Abstract
Aggression after military deployment is a common occurrence in veterans. Neurobiological research has shown that aggression is associated with a dysfunction in a network connecting brain regions implicated in threat processing and emotion regulation. However, aggression may also be related to deficits in networks underlying communication and social cognition. The uncinate and arcuate fasciculi are integral to these networks, thus studying potential abnormalities in these white matter connections can further our understanding of anger and aggression problems in military veterans. Here, we use diffusion tensor imaging tractography to investigate white matter microstructural properties of the uncinate fasciculus and the arcuate fasciculus in veterans with and without anger and aggression problems. A control tract, the parahippocampal cingulum was also included in the analyses. More specifically, fractional anisotropy (FA) estimates are derived along the trajectory from all fiber pathways and compared between both groups. No between-group FA differences are observed for the uncinate fasciculus and the cingulum, however parts of the arcuate fasciculus show a significantly lower FA in the group of veterans with aggression and anger problems. Our data suggest that abnormalities in arcuate fasciculus white matter connectivity that are related to self-regulation may play an important role in the etiology of anger and aggression in military veterans.
Highlights
Anger and aggression problems are frequently reported in veterans after military deployment (Elbogen et al 2013; Reijnen et al 2015; Shea et al 2018)
The aim of the current study is to determine whether tissue microstructure of the arcuate fasciculus (AF) or the uncinate fasciculus (UF) as assessed with the fractional anisotropy (FA) is related to anger and aggression
Reconstruction of the left and right UF was possible in all participants; it failed for the left AF in six participants and for the right AF in one participant; and reconstruction
Summary
Anger and aggression problems are frequently reported in veterans after military deployment (Elbogen et al 2013; Reijnen et al 2015; Shea et al 2018). In a sample of 1090 USA military veterans, 9% endorsed engaging in severe violence and 26% in other physical aggression in the previous year of the study (Elbogen et al 2014). In the National Vietnam Veterans Readjustment Study (NVVRS), 33% of male USA veterans with current post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) reported intimate partner aggression in the previous year (Jordan et al 1992). These problems hardly diminished over time (Heesink et al 2015) and often remained even after treatment (Shin et al 2012).
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