Understanding & Controlling Aggression

Huberman Lab

Scicomm Media

Science, Health & Fitness, Life Sciences

4.8 • 26.2K Ratings

🗓️ 9 May 2022

⏱️ 91 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

This episode I describe the neural mechanisms that activate and control aggressive states and behaviors and the role of hormones—estrogen and testosterone—in mediating violent and and/or competive aggression. I also describe tools that can be used to modulate the factors that have been shown to ‘prime’ an individual for aggression, including sunlight, estrogen sensitivity, competition within social settings, and overall stress levels, and the hormone cortisol. I discuss how substances such as caffeine and alcohol can impact impulsive behaviors, and how nutrition and supplementation can be used to regulate mood and aggression. For the full show notes, visit hubermanlab.com. Thank you to our sponsors AG1 (Athletic Greens): https://athleticgreens.com/huberman InsideTracker: https://insidetracker.com/huberman Thesis: https://takethesis.com/huberman Supplements from Momentous https://www.livemomentous.com/huberman Timestamps (00:00:00) Aggression, Types of Aggression (00:03:33) Sponsors (00:08:29) Neural Circuits for Aggression, “Hydraulic Pressure Model” (00:15:50) Brain Regions Controlling Aggression, Ventromedial Hypothalamus (VMH) (00:22:14) Psychiatric Disorders & Aggression (00:23:36) Stimulation of the VMH, Estrogen Receptors & Aggression (00:31:57) Neural Circuits Mediating Physical Acts of Aggression, Biting (0:35:56) Testosterone & Competitiveness/Estrogen & Aggression (00:43:00) Sunlight, Melatonin & Aggression (00:45:46) Cortisol, Serotonin & Aggressive Behaviors (00:51:56) Tool: Omega-3 Supplementation & Mood (00:54:18) Tool: Sunlight, Sauna & Cortisol Reduction (00:55:54) Tool: Ashwagandha & Cortisol Reduction (00:57:06) Tool: Seasonality/Sunlight, Genetic Variation in Estrogen Sensitivity (01:00:37) Testosterone & Aggression, Competitive Work Environments (01:05:07) Testosterone, Amygdala, Challenge & Effort (01:09:27) Caffeine, Alcohol & Impulsivity (01:13:15) Tool: Caffeinated Alcohol Beverages, Impulsivity & Aggression (01:17:18) Tool: ADHD, Acetyl-L Carnitine & Aggressive Behavior (01:24:10) Factors Affecting the “Hydraulic Pressure Model” of Aggression (01:25:44) Book by Dr. David Anderson, Aggression & Social Relationships (01:27:35) Zero-Cost Support, YouTube Feedback, Spotify & Apple Reviews, Sponsors, Momentous Supplements, Neural Network Newsletter, Instagram, Twitter Title Card Photo Credit: Mike Blabac Disclaimer

Transcript

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0:00.0	Welcome to the Huberman Lab podcast where we discuss science and science-based tools for everyday life.
0:09.0	I'm Andrew Huberman and I'm a professor of neurobiology and ophthalmology at Stanford School of Medicine.
0:15.0	Today we are discussing aggression.
0:17.0	I'm going to explain to you that there are several different types of aggression.
0:21.0	For instance, reactive aggression versus proactive aggression, meaning sometimes people will be aggressive because they feel threatened or they are protecting those
0:29.0	that they love who also feel threatened.
0:32.0	There's also proactive aggression where people go out of their way to deliberately try and harm others.
0:37.0	And there is indirect aggression, which is aggression not involving physical violence.
0:42.0	For instance, shaming people and things of that sort.
0:46.0	It turns out that there are different biological mechanisms underlying each of the different types of aggression.
0:51.0	And today I will define those for you.
0:53.0	I'll talk about the neural circuits in the brain and body that mediate each of the different kinds of aggression.
0:58.0	I'll talk about some of the hormones and peptides and neurotransmitters involved.
1:02.0	I promise to make it all accessible to you even if you do not have any biology or science background.
1:07.0	I also discuss tools, psychological tools and biological tools that one can use to better control aggression.
1:16.0	Now right here at the outset I want to acknowledge that any discussion about aggression has to have an element of context within it.
1:24.0	To be fair, human beings invest a lot of money, a lot of time and a lot of energy.
1:30.0	And indeed can even derive pleasure from aggression.
1:33.0	Later I'll talk about neural circuits in the brain and body that reinforce, in other words, reward through the release of chemicals that make people feel good, acts of aggression.
1:44.0	However, what I'm mainly referring to is the context in which human beings will pay money in order to derive what we call vicarious aggression.
1:53.0	Put it simply, people spend an enormous amount of money and time and energy watching other people engage in, for instance, aggressive sports.
2:02.0	And we know that observing your team winning over another team causes the release of neurochemicals in your brain and body that make you feel good and yes, that can make you feel more aggressive.
	...

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