Neuromodulatory effect of interleukin 1β in the dorsal raphe nucleus on individual differences in aggression

Heightened aggressive behavior is considered as one of the central symptoms of many neuropsychiatric disorders including autism, schizophrenia, and dementia. The consequences of aggression pose a heavy burden on patient’s families, clinicians, and the patients themselves. At the same time, we have limited treatment options for aggression and lack mechanistic insight into the causes of aggression needed to inform new efforts in drug discovery and development. Levels of proinflammatory cytokines in the periphery or cerebrospinal fluid were previously reported to correlate with aggressive traits in humans. However, it is still unknown whether cytokines affect brain circuits to modulate aggress…