The perspectives considered are the clinical, the ethological, the human neurochemical, the animal neurochemical, and the basic neuroreceptor functions. The clinical section of the monograph presents the research and experience of an emergency room psychiatrist who has assessed patients for imminent violence. Another paper discusses the assessment and management of violent patients. The ethological section of the monograph describes an evolutionary approach to violence and suicide, presents an integrated perspective of violence and suicide that incorporates both biological and sociological data, and classifies aggressive behaviors in animals using an ethological perspective. The section on clinical neurochemical and metabolic perspectives consists of three papers that review the relationship among biochemical, psychometric, and clinical variables associated with suicidality and violence. The section on animal studies and the biochemistry of aggression and impulsivity uses a developmental model to study the parallel between aggression and serotonin metabolism and examines the biological underpinnings of impulsivity. The section on neurotransmitter receptors updates information on the two receptor systems associated with suicide and violence research, the serotonergic and the dopaminergic. Chapter references, name and subject indexes.