Takahashi Aki, Miczek Klaus A
Mouse Genomics Resource Laboratory, National Institute of Genetics, (NIG), 1111 Yata, Mishima, Shizuoka, 411-8540, Japan,
Curr Top Behav Neurosci. 2014;17:3-44. doi: 10.1007/7854_2013_263.
Aggressive behavior is observed in many animal species, such as insects, fish, lizards, frogs, and most mammals including humans. This wide range of conservation underscores the importance of aggressive behavior in the animals' survival and fitness, and the likely heritability of this behavior. Although typical patterns of aggressive behavior differ between species, there are several concordances in the neurobiology of aggression among rodents, primates, and humans. Studies with rodent models may eventually help us to understand the neurogenetic architecture of aggression in humans. However, it is important to recognize the difference between the ecological and ethological significance of aggressive behavior (species-typical aggression) and maladaptive violence (escalated aggression) when applying the findings of aggression research using animal models to human or veterinary medicine. Well-studied rodent models for aggressive behavior in the laboratory setting include the mouse (Mus musculus), rat (Rattus norvegicus), hamster (Mesocricetus auratus), and prairie vole (Microtus ochrogaster). The neural circuits of rodent aggression have been gradually elucidated by several techniques, e.g., immunohistochemistry of immediate-early gene (c-Fos) expression, intracranial drug microinjection, in vivo microdialysis, and optogenetics techniques. Also, evidence accumulated from the analysis of gene-knockout mice shows the involvement of several genes in aggression. Here, we review the brain circuits that have been implicated in aggression, such as the hypothalamus, prefrontal cortex (PFC), dorsal raphe nucleus (DRN), nucleus accumbens (NAc), and olfactory system. We then discuss the roles of glutamate and γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA), excitatory and inhibitory amino acids in the brain, as well as their receptors, in controlling aggressive behavior, focusing mainly on recent findings. At the end of this chapter, we discuss how genes can be identified that underlie individual differences in aggression, using the so-called forward genetics approach.
在许多动物物种中都观察到了攻击行为，如昆虫、鱼类、蜥蜴、青蛙以及包括人类在内的大多数哺乳动物。这种广泛的存在突出了攻击行为在动物生存和适应性方面的重要性，以及这种行为可能具有的遗传性。尽管不同物种的典型攻击行为模式有所不同，但在啮齿动物、灵长类动物和人类的攻击行为神经生物学方面存在一些一致性。对啮齿动物模型的研究最终可能有助于我们理解人类攻击行为的神经遗传结构。然而，在将使用动物模型的攻击行为研究结果应用于人类或兽医学时，认识到攻击行为（物种典型攻击）的生态和行为学意义与适应不良暴力（升级攻击）之间的差异非常重要。在实验室环境中，对攻击行为进行了充分研究的啮齿动物模型包括小鼠（小家鼠）、大鼠（褐家鼠）、仓鼠（金黄仓鼠）和草原田鼠（橙腹草原田鼠）。通过多种技术，如立即早期基因（c-Fos）表达的免疫组织化学、颅内药物微量注射、体内微透析和光遗传学技术，啮齿动物攻击行为的神经回路已逐渐得到阐明。此外，对基因敲除小鼠的分析积累的证据表明，有几个基因参与了攻击行为。在这里，我们综述了与攻击行为有关的脑回路，如下丘脑、前额叶皮层（PFC）、中缝背核（DRN）、伏隔核（NAc）和嗅觉系统。然后，我们主要讨论近期的研究结果，探讨谷氨酸和γ-氨基丁酸（GABA），即大脑中的兴奋性和抑制性氨基酸及其受体在控制攻击行为中的作用。在本章结尾，我们讨论如何使用所谓的正向遗传学方法来识别攻击行为个体差异背后的基因。
