Association between white matter microstructural changes and aggressiveness. A case-control diffusion tensor imaging study
NeuroImage Clinical, vol. 45, pp. 103712
Abstract
• First study on WM linked to aggression in a community case-control sample. • Addresses typical confounders in patient/inmate studies. • Widespread increased AD/MD values in martial artists vs. controls. • Martial artists show higher physical/appetitive aggression than controls. • Highlights the dimensional nature of aggression. Research has focused on identifying neurobiological risk factors associated with aggressive behavior in order to improve prevention and treatment efforts. This study aimed to characterize microstructural differences in white matter (WM) integrity in individuals prone to aggression. We hypothesized that altered cerebral WM microstructure may underlie normal individual variability in aggression and tested this using a case-control design in healthy individuals. Diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) was used to examine WM changes in martial artists ( n = 29) and age-matched controls ( n = 31). We performed tract-based spatial statistics (TBSS) to identify differences in axial diffusivity (AD), fractional anisotropy (FA) and mean diffusivity (MD) between the two groups at the whole-brain level. Martial artists were significantly more aggressive than controls, with increased MD in parietal and occipital areas and increased AD in widespread fiber tracts in the frontal, parietal and temporal areas. Positive associations between AD/MD and (physical) appetitive aggression were identified in several clusters, including the corpus callosum, the superior longitudinal fasciculus and the corona radiata. Our study found evidence for WM microstructural changes associated with aggressiveness in a community case-control sample. Longitudinal studies with larger cohorts, taking into account the dimensional nature of aggressiveness, are needed to better understand the underlying neurobiology.
Authors 9
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Stephanie Seidenbecher corresponding
Otto-von-Guericke-Universität Magdeburg
Affiliation as printed
Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Otto von Guericke University Magdeburg, Magdeburg, Germany. Electronic address: Stephanie.Seidenbecher@med.ovgu.de
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Otto-von-Guericke-Universität Magdeburg
Affiliation as printed
Department of Neurology, Otto von Guericke University Magdeburg, Magdeburg, Germany. Electronic address: joern.kaufmann@med.ovgu.de
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Otto-von-Guericke-Universität Magdeburg
Affiliation as printed
Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Otto von Guericke University Magdeburg, Magdeburg, Germany. Electronic address: mariaschoene@gmx.de
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Otto-von-Guericke-Universität Magdeburg
Affiliation as printed
Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Otto von Guericke University Magdeburg, Magdeburg, Germany. Electronic address: Henrik.Dobrowolny@med.ovgu.de
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Center for Behavioral Brain Sciences · Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München · Otto-von-Guericke-Universität Magdeburg
Affiliation as printed
Department of Forensic Psychiatry, Psychiatric Hospital of the Ludwig-Maximilians-University, Munich, Germany; Center for Behavioral Brain Sciences (CBBS), Otto von Guericke University Magdeburg, Magdeburg, Germany. Electronic address: kolja@schiltz.de
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Center for Behavioral Brain Sciences · RWTH Aachen University · Otto-von-Guericke-Universität Magdeburg
Affiliation as printed
Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Otto von Guericke University Magdeburg, Magdeburg, Germany; Center for Behavioral Brain Sciences (CBBS), Otto von Guericke University Magdeburg, Magdeburg, Germany; Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany; Center for Intervention and Research on Adaptive and Maladaptive Brain Circuits Underlying Mental Health (C-I-R-C), Jena-Magdeburg-Halle, Germany. Electronic address: tfrodl@ukaachen.de
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Center for Behavioral Brain Sciences · Otto-von-Guericke-Universität Magdeburg
Affiliation as printed
Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Otto von Guericke University Magdeburg, Magdeburg, Germany; Center for Behavioral Brain Sciences (CBBS), Otto von Guericke University Magdeburg, Magdeburg, Germany; Center for Intervention and Research on Adaptive and Maladaptive Brain Circuits Underlying Mental Health (C-I-R-C), Jena-Magdeburg-Halle, Germany. Electronic address: johann.steiner@med.ovgu.de
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Center for Behavioral Brain Sciences · Otto-von-Guericke-Universität Magdeburg
Affiliation as printed
Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Otto von Guericke University Magdeburg, Magdeburg, Germany; Center for Behavioral Brain Sciences (CBBS), Otto von Guericke University Magdeburg, Magdeburg, Germany; Salus-Institute, Salus gGmbH, Magdeburg, Germany. Electronic address: b.bogerts@salus-lsa.de
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Center for Behavioral Brain Sciences · Otto-von-Guericke-Universität Magdeburg
Affiliation as printed
Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Otto von Guericke University Magdeburg, Magdeburg, Germany; Center for Behavioral Brain Sciences (CBBS), Otto von Guericke University Magdeburg, Magdeburg, Germany; Center for Intervention and Research on Adaptive and Maladaptive Brain Circuits Underlying Mental Health (C-I-R-C), Jena-Magdeburg-Halle, Germany. Electronic address: thomas.nickl-jockschat@med.ovgu.de
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