ATTACK BEHAVIOURS:

 Heredity and Environment in Violence

 Hormones
 Serotonin Synapses and Aggressive Behaviour

ATTACK BEHAVIOUR:

 Attack behaviour is an aggressive use of force or violence against an adversary,

usually with intent to harm.
 Attack behavior often occurs when signals of warning or threat have been ignored.
Some humans and nonhuman animals may use attack as a form of defensive behavior.
 Attack behaviour may be passionate or calm and detached.

HEREDITY AND ENVIRONMENT IN VIOLENCE:

 Aggressive behaviour relates to both genetic and environmental influences. Some,
studies indicate that one gene increases aggressive behaviour only among people who
had abusive experiences in childhood.

HORMONES:
 Differences in testosterone levels correlate weakly with variations in aggressive
behaviour. However, testosterone has an interesting mixed effect of increasing
emotional responses to an angry face while decreasing conscious recognition of the
angry expression.

SEROTONIN SYNAPSES AND AGGRESSIVE BEHAVIOUR:

 Low serotonin turnover is associated with an increased likelihood of impulsive
behaviour, sometimes including violence. Monkeys with low serotonin turnover get
into many fights and in most cases die young. However, those who survive have a
high probability of achieving a dominant status.
 The role of serotonin is complex, as it is released during aggressive behaviour.
Apparently, the release of serotonin during a hostile encounter produces bigger effects
if the usual level of serotonin release is low.
FEAR AND ANXIETY
 Fear and anxiety
 Fear, anxiety and the amygdala
 Activation of the human amygdala
 Damage to the human amygdala

FEAR AND ANXIETY:

 Anxiety varies among individuals for genetic reasons.
 The amygdala is one of the main areas for integrating both environmental and genetic
influences and regulating the current level of anxiety.

FEAR, ANXIETY AND THE AMYGDALA:

 Researchers measure enhancement of the startle reflex as an indication of anxiety or
learned fears.
 People with posttraumatic stress disorder, who are known for their intense anxiety,
show much of the startle reflex.

ACTIVATION OF THE HUMAN AMYGDALA:

 The amygdala is critical for increasing or decreasing the startle reflex on the basis of
learned information. Animals with damage to the amygdala often act fearless,
apparently because they are slow to process emotional information.
 According to studies using fMRI, the human amygdala responds strongly to fear
stimuli and any other stimuli that evoke strong emotional processing. The amygdala
responds to emotional stimuli even when they are presented under conditions that
prevent people from recognizing them consciously.

DAMAGE TO THE HUMAN AMYGDALA:

 People with damage to the amygdala fail to focus their attention on stimuli with
important emotional content.
 Damage to the amygdala impairs recognition of fear expressions mainly because
people with such damage focus on the nose and mouth instead of the eyes.