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Q03: Integrated Research Training Group (RTG)

Bundle all training and mentoring activities in a research training group (RTG) for the young researchers participating in this collaborative research center.

Contributors

David Slattery

A07: The intestinal microbiota as a regulator of aggressive and impulsive behavior A08: The metabolic lung-brain axis in aggressive behavior in patients with AMD C01: Gene-environment interactions and the role of impulsivity in responding to acute threats: early life stress and escalated aggression in recombinant inbred mouse strains Q03: Integrated Research Training Group (RTG) Principal investigator Research training group (RTG) committee member Public relations team member Citizen Advisory Boad Goethe University Frankfurt

Professor David Slattery is interested in understanding of the neurobiology and treatment of stress-related disorders; with an emphasis on mood and anxiety disorders. A particular focus is the study postpartum mood and anxiety disorders using stress- and diet-based models in rodents, as well as:

Publications

A cognitive neuroscience approach to understanding aggression and its treatment

Ute Habel Lisa Wagels A02: Context effects on threat processing in dependence of testosterone levels A04: Implicit chemosensory threat signals as stimulators of amygdala hyperresponsiveness in AMD B04: Investigating psychological and neural correlates of intimate partner violence Q03: Integrated Research Training Group (RTG) Q04: Central coordination Biological Psychiatry Clinical Psychiatry, Psychotherapy, Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Negative valence system

While anyone can behave aggressively, some people are more prone to aggression than others. We present a neuro-cognitive model and consider several inter-individual differences that confer risk for aggression. Forms of atypical cognitive function include a hyperreactive acute threat response, poor emotion regulation, and mechanisms involved in choosing when to aggress. We show dysfunction in the neural systems mediating these functions may account for aggression in people high in psychopathy/callous unemotional traits, irritability/anger, hostility, impulsivity, and low in frustration tolerance. We then review promising interventions including psychological therapies and pharmaceuticals that might influence the neuro-cognitive underpinnings of these constructs. Although there is no overwhelming “one size fits all” approach to treating aggression, identifying the neural mechanisms implicated in these traits may improve individualized treatments.