Neurobiological Responses towards Stimuli Depicting Aggressive Interactions in Delinquent Young Adults and Controls: No Relation to Reactive and Proactive Aggression
Neurobiological measures underlying aggressive behavior have gained attention due to their potential to inform risk assessment and treatment interventions. Aberrations in responsivity of the autonomic nervous system and electrophysiological responses to arousal-inducing stimuli have been related to...
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MDPI AG
2022-01-01
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| Series: | Brain Sciences |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3425/12/2/124 |
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| author | Janna F. ter Harmsel Josanne D. M. van Dongen Josjan Zijlmans Thimo M. van der Pol Reshmi Marhe Arne Popma |
| author_facet | Janna F. ter Harmsel Josanne D. M. van Dongen Josjan Zijlmans Thimo M. van der Pol Reshmi Marhe Arne Popma |
| author_sort | Janna F. ter Harmsel |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Neurobiological measures underlying aggressive behavior have gained attention due to their potential to inform risk assessment and treatment interventions. Aberrations in responsivity of the autonomic nervous system and electrophysiological responses to arousal-inducing stimuli have been related to emotional dysregulation and aggressive behavior. However, studies have often been performed in community samples, using tasks that induce arousal but not specifically depict aggression. In this study, we examined differences in psychophysiological (i.e., heart rate, respiratory sinus arrhythmia, skin conductance level) and electrophysiological responses (i.e., P3, late positive potential, mu suppression) to aggressive versus neutral scenes in a sample of 118 delinquent young adults and 25 controls (all male, aged 18–27). With respect to group differences, we only found significant higher SCL reactivity during the task in the delinquent group compared to controls, but this was irrespective of condition (aggressive and neutral interactions). Within the delinquent group, we also examined associations between the neurobiological measures and reactive and proactive aggression. No significant associations were found. Therefore, although we found some indication of emotional dysregulation in these delinquent young adults, future studies should further elucidate the neurobiological mechanisms underlying emotional dysregulation in relation to different types of aggression. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-09T22:27:49Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-462783698cd240db9c1b29f005fe62a1 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2076-3425 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-09T22:27:49Z |
| publishDate | 2022-01-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Brain Sciences |
| spelling | doaj.art-462783698cd240db9c1b29f005fe62a12023-11-23T19:01:56ZengMDPI AGBrain Sciences2076-34252022-01-0112212410.3390/brainsci12020124Neurobiological Responses towards Stimuli Depicting Aggressive Interactions in Delinquent Young Adults and Controls: No Relation to Reactive and Proactive AggressionJanna F. ter Harmsel0Josanne D. M. van Dongen1Josjan Zijlmans2Thimo M. van der Pol3Reshmi Marhe4Arne Popma5Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Amsterdam UMC, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, 1105 AZ Amsterdam, The NetherlandsDepartment of Psychology, Education & Child Studies, Erasmus University Rotterdam, 3062 PA Rotterdam, The NetherlandsDepartment of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Amsterdam UMC, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, 1105 AZ Amsterdam, The NetherlandsDepartment of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Amsterdam UMC, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, 1105 AZ Amsterdam, The NetherlandsDepartment of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Amsterdam UMC, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, 1105 AZ Amsterdam, The NetherlandsDepartment of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Amsterdam UMC, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, 1105 AZ Amsterdam, The NetherlandsNeurobiological measures underlying aggressive behavior have gained attention due to their potential to inform risk assessment and treatment interventions. Aberrations in responsivity of the autonomic nervous system and electrophysiological responses to arousal-inducing stimuli have been related to emotional dysregulation and aggressive behavior. However, studies have often been performed in community samples, using tasks that induce arousal but not specifically depict aggression. In this study, we examined differences in psychophysiological (i.e., heart rate, respiratory sinus arrhythmia, skin conductance level) and electrophysiological responses (i.e., P3, late positive potential, mu suppression) to aggressive versus neutral scenes in a sample of 118 delinquent young adults and 25 controls (all male, aged 18–27). With respect to group differences, we only found significant higher SCL reactivity during the task in the delinquent group compared to controls, but this was irrespective of condition (aggressive and neutral interactions). Within the delinquent group, we also examined associations between the neurobiological measures and reactive and proactive aggression. No significant associations were found. Therefore, although we found some indication of emotional dysregulation in these delinquent young adults, future studies should further elucidate the neurobiological mechanisms underlying emotional dysregulation in relation to different types of aggression.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3425/12/2/124aggressive behaviorpsychophysiologyelectrophysiologyreactivityemotion regulationyoung adulthood |
| spellingShingle | Janna F. ter Harmsel Josanne D. M. van Dongen Josjan Zijlmans Thimo M. van der Pol Reshmi Marhe Arne Popma Neurobiological Responses towards Stimuli Depicting Aggressive Interactions in Delinquent Young Adults and Controls: No Relation to Reactive and Proactive Aggression Brain Sciences aggressive behavior psychophysiology electrophysiology reactivity emotion regulation young adulthood |
| title | Neurobiological Responses towards Stimuli Depicting Aggressive Interactions in Delinquent Young Adults and Controls: No Relation to Reactive and Proactive Aggression |
| title_full | Neurobiological Responses towards Stimuli Depicting Aggressive Interactions in Delinquent Young Adults and Controls: No Relation to Reactive and Proactive Aggression |
| title_fullStr | Neurobiological Responses towards Stimuli Depicting Aggressive Interactions in Delinquent Young Adults and Controls: No Relation to Reactive and Proactive Aggression |
| title_full_unstemmed | Neurobiological Responses towards Stimuli Depicting Aggressive Interactions in Delinquent Young Adults and Controls: No Relation to Reactive and Proactive Aggression |
| title_short | Neurobiological Responses towards Stimuli Depicting Aggressive Interactions in Delinquent Young Adults and Controls: No Relation to Reactive and Proactive Aggression |
| title_sort | neurobiological responses towards stimuli depicting aggressive interactions in delinquent young adults and controls no relation to reactive and proactive aggression |
| topic | aggressive behavior psychophysiology electrophysiology reactivity emotion regulation young adulthood |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3425/12/2/124 |
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