Neuropharmacological and related aspects of animal aggression

Abstract

1. 1. Various models of animal aggression are described and the differences between human and animal aggression are stressed. Various forms of aggression as they relate to a number of mice strains and genera are described in an attempt to link a specific “psychological” mouse profile with aggression. Several forms of aggression including those exhibited in in a pseudonatural habitat, maternal defense of the pups, isolation and footshock induced aggression were investigated. These various forms of aggression were studied jointly with mouse behaviors such as exploratory, learning, locomotor and curiosity-dependent activities, as well as activities relatable to what can be defined as emotional behavior such as stress-induced activities and alcohol preference. A “flexible” profile characterized by high motor, exploratory and related activities and good learning capacity was correlated with various types of aggression including shock-induced and social aggression. An “emotional” syndrome was described as connoting poor learning capacity, interference with pertormance of “socially useful” activities in a pseudonatural habitat and tendency to alcohol preference; this syndrome was not associated with social or isolate aggression. The “flexibility” syndrome characterized particularly the CF-1 and C57BL 6J strains of mus Musculus, while the emotional syndrome characterized wild and less inbred mice types. 2. 2. A review of the neuroanatomical and neurochemical basis of aggression is presented in a comparative manner revealing a “multitransmitter” control of aggression. The rodent types described differ greatly with respect to brain levels of acetylcholine, choline acetylase, acetylcholinesterase, catecholamines and indoleamines and GABA. 3. 3. The effects of drugs presumably acting via neurotransmitter mechanisms are discussed in an attempt to clarify the cholinergic and adrenergic control of various forms of aggression. The most consistent data suggest that the cholinergic system exerts profound influence on several forms of aggression, but discordant results are adduced as well.