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aggression

·November 5, 2025·6 min read

Early Trauma Hardwires the Brain for Aggression and Self-Harm

A new study reveals that aggression and self-harm share a biological foundation in the brain’s response to early-life trauma. Researchers discovered that trauma increases activity in calcium channels within a neural circuit connecting the nucleus reuniens and hippocampus, amplifying pain processing and impulsive behavior.

Featured Neuroscience

·October 22, 2025·6 min read

Hungry Brain Rewrites Emotional Priorities

New research reveals that hunger can flip female mice from nurturing to aggressive—but only during specific hormonal phases. Scientists discovered that neurons controlling appetite (AgRP neurons) interact with a brain region linked to parental care, the medial preoptic area (MPOA).

Featured Neuroscience Psychology

·October 3, 2025·5 min read

Motherhood Flips Brain Switch That Triggers Aggression

Researchers discovered that female mice gain access to aggression after giving birth through a brain circuit usually dormant in non-pregnant females.

This shows the outline of a head and brain. Behind are two people fighting.

Featured Neuroscience Psychology

·September 8, 2025·2 min read

Aggression Is Contagious: Observing Violence Primes the Brain for Aggression

A new study shows that observing violence can make individuals more likely to act aggressively later, but the effect depends on familiarity. Male mice who watched familiar peers attack others became more violent afterward, driven by amygdala neurons that “prime” aggression.

This shows a map of the US and a couple behind shattered glass.

Featured Neuroscience Psychology

·August 1, 2025·4 min read

Murder-Suicide Rates in U.S. Higher Than Previously Estimated

New research reveals that murder-suicide incidents in the U.S. are more frequent than previously documented, with an average of 820 related deaths per year. Most incidents involve current or former intimate partners, and nearly all suicides were carried out with firearms.

This shows a split image of a woman's face. On one side she is giving a blank stare, on the other is oxytocin molecules and a lighter expression on her face.

Featured Neuroscience Psychology

·July 30, 2025·8 min read

Oxytocin May Treat the Social Deficits of Psychopathy

Psychopathy impairs the ability to recognize and respond appropriately to emotional facial expressions, often disrupting empathy and social behavior. A new review explores whether oxytocin—a neuropeptide known to promote social bonding—can help compensate for these deficits.

This shows the outline of a head and brain. There are children running in the background.

Featured Neuroscience Psychology

·July 26, 2025·3 min read

Childhood Trauma May Rewire Brain for Lifelong Aggression

Aggression isn’t just a behavioral issue—it has deep neurobiological roots, especially when shaped by early-life trauma. New research is investigating how childhood adversity rewires brain circuits that control emotion, memory, and attention, increasing the risk of impulsive and pathological aggression.

Featured Neuroscience Psychology

·July 23, 2025·6 min read

What Drives Women to Kill? Emotion & Threat, Not Psychopathy

Women who commit lethal violence rarely display psychopathy, instead acting out of provocation and perceived threats. A 15-year Swedish study of 175 cases found that about half of the women had a severe mental disorder, and these women showed slightly more short-term planning but still high emotional arousal.

Featured Neuroscience

·July 21, 2025·3 min read

Right-Sided Brain Pathway Linked to Social Dominance

A new study uncovers how brain anatomy relates to social dominance in primates. Researchers found that the uncinate fasciculus, a tract tied to emotion and memory, strongly correlated with dominance behaviors in squirrel monkeys. This link was especially pronounced in the right hemisphere, aligning with human findings on social aggression.

Featured Neuroscience Psychology

·July 17, 2025·3 min read

Toxoplasma Parasite Influences Personality and Aggression

New research highlights how parasitic infections can alter brain chemistry and behavior in humans. Toxoplasma gondii, among others, appears to manipulate dopamine and immune responses, increasing risk-taking, impulsivity, and aggression.

This shows Macaque monkeys watching a video on a laptop.

Featured Neuroscience Psychology

·July 10, 2025·6 min read

Familiar Faces and Fights: What Monkeys Like to Watch Most

A new study reveals that long-tailed macaques, like humans, are most captivated by videos featuring social conflict and familiar group members. Researchers showed the macaques videos of monkeys engaged in fighting, grooming, running, or sitting, and found they spent the most time watching aggressive encounters.

Featured Neuroscience Psychology

·June 24, 2025·4 min read

Choose Your Battles: Identity Shapes Displaced Aggression

Displaced aggression—redirecting frustration onto an uninvolved target—has now been studied in mice, revealing that identity and social history play key roles in shaping aggressive behavior. Male mice primed by seeing a rival behind a barrier showed increased aggression only when the rival was unfamiliar or lacked a clear social hierarchy.