Citation

Carré JM, Olmstead NA. Neuroscience 2014; 286: 171-186.

Affiliation

Department of Psychology, Nipissing University, North Bay, ON, Canada.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2014, International Brain Research Organization, Publisher Elsevier Publishing)

DOI

10.1016/j.neuroscience.2014.11.029

PMID

25463514

Abstract

A large body of evidence indicates that individual differences in baseline concentrations of testosterone (T) are only weakly correlated with human aggression. Importantly, T concentrations are not static, but rather fluctuate rapidly in the context of competitive interactions, suggesting that acute fluctuations in T may be more relevant for our understanding of the neuroendocrine mechanisms underlying variability in human aggression. In this paper, we provide an overview of the literature on T and human competition, with a primary focus on the role of competition-induced T dynamics in the modulation of human aggression. In addition, we discuss potential neural mechanisms underlying the effect of T dynamics on human aggression. Finally, we highlight several challenges for the field of social neuroendocrinology and discuss areas of research that may enhance our understanding of the complex bi-directional relationship between T and human social behavior.

Language: en