Steven Crane Compiled Section Handouts. Human Behavioral Biology 2012

more antisocial behavior.

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  And if TH works better you should have more serotonin. But people with better TH tend to have more impulsive violence.
  
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  So it's complicated, m'kay?
  
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  Where else do MAOb variants come in?
  
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    The New Zealand kids study.
    
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    The "good" version makes you less vulnerable to developing antisocial behavior.
    
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    The "bad" version (less effective at degrading serotonin, leaving more in the synapse) predicts more antisocial behavior. With more aggressive childhoods, more antisocial behavior. Need childhood abuse to make it happen. It's a vulnerability. Gene-environment interaction.
    

What effect does alcohol have on aggression?

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  Same story that comes up over and over: it exacerbates pre-existing tendencies. Makes unaggressive individuals less aggressive. Makes aggressive individuals more aggressive.
  
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  Also see this play out with cultures newly introduced to alcohol. They adopt the drunken behavior of the drunken role models of their colonial occupiers.
  
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  What are the two profiles of alcoholism?
  

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  Profile 1: Increases risk of antisocial behavior. Drinking socially. Men.
  
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    Reaching age 30 and you're cured.
    
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  Profile 2: no gender difference. Alcoholism most severe in late middle age. Barely functioning alcoholics drinking alone.
  
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  Heritability separates out the two lines.
  

Acute environmental triggers of aggression: Releasing Stimuli
What are some primate releasing stimuli for aggression?

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  Stress, pain, and frustration.
  
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  Taking out aggression on those under you works out great for baboons' stress levels. Might explain something
  

about your future boss…

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  Ex: rape seen in baboons in cases of displaced aggression after alpha male jerks are dumped off their thrones. Does crowding cause aggression?
  
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  Same story that comes up over and over: it exacerbates pre-existing tendencies. Makes unaggressive individuals less aggressive. Makes aggressive individuals more aggressive.