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Reward sensitivity modulates the neural substrates of aggression
Authors:
Beaver, J.D., CALDER, A.J. & LAWRENCE,A.D.
Reference:
Thirteenth Annual Meeting of the Cognitive Neuroscience Society, F2
Year of publication:
2006
CBU number:
6488
Abstract:
Blanchard and Blanchard [Horm Behav 2003; 44:171-177] posited a strong link between aggression and reward, in that competition over the acquisition and maintenance of valued resources (e.g., food, mating partners) acts a powerful motive of aggressive behavior. Accordingly, recent behavioral studies show that individual variability in reward sensitivity predict selective attention to facial signals of aggression, experience of anger, and aggressive behavior. Here we used fMRI to investigate whether individual differences in reward sensitivity modulate neural responses to viewing facial signals of aggression. We show that amygdala activation to angry faces increases as a function of reward sensitivity, whereas activation in the ventromedial prefrontal cortex decreases as a function of this trait. Previous work has implicated these regions in aggression, with the ventromedial prefrontal cortex underlying its regulation/control and the amygdala in the generation of negative affect [Science 2000; 289:591-594]. Identifying the factors that underlie variation across individuals remains a fundamental challenge to understanding aggression. Our findings provide valuable insight by identifying a strong relationship between responsivity in the neural circuitry underlying aggression and individual variation in reward sensitivity.