AUDITORY P300 AND SELF-REPORTED IMPULSIVE AGGRESSION

1. The purpose of the present study was to determine the cognitive psy chophysiological correlates of impulsive aggression in a population co nsidered ''normal'' by societal standards: college students. 2. Audito ry event-related potentials were acquired on all subjects during a sta ndard oddball task. The stimuli consisted of a random sequence of two tones, a frequent 1,000 Hz tone and a rare 2,000 Hz tone. Tones were p resented in a ratio of 80/20. 3. Results of the study demonstrated tha t impulsive aggressive subjects show significantly lower P300 amplitud e at frontal electrode sites when compared to nonaggressive controls. 4. These findings are consistent with the psychophysiological findings in impulsive aggressive incarcerated criminals and support the notion of a specific behavioral syndrome associated with spontaneous aggress ive outbursts.