Biobehavioral Approaches to Aggression Implicate Perceived Threat and Insufficient Sleep: Clinical Relevance and Policy Implications

Abstract

Besides reducing the burden of aggression and violence on society, the biobehavioral study of aggression can inform our understanding of emotional problems and maladaptive behaviors more broadly, since aggression can often co-occur with psychological disorders (e.g., depression). This article reviews the neuroscience/psychophysiology literature to explain brain processes in aggression that can be targeted to reduce its scourge on society. In particular, the review implicates brain circuitry that is often triggered by feelings of threat, which in turn disrupt higher order cognitive processes and may prompt aggression. One potentially modifiable factor less frequently considered in the study of aggression is sleep insufficiency or problems. The neurophysiological impact of sleep insufficiency can parallel the brain-related risk factors of aggression. Policy recommendations span individual mental health innovations, community-based interventions, and public health campaigns promoting healthy lifestyles to reduce aggression and violence.