@article{ref1,
title="Revisiting the serotonin-aggression relation in humans: a meta-analysis",
journal="Psychological bulletin",
year="2013",
author="Duke, Aaron A. and Bègue, Laurent and Bell, Rob and Eisenlohr-Moul, Tory",
volume="139",
number="5",
pages="1148-1172",
abstract="The inverse relation between serotonin and human aggression is often portrayed as &quot;reliable,&quot; &quot;strong,&quot; and &quot;well established&quot; despite decades of conflicting reports and widely recognized methodological limitations. In this systematic review and meta-analysis, we evaluate the evidence for and against the serotonin deficiency hypothesis of human aggression across 4 methods of assessing serotonin: (a) cerebrospinal fluid levels of 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid (CSF 5-HIAA), (b) acute tryptophan depletion, (c) pharmacological challenge, and (d) endocrine challenge. Results across 175 independent samples and over 6,500 total participants were heterogeneous, but, in aggregate, revealed a small, inverse correlation between serotonin functioning and aggression, anger, and hostility (r = -.12). Pharmacological challenge studies had the largest mean weighted effect size (r = -.21), and CSF 5-HIAA studies had the smallest (r = -.06). Potential methodological and demographic moderators largely failed to account for variability in study outcomes. Notable exceptions included year of publication (effect sizes tended to diminish with time) and self- versus other-reported aggression (other-reported aggression was positively correlated to serotonin functioning). We discuss 4 possible explanations for the pattern of findings: unreliable measures, ambient correlational noise, an unidentified higher order interaction, and a selective serotonergic effect. Finally, we provide 4 recommendations for bringing much needed clarity to this important area of research: acknowledge contradictory findings and avoid selective reporting practices; focus on improving the reliability and validity of serotonin and aggression measures; test for interactions involving personality and/or environmental moderators; and revise the serotonin deficiency hypothesis to account for serotonin's functional complexity. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2013 APA, all rights reserved).<p /> <p>Language: en</p>",
language="en",
issn="0033-2909",
doi="10.1037/a0031544",
url="http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/a0031544"
}