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Abstract:.Aggression Is Regulated By Neural Circuitry Consisting

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Abstract: Aggression is regulated by neural circuitry consisting of several regions of the brain. Aggression has been linked to multiple brain structures that are responsible for emotional and behavioral control. Regions of the brain that are clearly related to aggression include the brainstem, prefrontal cortex (PFC), limbic system, orbitofrontal cortex (OFC), anterior cingulate cortex (ACC), amygdala, and the hippocampus (Lundwall et al., 2017). It has also been found that brain volume and especially the volume of the brainstem is correlated to aggression (Lundwall et al., 2015). Through neuroimaging, it has been determined that there is an inverse relationship between the brain stem volume and aggression in children affected by autism …show more content…

Aggression is regulated by neural circuitry encompassing several regions of the PFC, the limbic system, the amygdala, the hippocampus, the orbitofrontal cortex (OFC), and the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) (Visser et al., 2013). Visser et al., 2013 have found that in these particular regions of the brain that are responsible for mediating aggression, there is structural asymmetry, which has been linked to a wide variety of psychiatric disorders predominantly characterized by aggression. According to (Lundwall et. al., 2016), reactive aggression is associated with reduced brain stem volume in adolescents with ASD, and with prefrontal cortex (PFC) asymmetry in all adolescents with and without ASD. It is likely according to (Lundwall et. al. 2016) that the anxiety that individuals with ASD experience results from or relates to an increased perception of threat and inability to inhibit the threat, both cognitive impairments of which may be related to brain stem and PFC circuits. Aggressive behaviors are common in typically developing individuals but especially in individuals with ASD. Aggressive behaviors are products of human evolution but impairment in the ability to regulate or mediate aggression is nocuous to the individual and those whom the individual encounters. The study of aggression and the correlations it has to brain structure and brain volume is imperative in order to understand aggressive behavior and to treat individuals suffering psychiatric or

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