[Pathophysiology of aggressive behavior: evaluation and management of pathological aggression]

This work aims to define the aggression in all its forms, with notes on management and rapid tranquilization. The pathological aggression is described as a non-homogeneous phenomenon, it is variable in according to social, psychological and biological agents. The distinction of violence between affective aggression and predatory aggression can be functional to the prediction of outcome of any treatment. In general, a pattern of predatory violence tend to match with patients unresponsive and not compliant to treatment, a low probability to predict future violence and, therefore, a difficulty in managing risk. The affective aggressor, however, shows increased probability of treatment response, with more predictability of violent actions in reaction to situations perceived as threatening and, therefore, greater management of future violence risk. Those who act affective violence tend to show a wide range of emotional and cognitive problems, while those who act with predatory patterns show greater inclination to aggression and antisocial behavior. Aggression that occurs in psychiatry mostly appears to be affective, therefore susceptible to modulation through treatments.