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Interrelationships among anxiety, aggression, impulsivity, and mood: a serotonergically linked cluster?
A Apter1, H M van Praag, R Plutchik
1Bar Ilan University, Israel.
Psychiatry Research
|May 1, 1990
Summary
Serotonin levels are linked to psychological issues like anxiety and aggression. This study found these issues are interconnected, suggesting a shared biological basis rather than distinct diagnostic categories.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Psychiatry
- Psychology
Background:
- Abnormalities in serotonin neurotransmission are implicated in various psychopathological dimensions.
- These dimensions include anxiety, depressed mood, impulsivity, and aggression dysregulation.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the intercorrelations among psychopathological dimensions potentially related to serotonin.
- To determine if biological markers correlate more closely with basic psychological dimensions than with traditional diagnostic categories.
Main Methods:
- Sixty psychiatric inpatients were assessed using psychometric tests.
- Tests measured suicidality, violence potential, impulsivity, depressive mood, and anxiety.
Main Results:
- Scores across all measured psychopathological dimensions were significantly intercorrelated.
- This suggests a common underlying biological basis for these traits.
Conclusions:
- The findings support the hypothesis that serotonin-related psychological dimensions are interconnected.
- Biological markers may be more relevant to fundamental psychological dimensions than to specific psychiatric diagnoses.