"Addicted To Aggression? Brain Protein May Hold The Answer"
According to scientists at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, ΔFosB expression has distinct roles in two different cell types in the nucleus accumbens (NAc)—regulating aggressive behavior and its rewarding qualities. The scientists published their work in the Journal of Neuroscience. Essentially, the scientists found that ΔFosB expression promotes aggressive behavior, effects that are dissociable from its effects on aggression reward. “This finding,” the scientists noted, “is a significant first step in identifying therapeutic targets for the reduction of aggressive behavior across a range of neuropsychiatric illnesses.” Scott Russo, PhD, associate professor of neuroscience at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, and colleagues found that higher levels of ΔFosB in NAc neurons were associated with more intense behaviors by aggressive mice defending their home cage from an intruder.
- Scott J. Russo, PhD, Associate Professor, Neuroscience, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai