Habenula as a Neural Substrate for Aggressive Behavior

Flavia Venetucci Gouveia; George M Ibrahim

doi:10.3389/fpsyt.2022.817302

Habenula as a Neural Substrate for Aggressive Behavior

Front Psychiatry. 2022 Feb 17:13:817302. doi: 10.3389/fpsyt.2022.817302. eCollection 2022.

Authors

Flavia Venetucci Gouveia¹, George M Ibrahim^{1

2

3

4

5}

Affiliations

¹ Neuroscience and Mental Health, Hospital for Sick Children Research Institute, Toronto, ON, Canada.
² Division of Neurosurgery, The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, ON, Canada.
³ Division of Neurosurgery, Department of Surgery, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada.
⁴ Institute of Biomedical Engineering, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada.
⁵ Institute of Medical Science, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada.

Abstract

Over the past decades, an ever growing body of literature has explored the anatomy, connections, and functions of the habenula (Hb). It has been postulated that the Hb plays a central role in the control of the monoaminergic system, thus influencing a wide range of behavioral responses, and participating in the pathophysiology of a number of psychiatric disorders and neuropsychiatric symptoms, such as aggressive behaviors. Aggressive behaviors are frequently accompanied by restlessness and agitation, and are commonly observed in patients with psychiatric disorders, intellectual disabilities, and neurodegenerative diseases of aging. Recently, the Hb has been explored as a new target for neuromodulation therapies, such as deep brain stimulation, with promising results. Here we review the anatomical organization of the habenula and discuss several distinct mechanisms by which the Hb is involved in the modulation of aggressive behaviors, and propose new investigations for the development of novel treatments targeting the habenula to reduce aggressive behaviors.

Keywords: aggressive behavior (AB); habenula; neuropsychiatric symptoms; preclinical studies; review.

Publication types

Review