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Sensible or senseless violence from the brain

Role of the hypothalamus in violence

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Prevention and Control of Aggression and the Impact on its Victims

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Abstract

Violence is important in society. It is a “low frequency, high impact behaviour. It has important consequences, even if it does not affect us often: once is enough. It affects both victim and the social environment (e.g.1–4) especially so, if that environment is also threatened. Words like “senseless violence” are used if one cannot identify with the motives of the offender. Words like “pathological violence”, imply that such behaviour can be attributed to drug abuse, disturbed hormones or psychopathologies. Such attributions suggest lack of control over aggressive brain mechanisms in senseless violence. Alternatively, the very mechanisms involved in the direct expression of violence may be disturbed. Neuroscientific research in animals supports both views. Animal models highlight the hypothalamus as a critical node at the intersection of two types of brain mechanisms involved in aggression. One type of mechanism assesses the significance of potential and actual conflicts. Another type of mechanisms controls the direct expression of violence. Both types of mechanisms are modulated by hypothalamic mechanisms which monitor and adjust the endocrine state of the organism. These concepts are used to define pathology in aggressive behaviour.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Section Medical Pharmacology Leiden-Amsterdam Center for Drug Research, Leiden, The Netherlands

    Menno R. Kruk & József Haller

  2. Institute of Experimental Medicine, Budapest, Hungary

    József Haller

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  1. Menno R. Kruk
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  2. József Haller
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. University of Valencia, Valencia, Spain

    Manuela Martinez

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Kruk, M.R., Haller, J. (2001). Sensible or senseless violence from the brain. In: Martinez, M. (eds) Prevention and Control of Aggression and the Impact on its Victims. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4757-6238-9_1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4757-6238-9_1

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Boston, MA

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4419-3366-9

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4757-6238-9

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