Scientists studying brain images of adolescents found that the brains of the most aggressive males have different levels of activity in certain brain centers compared to boys who show only normal aggression.

Scientists from the University of California in San Diego used functional magnetic brain imaging to study adolescent boys who are "reactively aggressively."

"These kids tend to overreact - they punch someone or kick a door, but afterwards, they regret it," said Dr. Guido Frank, one of the lead researchers.

When these boys looked at pictures of threatening faces, there was greater activity in their amygdala, the part of the brain linked to fear, and lower activity in their prefrontal cortexes, the part of the brain involved in reasoning and decision-making. Dr. Frank said that this might mean the boys are more likely to overreact with fear but less likely to use reason to control themselves. These images can only predict risk for violence and aggression, and so far, no one knows how to use such information.

This study was presented at a conference of the Society for Neuroscience in San Diego.

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Labels: aggression, boys, brain_chemistry