Neuropsychological Mechanisms of Social Aggression

The following article presents an overview of contemporary foreign studies on the neuropsychological status of individuals who have committed socially aggressive actions. It describes the factors that influence the formation of aggressive behaviour and thoroughly analyzes the main theoretical views on the nature of social aggression. Moreover, the article highlights the main research directions on this issue in modern neuropsychology. The analysis of various neuropsychological aspects of aggression is presented, including the features of cognitive and regulatory processes in perpetrators of violence. The article also describes the neuropsychological methods used to study executive functions and their orientation. Furthermore, it critically analyzes empirical neuropsychological studies of perpetrators of violence, including meta-analytical studies, and also challenges the traditional understanding of the dysfunctionality of regulatory processes in aggressive individuals and patients with frontal lobe brain lesions. The article also highlights the difference between the manifestations of regulatory process disorders in persons with frontal lobe injuries in childhood and adulthood. Finally, it conducts a critical analysis of hypotheses on the biological basis of social aggression. The paper addresses controversial issues regarding the causal relationship between brain pathology and social aggression, as well as the hierarchy of relations between regulatory and cognitive deficits. The article describes possible directions for further promising studies of social aggression in neuropsychology.

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