptor density mRNA expression and functional correlates for receptors in genetically defined aggressive rats;Popova;J Neurosci Res,2005
3. transporter polymorphism interacts with childhood adversity to predict aspects of impulsivity;Carver;Serotonin Psychol Sci,2011
4. Aggression suicidality and intermittent explosive disorder : serotonergic correlates in personality disorder and healthy control subjects Neuropscyhopharmacology;Coccaro,2010
5. Aggression in humans correlates with cerebrospinal fluid amine metabolites;Brown;Psychiatr Res,1979