RECENT RESEARCH ON HORMONAL FACTORS RELEVANT TO HUMAN AGGRESSIVENESS

In: International social science journal: ISSJ, Band 23, Heft 1, S. 36-47

Abstract

A dichotomy of biological vs soc factors in human aggressiveness is rejected, since both interact. Recent res on hormonal influences upon brain org in animals early in life as affecting later aggressive & sexual behavior is summarized. Res on the role of testosterone in the development of aggressive behavior has now been extended to primates. F monkeys exposed to testosterone during uterine development have been shown to exhibit aggressive & masculinized behavior in later life. Clinical observations suggest that certain reproductive as well as non-reproductive hormones may affect the probability of aggressive behavior in humans. But little is yet known of the endocrine concomitants of anger, threat & attack in man, although there are intriguing clues involving steroid hormones & biogenic amines. Work done on rodents in recent yrs has been concerned with the relations between pop density, endocrine function & behavior. Results have suggested that as pop density reaches a high level, adrenal function tends to increase considerably, while gonadal function tends to diminish & aggressive behavior tends to increase. Res leads beyond strictly hormonal studies to hormone-related biochemistry of informationprocessing in the nervous system, & into the broader field of human biochemical genetics. Of particular interest is res begun a few yrs ago- into the 'Lesch-Nyhan syndrome.' This is a disorder of purine metabolism in which overproduction of aric acid is accompanied by severe behavior disturbance including unusual aggressive manifestations. The disease is transmitted as an X-linked recessive trait, & a specific enzyme deficiency has been delineated. The presence of abnormal enzyme can now be identified by tests. A range of res possibilities exists re the effects of various brain-stimulating purines on parame - ters of aggressive behavior. It is concluded that the biological set's must ultimately work in conjunction with the soc set's toward a better understanding of endocrine, biochemical, genetic evolutionary & neuropbysiological factors involved in human behavior. M. Maxfield.