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Cited by 77Psychopathy, Forensic Psychiatry, Sexual OffendingNeural and Behavioral Psychology StudiesFunctional Brain Connectivity Studies

Anger provocation increases limbic and decreases medial prefrontal cortex connectivity with the left amygdala in reactive aggressive violent offenders

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Siep, Nicolette, Tonnaer, Franca, van de Ven, Vincent, Arntz, Arnoud, Raine, Adrian, Cima, Maaike·2019·Brain Imaging and Behavior
DOI 10.1007/s11682-018-9945-6PMC PMC6732149
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Abstract

Neurobiological models propose reactive aggression as a failure in emotion regulation, caused by an imbalance between prefrontal cortical control and excessive bottom-up signals of negative affect by limbic regions, including the amygdala. Therefore, we hypothesize a negative correlation between PFC and amygdala activity (pre/post resting-state scans) in violent offenders. In this study resting-state fMRI was administered before and after an emotion (anger and happiness) provocation or engagement task within 18 male violent offenders scoring high on reactive aggression, and 18 male non-offender controls. Research in emotional pre/post resting-state showed altered connectivity by task performance. Therefore, bilateral amygdala region of interest (ROI) whole brain functional connectivity analysis tested dynamic change differences between pre and post resting-state connectivity between groups. Self-reported anger showed a positive significant relationship with medial prefrontal cortex activity in the pre-task scan and significantly increased during the emotion task in both the violent and control group. Imaging results showed a significant decrease in amygdala - medial prefrontal functional connectivity in the violent offenders and an increase in the non-offender controls after the emotion task. The opposite pattern was found for amygdala connectivity with the (para) limbic regions: violent offenders showed increased connectivity and non-offender controls showed decreased connectivity. The present results indicate that reactive aggression might stem from a focus on emotion processing, as indicated by an increase in limbic functional connectivity. The combination of a focus on emotion, along with a lack of medial prefrontal cortex regulation, has the potential to grow out of control e.g. in reactive aggression.

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  • In reactive aggressive individuals, especially those with a history of violent offenses, anger episodes amplify limbic activation while attenuating prefrontal regulatory control.

    “In reactive aggressive individuals, especially those with a history of violent offenses, anger episodes are known to amplify limbic activation while attenuating prefrontal regulatory control (Siep et al. 2019).”

    From Decoding the bidirectional links between alcohol misuse and aggression: toward a unified translational framework (2026) · cites this paper as Siep et al. 2019

    The Abstract and Discussion report that, after an emotion task, reactive-aggressive violent offenders showed increased amygdala connectivity with (para)limbic regions and decreased connectivity with the medial prefrontal cortex. The authors interpret this as greater emphasis on emotion processing with less prefrontal regulation. The study measured changes in connectivity, however, not increased limbic activation during anger episodes; its findings also concern the studied offender group rather than reactive-aggressive individuals generally. (LLM, conf=0.86)

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Cited by

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Authors
Siep, N., Tonnaer, F., van de Ven, V., Arntz, A., Raine, A., & Cima, M.
Affiliations
  • Maastricht University (NL)
  • University of Pennsylvania (US)
  • Radboud University Nijmegen (NL)
Corresponding author
Tonnaer, Franca
ORCID
Venue
Brain Imaging and Behavior
Publisher
Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Published
2018-08-25
Volume
13
Issue
5
Pages
1311-1323
ISSN
  • 1931-7557 (ISSN-L)
  • 1931-7565
DOI
10.1007/s11682-018-9945-6
PMC
PMC6732149
OpenAlex
W2888365973
Cited by
77
References
7
Citations by year
2026: 10 · 2025: 11 · 2024: 15 · 2023: 9 · 2022: 15 · 2021: 10 · 2020: 2 · 2019: 3 · 2018: 1 · 2017: 1
FWCI
4.70
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
Locations
  • Brain Imaging and Behavior (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • Research Publications (Maastricht University) (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • UvA-DARE (University of Amsterdam) (submittedVersion, cc-by)
  • Radboud Repository (Radboud University) (submittedVersion)
  • Radboud Repository (Radboud University) (submittedVersion, other-oa)
  • Research Publications (Maastricht University) (submittedVersion, other-oa)
  • Data Archiving and Networked Services (DANS) (submittedVersion, other-oa)
Funders
Maastricht University
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Psychopathy, Forensic Psychiatry, Sexual Offending
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Neural and Behavioral Psychology Studies
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Functional Brain Connectivity Studies
Keywords
reactive aggression, violent offenders, amygdala, medial prefrontal cortex, limbic system, functional connectivity, emotion regulation, emotional processing, prefrontal control
MeSH terms
Adult, Aggression, Amygdala, Emotions, Humans, Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Male, Neural Pathways, Surveys and Questionnaires, Prefrontal Cortex, Criminals

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