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The Neural Architecture of Violence-Related Socialization – Evidence from Functional Neuroimaging

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Handbook of Anger, Aggression, and Violence

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Abstract

The idea of the present issue is to adumbrate different theoretical, conceptual, and empirical perspectives on the development of aggressive and violent behaviors. Key aspects are mainly discussed on the basis of noninvasively measured functional neuroimaging data. There is a variety of well-thought-out models explaining important aspects of aggression-development in humans. These models address biophysiological, genetical, contextual, socialisation-related, internal trait and state conditions, and other potential modulators of aggression development, current status, and predictors. There is some neuroscientific evidence that substantiate several model assumptions regarding functional neuroanatomy. Considering the apparent complexity of aggression and violence, it appears appropriate to follow a principle rather than a phenomenological concept, as the latter bears the risk of losing itself in an infinite number of possible examples. The principal concept suggested here, relies on a given genetic makeup, providing rudimentary abilities of behaviors that can be shaped and evolve according to socially relevant perception-action concepts at different complexity levels during lifelong experience. Thus, concepts of complex aggression and violent behaviors are not assumed to be given from the start, but their neural establishment can be facilitated by adverse internal and external developmental conditions. Consistently, involvement of highly plastic and individually recruited heteromodal association cortices during the processing of complex social interaction scenarios have been shown in support of this idea. Future research studies are suggested to keep the variety of experimental perspectives, but also testing for validity and reliability of their cross-sectional approaches by longitudinal designs and a consequent consideration of external variables to explain and validate respective neurophysiological effects. They are further suggested to develop methodological approaches to more adequately and sufficiently describe the complex neurophysiological phenomenology of different kinds of aggression and violence in samples coming from different developmental cohorts and groups.

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Abbreviations

fMRI:

Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging

PAC:

Perception-Action-Cycle

PAG:

PeriAqueductal Gray

PET:

Positron Emission Tomography

TAP:

Taylor Aggression Paradigm

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Psychology, Department of Neuropsychology, University of Bremen, Bremen, Germany

    Thorsten Fehr

  2. Center for Advanced Imaging Bremen/Magdeburg, Bremen, Germany

    Thorsten Fehr

Authors
  1. Thorsten Fehr
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Correspondence to Thorsten Fehr .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Institute for Health and Wellbeing, University of Suffolk, Ipswich, UK

    Colin R. Martin

  2. Faculty of Life Sciences & Medicine, King's College London, London, UK

    Victor R. Preedy

  3. School of Life Sciences, University of Westminster, London, UK

    Vinood B. Patel

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Fehr, T. (2023). The Neural Architecture of Violence-Related Socialization – Evidence from Functional Neuroimaging. In: Martin, C.R., Preedy, V.R., Patel, V.B. (eds) Handbook of Anger, Aggression, and Violence. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-98711-4_92-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-98711-4_92-1

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  • Print ISBN: 978-3-030-98711-4

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-030-98711-4

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