Department of Psychiatry, University of California, San Francisco, CA, USA.
Psychiatry Res. 2013 Jan 30;211(1):24-30. doi: 10.1016/j.pscychresns.2012.10.010.
Investigations into the specific association of amygdala volume, a critical aspect of the fronto-limbic emotional circuitry, and aggression have produced results broadly consistent with the 'larger is more powerful' doctrine. However, recent reports suggest that the ventral and dorsal aspects of the amygdala play functionally specific roles, respectively, in the activation and control of behavior. Therefore, parceling amygdala volume into dorsal and ventral components might prove productive in testing hypotheses regarding volumetric association to aggression, and impulsivity, a related aspect of self-control. We sought to test this hypothesis in a group of 41 psychiatric patients who received standard magnetic resonance imaging and a psychometric protocol including aggression and impulsivity measures. Whole amygdala volumes were not associated with aggression or impulsivity, but significant correlations were found when dorsal/ventral amygdalae were analyzed separately. Specifically, left and right ventral amygdala volume was positively associated with motor impulsivity, and left dorsal amygdala was negatively associated with aggression. Results are discussed in terms of an activation and control model of brain-behavior relations. Potential relevance to the continuum of amygdala hyper- to hypo-activation and aggression is discussed.
对杏仁核体积（边缘系统情绪回路的关键方面）与攻击性之间的特定关联的研究结果与“越大越强”的理论基本一致。然而，最近的报告表明，杏仁核的腹侧和背侧部分分别在行为的激活和控制中发挥特定的功能作用。因此，将杏仁核体积划分为背侧和腹侧成分可能有助于检验与攻击性和冲动性（自我控制的一个相关方面）相关的体积关联假设。我们在一组 41 名接受标准磁共振成像和包括攻击性和冲动性测量的心理测量协议的精神科患者中测试了这一假设。整个杏仁核体积与攻击性或冲动性无关，但当分别分析背侧/腹侧杏仁核时，发现了显著的相关性。具体来说，左右腹侧杏仁核体积与运动冲动性呈正相关，左背侧杏仁核与攻击性呈负相关。研究结果根据大脑-行为关系的激活和控制模型进行了讨论。讨论了与杏仁核过度激活到过度激活和攻击性连续体的潜在相关性。
