Attack Behaviors

Attack behavior depends on the

individual as well as the situation.
Thr first attack increases the
probability of a second attack againts
any intruder for the next 30 minute
or more.
As if the first attack get the person in
the mood to attack again

Factors
a) Heredity and environment
b) Hormones
c) Serotonin synapses

a. Heredity and Enviroment in

Violence
Enviromental factor such as:
People who were abused in childhood
People who witnessed violent abuse
between their parents.
And people who live in a violent
neigborhood

 How about heredity factors?

Various kind of aggressive behavior occur
under different circumstances and we
cannot expect to find a single gene or set
of genes that will account for all the
variations.
Several studies have found that violence
is particulary enhanced in people with
both a genetic predisposition and a
trouble early enviroment.

b. Hormones
Most fighting in the animal kingdom is by
males competing for mates or females
defending their young.
Male aggressive behavior depend heavily
on testosterone, which is highest for
adult males in the reproduction season.
But the effect of testosterone in
aggressive behaviour are often smaller
than most people expect, because
violence depends on other chemicals as
well, especially cortisol and serotonin

c. Serotonin synapse
Aggressive Behavior

and

several lines of evidence link aggressive

behaviour to low serotonin release.
In animal :
Luigi valzelli (1973) found that isolating male
mice for 4 weeks increased their aggressive
behaviour and decreased their serotonin
turnover.
In another study, investigated 2 years old
monkeys that have 2 conditions, first is with
low serotonin turnover and second group with
high serotonin turnover. The result in the first
group most of them died by age 6. and in the
second group most of them survived.

 Humans
Follow up studies on people released from prison
have found that those with lower serotonin turnover
had a greater probability of further convictions for
violent crimes.

High level of serotonin inhibit a variety of

impulses, and low level serotonin remove
inhibitions
This is because when researchers have used drug
or diet to suppress serotonin level, some people
felt depressed, others become more aggressive
and people with drug problems became craving
for drug.
In short serotonin level not specific to aggression.