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Potegal M, Nordman JC. Non-angry aggressive arousal and angriffsberietschaft: A narrative review of the phenomenology and physiology of proactive/offensive aggression motivation and escalation in people and other animals. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2023; 147:105110. [PMID: 36822384 DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2023.105110] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/21/2022] [Revised: 02/14/2023] [Accepted: 02/18/2023] [Indexed: 02/23/2023]
Abstract
Human aggression typologies largely correspond with those for other animals. While there may be no non-human equivalent of angry reactive aggression, we propose that human proactive aggression is similar to offense in other animals' dominance contests for territory or social status. Like predation/hunting, but unlike defense, offense and proactive aggression are positively reinforcing, involving dopamine release in accumbens. The drive these motivational states provide must suffice to overcome fear associated with initiating risky fights. We term the neural activity motivating proactive aggression "non-angry aggressive arousal", but use "angriffsberietschaft" for offense motivation in other animals to acknowledge possible differences. Temporal variation in angriffsberietschaft partitions fights into bouts; engendering reduced anti-predator vigilance, redirected aggression and motivational over-ride. Increased aggressive arousal drives threat-to-attack transitions, as in verbal-to-physical escalation and beyond that, into hyper-aggression. Proactive aggression and offense involve related neural activity states. Cingulate, insular and prefrontal cortices energize/modulate aggression through a subcortical core containing subnuclei for each aggression type. These proposals will deepen understanding of aggression across taxa, guiding prevention/intervention for human violence.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Jacob C Nordman
- Department of Physiology, Southern Illinois University School of Medicine, Carbondale, IL, USA.
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Chen Y, Wang G, Zhang W, Han Y, Zhang L, Xu H, Meng S, Lu L, Xue Y, Shi J. An orbitofrontal cortex-anterior insular cortex circuit gates compulsive cocaine use. SCIENCE ADVANCES 2022; 8:eabq5745. [PMID: 36563158 PMCID: PMC9788779 DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.abq5745] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/17/2022] [Accepted: 11/23/2022] [Indexed: 06/01/2023]
Abstract
Compulsive drug use, a cardinal symptom of drug addiction, is characterized by persistent substance use despite adverse consequences. However, little is known about the neural circuit mechanisms behind this behavior. Using a footshock-punished cocaine self-administration procedure, we found individual variability of rats in the process of drug addiction, and rats with compulsive cocaine use presented increased neural activity of the anterior insular cortex (aIC) compared with noncompulsive rats. Chemogenetic manipulating activity of aIC neurons, especially aIC glutamatergic neurons, bidirectionally regulated compulsive cocaine intake. Furthermore, the aIC received inputs from the orbitofrontal cortex (OFC), and the OFC-aIC circuit was enhanced in rats with compulsive cocaine use. Suppression of the OFC-aIC circuit switched rats from punishment resistance to sensitivity, while potentiation of this circuit increased compulsive cocaine use. In conclusion, our results found that aIC glutamatergic neurons and the OFC-aIC circuit gated the shift from controlled to compulsive cocaine use, which could serve as potential therapeutic targets for drug addiction.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yang Chen
- National Institute on Drug Dependence and Beijing Key Laboratory of Drug Dependence, Peking University, Beijing 100191, China
- Department of Pharmacology, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Peking University Health Science Center, Beijing 100191, China
| | - Guibin Wang
- Institute of Materia Medica, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences & Peking Union Medical College, Beijing 100050, China
| | - Wen Zhang
- National Institute on Drug Dependence and Beijing Key Laboratory of Drug Dependence, Peking University, Beijing 100191, China
| | - Ying Han
- National Institute on Drug Dependence and Beijing Key Laboratory of Drug Dependence, Peking University, Beijing 100191, China
| | - Libo Zhang
- National Institute on Drug Dependence and Beijing Key Laboratory of Drug Dependence, Peking University, Beijing 100191, China
- Peking University Shenzhen Hospital, Shenzhen 518036, China
| | - Hubo Xu
- National Institute on Drug Dependence and Beijing Key Laboratory of Drug Dependence, Peking University, Beijing 100191, China
| | - Shiqiu Meng
- National Institute on Drug Dependence and Beijing Key Laboratory of Drug Dependence, Peking University, Beijing 100191, China
| | - Lin Lu
- National Institute on Drug Dependence and Beijing Key Laboratory of Drug Dependence, Peking University, Beijing 100191, China
- Peking University Sixth Hospital, Peking University Institute of Mental Health, NHC Key Laboratory of Mental Health (Peking University), National Clinical Research Center for Mental Disorders (Peking University Sixth Hospital), Beijing 100191, China
| | - Yanxue Xue
- National Institute on Drug Dependence and Beijing Key Laboratory of Drug Dependence, Peking University, Beijing 100191, China
- The Key Laboratory for Neuroscience of the Ministry of Education and Health, Peking University, Beijing 100191, China
- Chinese Institute for Brain Research, Beijing 102206, China
| | - Jie Shi
- National Institute on Drug Dependence and Beijing Key Laboratory of Drug Dependence, Peking University, Beijing 100191, China
- Peking University Shenzhen Hospital, Shenzhen 518036, China
- The Key Laboratory for Neuroscience of the Ministry of Education and Health, Peking University, Beijing 100191, China
- Chinese Institute for Brain Research, Beijing 102206, China
- The State Key Laboratory of Natural and Biomimetic Drugs, Peking University, Beijing 100191, China
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Porter BS, Hillman KL. Dorsomedial prefrontal neural ensembles reflect changes in task utility that culminate in task quitting. J Neurophysiol 2021; 126:313-329. [PMID: 34133233 DOI: 10.1152/jn.00003.2021] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/22/2022] Open
Abstract
When performing a physically demanding behavior, sometimes the optimal choice is to quit the behavior rather than persist to minimize energy expenditure for the benefits gained. The dorsomedial prefrontal cortex (dmPFC), consisting of the anterior cingulate cortex and secondary motor area, likely contributes toward such utility assessments. Here, we examined how male rat dmPFC single unit and ensemble-level activity corresponded to changes in task utility and quitting in an effortful weight lifting task. Rats carried out two task paradigms: one that became progressively more physically demanding over time and a second fixed effort version. Rats could quit the task at any time. Dorsomedial PFC neurons were highly responsive to each behavioral stage of the task, consisting of rope pulling, reward retrieval, and reward area leaving. Activity was highest early in sessions, commensurate with the highest relative task utility, then decreased until the point of quitting. Neural ensembles consistently represented the sequential behavioral phases of the task. However, these representations were modified over time and became more distinct over the course of the session. These results suggest that dmPFC neurons represent behavioral states that are dynamically modified as behaviors lose their utility, culminating in task quitting.NEW & NOTEWORTHY When carrying out a physically demanding task, animals must continually assess whether to persist or quit. In this study, we recorded neurons in the dorsomedial prefrontal cortex (dmPFC) of rats as they carried out a challenging weightlifting task, up to the point of quitting. We demonstrate that dmPFC neurons form a representation of the task that is modified, via a decrease in firing rate, by the decreasing the utility of the task that may signal quitting.
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Affiliation(s)
- Blake S Porter
- Department of Psychology and Brain Health Research Centre, University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand
| | - Kristin L Hillman
- Department of Psychology and Brain Health Research Centre, University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand
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