Biological Aggresion

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Anger, Amygdala and Control video:

  • Amygdala - over takes thinking and brain
  • Dopamine and Adrenaline flood body
  • As adrenaline reaches the heart, it beats more rapidly and forcefully
  • This extra blood primes muscles for action
  • Primitive response that prepares us for fighting
  • Amygdala - fight or flight centre
  • Once amygdala is activated so is the pre-frontal cortex which can help us assert control over the primitive impulse. It assesses the threat and creates a rational response.
  • If the pre-frontal cortex is damaged, behaviour control is lost.
  • Rain gets volunteers with ASPD (Anti-social PD) 
  • He scans their brain structure which reveals individuals with ASPD have an 11% reduction of neurones in their pre-frontal cortex. 
  • He then scanned the brains of 41 impulsive murderers. 
  • Normal brains have good glucose levels around the brain
  • The murderers brain has less glucose at the pre-frontal cortex yet had good levels towards the back (where feelings arise) this means that they cannot control these emotions and will more likely lash out impulsivley and potentially kill someone.

Aggression in Cats

  • Hypothalamus - rhythm maker
  • Hypothalamus implanted with electrodes
  • When on, cats hiss and hit each other and when off they calm down
  • When another region of the hypothalamus is stimulated, we see another type of aggression - silent stalking 
  • When off - kill is forgotten

Origins of Human Aggression:

  • 5/6 early emotional feelings in early life
    • Anger being one of them
  • Innate = in born behaviour
  • Richard Obeli wanted to follow the development of children and adolescents and wanted to see what early onset behaviours lead to criminal/aggressive behaviours.
  • Used a large cohort of children, starting at birth
  • Researchers found a shocking discovery : children are most likely to resort to physical aggression at the age of 2.
  • As children grow, motor skills begin to develop - this is the start of exploratory aggression (e.g. reaching out, pulling hair, gentle punches)
  • Once babies start walking, their hands are free to hit even though they're not very strong.
  • Once they are more developed, their movements are stronger and stabler.
  • At around 2 years of age, some children turn into 'tiny terrors' e.g. spontaneous, explosions of rage. 
    • Usually after these, there is a positive (cuddling etc)

Testosterone

  • Role begins in womb - Y chromosome forms testes and testosterone
  • Testosterone has a big influence on the way our brain develops
  • Testosterone deprovision has influenced behaviours towards women
    • He also found faces more interesting - like women do
    • He had more empathy - like women
    • Focuses less on bodily features
  • High testosterone levels are not good for relationships
    • More likely to get divorced, have affairs and have psychological issues
    • More likely to be aggressive
    • Dominance hormone
  • Cortisol is the stress hormone which coordinates submissive behaviour
    • High levels can block testosterone affects
  • People high in testosterone and low in cortisol have low functioning in brain

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