Brain scans show why people get aggressive after a drink or two

[Judi Lynn]

Rebekah Andrews
an hour ago

It's common knowledge that a drink or two can lower inhibitions and result in people becoming aggressive and violent. Researchers from the University of New South Wales in Australia are asking why, using MRI scans to trace which part of the brain controls aggression.

The study involved 50 otherwise healthy male participants, who were given either a low dose of vodka or two glasses of a non-alcoholic placebo drink. Then using the Taylor Aggression Paradigm, a competitive reaction time task that has been used for the past 50 years to test aggression, the researchers used MRI scanner to identify which areas of the brain lit up when they behaved aggressively.

They found that participants who drank alcohol showed a temporary decrease in activity in the prefrontal cortex, a part of the brain which is believed to regulate aggressive behavior.

"Although there was an overall dampening effect of alcohol on the prefrontal cortex, even at a low dose of alcohol we observed a significant positive relationship between dorsomedial and dorsolateral prefrontal cortex activity and alcohol-related aggression," says Thomas Denson, lead author of the study. "These regions may support different behaviors, such as peace versus aggression, depending on whether a person is sober or intoxicated."

More:
https://newatlas.com/alcohol-aggression-brain-scan/53381/

[shenmue]

1. I wouldn't be aggressive after only one or two drinks. It takes a lot more than that for me.

[Igel]

2. Think about the implications.

"If you've had a couple of drinks, you're not responsible for your behavior."

"If you've had a couple of drinks, you're still responsible for your behavior."

Even if we replace "not" by "less", there's a problem with current thinking. Alcohol says some people can't be considered fit to render a decision, but that other's are still fully fit.

No, there's no claim of a solution to this conundrum. No policy proposal. Not even a judgment. Just an observation. It's a contradiction that few ever point out, but most insist on upholding.

(I do have an end-run about the contradiction, but even I don't like it.)

[Fred Sanders]

3. Alcohol. More dangerous and deadly than all other illicit drugs combined. Sold everywhere!

[HeartachesNhangovers]

4. I'd lose consciousness before I got

aggressive. That's my experience about most people. But then I don't hang out with aggressive people.