Intermittent TBS stimulation of the ventro medial prefrontal cortex as intervention to reduce aggression: A proof of concept study in violent delinquency.

• Applicant: Dr. Lisa Wagels
• Subject Area: Biological Psychiatry ; Criminology
• Term: since 2023
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 525452177

Evidence-based interventions to reduce aggression in criminal populations are still scarce. A neurobiology-informed intervention approach may offer novel ways for effective treatment. In addition, investigating techniques that can modulate neural circuits facilitates the identification of causal mechanisms underlying aggression in highly aggressive subjects. Recent (correlative) evidence from neuroimaging studies suggests that the dorsomedial prefrontal cortex (dmPFC) is a key hub for (non)aggressive decisions, with diminished connectivity to the amygdala in violent individuals. Our study uses repeated sessions of intermittent theta-burst stimulation (iTBS), a variation of repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation, to modulate these neural circuits and investigate the efficacy of this intervention for reducing aggressive behavior in criminal offenders and controls. Functional MRI involving two behavioral paradigms assessing aggression will illuminate neural mechanisms of aggression and intervention-induced changes in the underlying circuits. Additional information on personality, neuropsychological functioning, hormones and genetics will be used to develop a multifactorial model of criminal aggression and to explore their predictive power for response to the intervention (i.e., reduced aggression) and associated brain network changes.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants
• Co-Investigator: Professor Dr. Timm Pöppl