Distorted Circuitry in Violent Animals

The mechanisms underlying aggression have long been considered unitary. This led to the belief that the behavioral methods crystallized in the first few decades of the twentieth century may not only clarify the mechanisms of aggression as a natural phenomenon but may also be relevant for understanding psychopathological and criminal aggression. As a secondary consequence, novel treatments for aggression problems were preclinically tested by studying the classical methodologies: hypothalamic, resident–intruder, and maternal aggressions.