Towards revealing aggression: imaging the aggressive brain

• Grant number: 17/10466-8
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships abroad - Research Internship - Doctorate
• Start date: August 07, 2017
• End date: November 06, 2017
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Morphology - Anatomy
• Principal Investigator: Raquel Chacon Ruiz Martinez
• Grantee: Flavia Venetucci Gouveia
• Supervisor: Mallar Chakravarty
• Host Institution: Hospital Sírio-Libanês. São Paulo , SP, Brazil
• Institution abroad: McGill University, Montreal, Canada
• Associated to the scholarship: 13/20602-5 - Prospective analyses of the functional results of philanthropist bilateral amygdalectomy in patients with refractory aggression, BP.DR

Abstract

Human aggression is a complex behavior that involves several physiological and social factors. It has a high prevalence in individuals suffering from neuropsychiatric disorders and is one of the most important comorbidities resulting in patient institutionalization. Many brain structures are related to the control of aggressive behavior, nonetheless the hyper-activation of the amygdala and a deficiency in the prefrontal cortex control are fundamental for the overexpression of this behavior. Though pharmacological treatments are effective for most patients, there is a portion that does not respond properly and are considered treatment and medication refractory. In this project, we will study non-refractory and refractory patients suffering from autism spectrum disorder who also present with a hyper-aggressive phenotype. Our investigations will improve knowledge regarding the neurobiology of aggression in autism spectrum disorder by evaluating the volume and the connectivity of the amygdala, prefrontal cortex and hypothalamus using magnetic resonance imaging. (AU)

Scientific publications

(8)

(References retrieved automatically from Web of Science and SciELO through information on FAPESP grants and their corresponding numbers as mentioned in the publications by the authors)

GOUVEIA, FLAVIA VENETUCCI; GERMANN, JUERGEN; DEVENYI, GABRIEL A.; MORAIS, ROSA M. C. B.; SANTOS, ANA PAULA M.; FONOFF, ERICH T.; HAMANI, CLEMENT; BRENTANI, HELENA; CHAKRAVARTY, M. MALLAR; MARTINEZ, RAQUEL C. R.. Refractoriness of aggressive behaviour to pharmacological treatment: cortical thickness analysis in autism spectrum disorder. BJPSYCH OPEN, v. 6, n. 5, SEP 2020. (13/20602-5, 11/08575-7, 17/10466-8)

GOUVEIA, FLAVIA VENETUCCI; GERMANN, JURGEN; ELIAS, GAVIN JB.; HAMANI, CLEMENT; FONOFF, ERICH TALAMONI; MARTINEZ, RAQUEL CHACON RUIZ. Case report: 5 Years follow-up on posterior hypothalamus deep brain stimulation for intractable aggressive behaviour associated with drug-resistant epilepsy. BRAIN STIMULATION, v. 14, n. 5, p. 4-pg., 2021-08-12. (17/10466-8, 11/08575-7, 13/20602-5)

GOUVEIA, FLAVIA VENETUCCI; GERMANN, JURGEN; OLIVEIRA, CAROLINE C.; CASTRO, MARINA C.; ANTUNES, GEIZA F.; GOMES, V, GISELE C.; PINTO, TAIS R. C.; MARTINEZ, RAQUEL C. R.; VALLE, ANGELA C.. Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation Reduces Anxiety, Depression and Plasmatic Corticosterone in a Rat Model of Atypical Generalized Epilepsy. Neuroscience, v. 480, p. 32-41, JAN 1 2022. (11/08575-7, 17/10466-8, 13/20602-5)

GOUVEIA, FLAVIA VENETUCCI; GERMANN, JURGEN; DE MORAIS, ROSA; FONOFF, ERICH TALAMONI; HAMANI, CLEMENT; ALHO, EDUARDO JOAQUIM; BRENTANI, HELENA; MARTINS, ANA PAULA; DEVENYI, GABRIEL; PATEL, RAIHAAN; et al. Longitudinal Changes After Amygdala Surgery for Intractable Aggressive Behavior: Clinical, Imaging Genetics, and Deformation-Based Morphometry Study-A Case Series. NEUROSURGERY, v. 88, n. 2, p. E158-E169, FEB 2021. (13/20602-5, 17/10466-8, 11/08575-7)

GOUVEIA, FLAVIA VENETUCCI; GERMANN, JURGEN; ELIAS, GAVIN J. B.; BOUTET, ALEXANDRE; LOH, AARON; LOPEZ RIOS, ADRIANA LUCIA; DIAZ, CRISTINA TORRES; CONTRERAS LOPEZ, WILLIAM OMAR; RUIZ MARTINEZ, RAQUEL CHACON; FONOFF, ERICH TALAMONI; et al. Multi-centre analysis of networks and genes modulated by hypothalamic stimulation in patients with aggressive behaviours. eLIFE, v. 12, p. 27-pg., 2023-05-22. (13/20602-5, 17/10466-8, 11/08575-7)

ANTUNES, GEIZA FERNANDA; GOUVEIA, FLAVIA VENETUCCI; REZENDE, FABIANA STRAMBIO; DE JESUS SENO, MIDIA DIAS; DE CARVALHO, MILENE CRISTINA; DE OLIVEIRA, CAROLINE CRUZ; TOSATI DOS SANTOS, LENNON CARDOSO; DE CASTRO, MARINA CORREIA; KUROKI, MAYRA AKEMI; TEIXEIRA, MANOEL JACOBSEN; et al. Dopamine modulates individual differences in avoidance behavior: A pharmacological, immunohistochemical, neurochemical and volumetric investigation. NEUROBIOLOGY OF STRESS, v. 12, MAY 2020. (17/10466-8, 13/20602-5, 11/08575-7, 14/12999-5)

GOUVEIA, FLAVIA VENETUCCI; HAMANI, CLEMENT; FONOFF, ERICH TALAMONI; BRENTANI, HELENA; LOPES ALHO, EDUARDO JOAQUIM; CAMPELO BORBA DE MORAIS, ROSA MAGALY; DE SOUZA, ALINE LUZ; RIGONATTI, SERGIO PAULO; MARTINEZ, RAQUEL C. R.. Amygdala and Hypothalamus: Historical Overview With Focus on Aggression. NEUROSURGERY, v. 85, n. 1, p. 11-30, JUL 2019. (13/20602-5, 17/10466-8, 11/08575-7)

GOUVEIA, FLAVIA VENETUCCI; GERMANN, JURGEN; DEVENYI, GABRIEL A.; FONOFF, ERICH T.; MORAIS, ROSA M. C. B.; BRENTANI, HELENA; CHAKRAVARTY, M. MALLAR; MARTINEZ, RAQUEL C. R.. Bilateral Amygdala Radio-Frequency Ablation for Refractory Aggressive Behavior Alters Local Cortical Thickness to a Pattern Found in Non-refractory Patients. FRONTIERS IN HUMAN NEUROSCIENCE, v. 15, JUN 9 2021. (13/20602-5, 11/08575-7, 17/10466-8)