Neuroendocrine Mechanisms of Aggression in Rodents

Exploration into the biological bases of aggression has demonstrated the existence of many forms of aggression. Here we investigate the neuroendocrine bases of these types of aggression in rodents. With this, a new emphasis on appetitive and consummatory aggression, and how this framework illuminates our understanding of human aggression, is reviewed. This article reviews several specific types of aggression, starting with the development of aggression, maternal aggression, male-male and female-female aggression, and ending with seasonal aggression. We take an initial ethological perspective and then provide evidence for links between neuroendocrine compounds and aggression. Applications to the understanding of human aggression are provided when appropriate. The review reveals the many neuroendocrine drivers of aggression, including sex steroid hormones, hormones involved in the stress axis, the neuropeptides oxytocin and vasopressin, the neurotransmitters GABA, glutamate, serotonin, and dopamine, and the hormone melatonin. We further incorporate brain circuits integrating aggression and neuroendocrinology that includes the social neural network. Overall, the neuroendocrine control of aggression is sophisticated and allows for a significant level of control of aggression through both stimulatory and inhibitory mechanisms.