Key result
Male veterans with reactive aggression symptoms exhibited lower functional connectivity between the deep cerebellar nuclei and the orbitofrontal cortex compared to control veterans.
Why the study?
A significant number of veterans experience irritability and aggression symptoms, and a role of the deep cerebellar nuclei in reactive aggression has been suggested alongside cortico-subcortical circuits.
Cross-Sectional (n=41)
This study provides preliminary evidence for the possible involvement of a cerebello-prefrontal pathway in reactive aggression in male veterans.
Answers are grounded in this paper and cite their sources.
Reduced DCN-OFC connectivity in aggressive veterans supports cerebellar involvement; hypothesis-generating and requires larger prospective studies.
A significant number of veterans experience irritability and aggression symptoms as a result of being exposed to extremely stressful and life-threatening situations. In addition to the well-established involvement of the brain's cortico-subcortical circuit in aggression-related behaviours, a role of the deep cerebellar nuclei (DCN) in reactive aggression has been suggested. In the present study, seed-based resting-state functional connectivity between the DCN and cortico-subcortical areas was explored in veterans with and without reactive aggression symptoms. Nineteen male veterans with reactive aggression symptoms and twenty-two control veterans without reactive aggression symptoms underwent 3T resting-state functional MRI scans. Region-of-interest (ROI) analyses that included the amygdala, hypothalamus and periaqueductal grey as ROIs did not yield significant group-related differences in resting-state functional connectivity with the DCN. However, exploratory whole-brain analysis showed that veterans with reactive aggression symptoms exhibited lower functional connectivity between the DCN and the orbitofrontal cortex compared to control veterans. Our findings provide preliminary evidence for the possible involvement of a cerebello-prefrontal pathway in reactive aggression in male veterans.
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Wolfs et al. (2023) conducted a cross-sectional in Reactive aggression symptoms (n=41). Reactive aggression symptoms vs. Veterans without reactive aggression symptoms was evaluated on Resting-state functional connectivity between the deep cerebellar nuclei and cortico-subcortical areas. Male veterans with reactive aggression symptoms exhibited lower functional connectivity between the deep cerebellar nuclei and the orbitofrontal cortex compared to control veterans.
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