EVIDENCE FOR DORSOLATERAL AND ORBITAL PREFRONTAL CORTICAL INVOLVEMENTIN THE EXPRESSION OF AGGRESSIVE-BEHAVIOR

Numerous studies have implicated the role of the prefrontal cortex in the expression of aggressive behavior, However, the nature of this rel ationship remains poorly understood. As such, the purpose of this arti cle is to review both the animal and human literature pertaining to pr efrontal cortical functioning and aggression in an attempt to help cla rify this relationship. Particular attention is paid to differentiatin g the functions of the dorsolateral and the orbital regions of the pre frontal cortex in the expression of aggression. Evidence was garnered from four different types of studies: 1) those examining aggressive be havior in animals following ablations to the prefrontal cortex; 2) tho se examining aggressive behavior in humans following surgical and acci dental lesions to the prefrontal cortex; 3) those examining prefrontal cortical functioning in individuals with psychiatric disorders charac terized by aggression; and 4) those relating prefrontal cortical funct ioning to human aggressive behavior in laboratory situations. The gene ral conclusion of this article is that the dorsolateral region of the prefrontal cortex is more likely to be involved in the expression of p hysical aggression whereas the orbital region is more likely to be inv olved in the expression of what is termed herein ''disinhibited-nonagg ressive'' behavior. (C) 1995 Wiley-Liss, Inc.