Aggression: Humanity's ultimate double-edged sword
Mental Health's "Definitional" Problems are causing a world of Hurt Socrates was really the great Greek philosopher who understood the importance of definitions and that societies often had critical concepts that they weren't able to define very well -- AND it turns it out that matters.
In our own society, "mental illness" as a concept is a big, mushy mess -- with a scientifically invalid diagnostic manual -- and that's according to the former head of the National Institute of Mental Health, Dr. Thomas Insel. The ethical and moral horrors are pretty much what one would expect. One of the issues, we're really afraid of is --- AGGRESSION -- because once we start acknowledging reality -- that Aggression and a lot of other things are biogically-based -- what we call the "Criminal Liability of the Gaps" [selective prosecution based on approved exculpatory statuses] just looks arbitrary and capricious. Further, it appears people may use aggression in all kinds of unconscious ways to manage their biology. For example, people with bipolar disorder may use aggression to stave off depression. According to a study by Temple University, aggression can delay episodes of depression for people with bipolar disorder. [See Button to the Right: "Aggression: Humanity's Ultimate Double Edged Sword] |
Dr. Robert Sapolsky is a professor of biology, and professor of neurology and neurological sciences
and,neurosurgery,at Stanford University -- Wikipedia
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Neuroscience News
High activity in a relatively poorly studied group of brain cells can be linked to aggressive behaviour in mice, a new study from Karolinska Institutet in Sweden shows. Using optogenetic techniques, the researchers were able to control aggression in mice by stimulating or inhibiting these cells. The results, which are published in the scientific journal Nature Neuroscience, contribute to a new understanding of the biological mechanisms behind aggressive behaviour. https://neurosciencenews.com/aggression-neurons-9139/ |
bphope.com
May 1, 2017, PHILADELPHIA, PA-- Aggression appears to keep the depressive phase of bipolar disorder at bay longer, a new study suggests. American researchers noted a growing body of evidence that suggests bipolar disorder is associated with higher levels of aggressive behavior. They looked at about 120 young adults, checking in every four months for more than three years. The team found that, overall, physical and verbal aggression predicted a longer time to major depressive episode onset even after controlling for depressive and manic symptoms at the start of the study, family history of mood disorder, treatment seeking for mood problems, and impulsivity. Aggression did not, however, significantly predict the time to manic episodes. The study, which appeared in the journal Behavior Therapy, was entitled “Aggression protects against the onset of major depressive episodes in individuals with bipolar spectrum disorder.” Source: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0005789416300557 |
Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology (MIPT) Russian Academy of Sciences, Cold Spring Harbor Lab and Stony Brook University, New York
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Daily Mail
How anger changes the BRAIN: Aggression causes new nerve cells to grow which can trigger even more rage in the future
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-3433491/How-anger-changes-BRAIN-Aggression-causes-new-nerve-cells-grow-trigger-rage-future.html#ixzz5HEqZQcUL |