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Effects of acute tiagabine administration on aggressive responses of adult male parolees
1 University of Texas-Houston, Health Science Center, USA..
* To whom correspondence should be addressed.
Experimental and clinical studies have supported a relationship between_-aminobutyric acid (GABA) and aggressive behavior in non-humansand humans. Tiagabine is a GABA uptake inhibitor that has been shownto produce acute behavioral effects in animals. In addition, tiagabinehas been shown to decrease aggression in agitated patients whenadministered chronically. The present study was designed to investigatethe effects of acute administration of tiagabine on aggressive respondingon a laboratory task in adult humans. Ten adult males participated inexperimental sessions on the Point Subtraction Aggression Paradigm(PSAP), which provided subjects with aggressive, escape, and monetaryreinforcedresponse options. All subjects received four acute oral doses ofTiagabine (4, 8, 12 and 16mg) separated by placebo sessions. Tiagabinedecreased aggression at doses that either did not affect, or affected toa lesser extent, monetary-reinforced responding. The results are consistentwith some prior research using the PSAP showing a possible uniquerole for GABA in the regulation of human aggression. A possible behavioralmechanism for the rate-decreasing effects on aggressive respondingproduced in the present study is that tiagabine may modify aggressiveresponding by suppressing reactions to aversive stimuli. Key Words: tiagabine, _-aminobutyric acid, aggression, escape, human
First published on August 22, 2007, doi:10.1177/0269881107078489 |
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