Conducta agresiva en chimpancé macho

European Journal of Pharmacology 526 (2005) 259 – 273 www.elsevier.com/locate/ejphar

Review

Serotonin and aggressive behavior in rodents and nonhuman primates: Predispositions and plasticity ☆
Pier Francesco Ferrari a,b,⁎, Paola Palanza b , Stefano Parmigiani b , Rosa M.M. de Almeida c , Klaus A. Miczek d
b a Dipartimento di Neuroscienze, Università di Parma, via Volturno 39, 43100 Parma,Italy Dipartimento di Biologia Evolutiva e Funzionale, Università di Parma, viale delle Scienze, 43100 Parma, Italy c Laboratório de Neurociências, UNISINOS, São Leopoldo, RS, Brazil Department of Psychology, Psychiatry, Pharmacology, Neuroscience, Tufts University, Medford and Boston, USA

d

Accepted 4 October 2005 Available online 10 November 2005

Abstract This review analyzespsychosocial and genetic determinants of aggressive behavior in rodents and nonhuman primates and the role of the serotonin (5-HT) system on aggressive behaviors in order to trace possible evolutionary common origins between psychopathological and adaptive forms of aggression. Studies in primates suggest that deficit in serotonin activity, as indicated by the levels of the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF)serotonin major metabolite 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid (5-HIAA) correlates with impulsive and aggressive behavior. It is possible that CSF 5-HIAA reflects the prevailing serotonergic tone and may be related to an aggressive trait. Superimposed on this tone are phasic serotonin changes that may be related to the inhibition of aggressive acts. Genetic factors determine aggressive behaviors as demonstratedby classic selection and strain comparison studies. Manipulations of genes targeting 5-HT receptors, transporters and enzymes can influence aggression. Some of these genes related to the serotonin transporter (5-HTT) and the monoamine oxidase A (MAO-A) show a polymorphism that may predispose, under specific environmental conditions, certain individuals to display pathological forms of aggression. ©2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Keywords: Aggression; Genetics; Serotonin transporter; Monoamine oxidase A; 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid; Microdialysis; (Monkey); (Mice); (Rat)

Contents 1. Adaptive and pathological forms of aggressive behaviors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2. Aggression in rodents. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.Aggression in Old World monkeys . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4. The neurobiology of aggression: the 5-HT deficiency trait. Is brain serotonin activity linked 5. 5-HT, genes and aggression. Interaction between genes and environment . . . . . . . . . . 6. Conclusions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Acknowledgements . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . to trait . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . or to . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . state aggression or . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . both? . . . . . . . . . . . . 260 261 262 263 265 268 269 269

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PFF, SP and KAM contributed equally to the paper. ⁎ Corresponding author. E-mail address: ferrari@biol.unipr.it (P. Francesco Ferrari).

Research on aggression has been a ‘hot topic’ in scientific investigations for more than five decades as it has been a target formany specialists from different disciplines, ranging from anthropology, behavioral biology to psychology, genetics, social sciences, neurosciences and zoology. The attraction of this topic is mainly due to the fact that aggression is commonly

0014-2999/$ - see front matter © 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.ejphar.2005.10.002

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