12.2 Attack And Escape Behaviours

Question 0

Most of the vigourous emotional behaviours we observe in animals fall into the categories of attack and escape, and it is no coincidence that we describe the ____ nervous system as the fight-or-flight system. These behaviours and the corresponding emotions – anger and fear – are closely related both behaviourally and physiologically.

Answer 0

sympathetic

Question 1

____ behaviour depends on the individual as well as the situation.

Answer 1

Attack

Question 2

Why do some people turn ____ more readily than others? Some environmental factors are easy to identify. Certainly people who were abused in childhood, people who witnessed violent abuse between parents, and people who live in a violent neighbourhood are at greater risk of violence themselves.

Answer 2

violence

Question 3

Another environmental factor is exposure to ____, which is harmful to developing brains. Since the banning of lead-based paints and the rise of unleaded gasoline, the prevalence of violent crime has declined, possibly as a result of the decreased lead in the environment.

Answer 3

lead

Question 4

What about ____? Monozygotic twins resemble each other more closely than dizygotic twins do with regard to violent and criminal behaviours, and adopted children resemble their biological parents more closely than the adoptive parents.

Answer 4

heredity

Question 5

However, various kinds of aggressive behaviour to occur under different circumstances, and we cannot expect to find a single ____ or set of genes that will account for all variations.

Answer 5

gene

Question 6

After researchers repeatedly failed to find a strong link between any single gene and aggressive behaviour, they explored the possibility of interactions between heredity and ____.

Answer 6

environment

Question 7

Several studies have found that violence is particularly enhanced in people with both a genetic ____ and a troubled early environment.

Answer 7

predisposition

Question 8

The effects of genetic differences can be seen in the production of the enzyme __________ (MAOa).

Answer 8

monoamine oxidase A

Question 9

The enzyme MAOa breaks down the ____ dopamine, norepinephrine, and serotonin, thus lowering the available amounts. The effects of this gene apparently interact with childhood experience.

Answer 9

neurotransmitters

Question 10

Among those who were seriously maltreated in childhood, the rate of antisocial behaviour was significantly higher for those with ___ MAOa activity.

Answer 10

low

Question 11

Male ____ behaviour depends heavily on testosterone, which is highest for adult males in the reproductive season. Even in species that do not have a particular season for breeding, testosterone increases are linked with increased striving for social dominance.

Answer 11

aggressive

Question 12

Similarly, throughout the world, ____ fight more often than ____, commit more violent crimes, shout more insults at one another, and so forth.

Answer 12

men : women

Question 13

Moreover, young adult men, who had the highest ____ levels, have the highest rate of aggressive behaviours and violent crimes.

Answer 13

testosterone

Question 14

According to the “____ ____ ____”, the reason testosterones effects are unimpressive is that violence depends on the other chemicals as well, especially cortisol and serotonin.

Answer 14

triple imbalance hypothesis

Question 15

____, which increases under stressful conditions, increases fear, and a decrease in cortisol is associated with loss of inhibitions.

Answer 15

Cortisol

Question 16

Therefore, aggression tends to be ____ when testosterone levels are high and cortisol levels are low.

Answer 16

highest

Question 17

Men with high levels of both testosterone and cortisol are likely to ____ their violent impulses.

Answer 17

inhibit

Question 18

_____ also tends to inhibit violent impulses.

Answer 18

Serotonin

Question 19

Several lines of evidence link aggressive behaviour to ___ serotonin release.

Answer 19

low

Question 20

When neurons release serotonin, they ____ most of it and synthesise enough to replace the amount that washed away. Thus, the amount present in neurons remains fairly constant, and if we examined that amount, we have little idea of how much the neurons have been releasing.

Answer 20

reabsorb

Question 21

However, if we measure the serotonin metabolites in the body fluids, we gauge the ____, which is the amount that neurons released and replaced.

Answer 21

turnover

Question 22

Researchers estimate serotonin turnover from the concentration of ___________ (5-HIAA), serotonins main metabolite, in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF).

Answer 22

5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid

Question 23

In mice, ____ ____ lowered serotonin turnover by the greatest amount in the genetic strains that reacted with the greatest amount of fighting after social isolation.

Answer 23

social isolation

Question 24

That is, serotonins effects _____ with those of testosterone, as in the triple imbalance hypothesis mentioned previously.

Answer 24

combined