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Amphetamines: Aggressive and Social Behavior

NCJ Number
161686
Author(s)
K A Miczek; J W Tidey
Date Published
Unknown
Length
33 pages
Annotation
Clinical case reports and survey data reveal cases of intense violence in certain individuals who have taken high doses of amphetamines intravenously, but the frequency of this amphetamine effect, the circumstances that promote its occurrence, and the characteristics that predispose an individual to experiencing it are unclear.
Abstract
Amphetamines may produce a dose-dependent biphasic effect on aggressive behavior in experimental situations with both human and animal participants that have become habituated to an aggression-provoking stimulus. However, amphetamines most often disrupt social, sexual, maternal, and aggressive behavior patterns in a dose-dependent manner. Neither tolerance nor sensitization appears to develop to these disruptive effects. Amphetamine consistently enhances defensive and flight reactions in various experimental situations and animal species. This effect appears to be mediated by brain dopaminergic systems. So far, no dopaminergic, noradrenergic, or opioid antagonists have been found that attenuate, reverse, or prevent the disruptive effects of amphetamines on social and aggressive behavior. The data from opioid-withdrawn individuals strongly suggest a profound modulatory influence by opioid peptides on the aggressing-altering effects of amphetamines. Table, figures, and 148 references

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