Citation

Ouyang WC, Sun GC, Hsu MC. Aggress. Violent Behav. 2020; 50: e101347.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2020, Elsevier Publishing)

DOI

10.1016/j.avb.2019.101347

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

Schizophrenia is a disabling neurological disorder. Patients with this disease are at higher risk to violence. This paper reviewed the recent literatures with respect to the heterogeneous nature of the abnormalities and pathophysiological and biological risk markers that link to violent behavior in patients with schizophrenia with a particular interest in lipid metabolism. We have focused on altered lipid profile including polyunsaturated fatty acids, which may have attributed to the development of aggressive behavior in patients with schizophrenia. We addressed questions on how aberrant lipid metabolism affects brain structure and function, and how lipids modulate neurotransmission activity during progression of this devastating disease. Many clinical studies have demonstrated that omega-3 fatty acids may reduce transition rate to psychosis and serve as additive to reduce the violence. We postulate that the beneficial effect of omega-3 fatty acid supplementation on violence may act through modulating neuronal membrane lipid structure and neurotransmission. A better understanding of the underlying mechanisms how these pathways modulate aggression may facilitate development of strategies to prevent, ameliorate or reduce the manifestation of violence.

Language: en

Keywords

Brain lipids; Conceptualization; Neurotransmission; Omega-3 fatty acids; Schizophrenia; Violence