ABSTRACT
Aggressive behavior is determined by genetic and environmental factors. However, although this behavior has been extensively studied it is little understood. Ample evidence suggests that stimulation of brain noradrenergic neurons plays an inhibitory role in rat mouse-killing (muricidal) aggression. Increase of motor activity is associated with augmented dopamine turnover in subcortical mesolimbic area, specially in nucleus accumbens. Experimentally, this raised dopamine (DA) activity is obtained following injection of DA agonists in nucleus accumbens, or through systemic administration of high doses of such agonists. Lesions of the septal forebrain area in the rat have long been known to produce a dramatic increase in irritability and reactivity. The resulting syndrome, often called “septal rage”, is characterized by intially explosive levels of irritation giving way to a fairly prolonged period of behavioral recovery.
