Relevance of the negative valence system, the cognitive system, and their interactions for understanding aggression...

The Research Domain Criteria (RDoC) domains of the negative valence system (NVS) and the cognitive system (CS) offer a framework for current research on aggression. In particular, the projects of the Transregio "Neuropsychobiology of Aggression" (Transregional Collaborative Research Center 379, TRR 379) are grouped according to these domains.

The present review article describes how these domains are conceptualized and what role they play in the investigation and understanding of aggressive behavior in mental disorders and its biological correlates within the framework of TRR 379.

This is a qualitative review that summarizes empirical findings based on exemplary studies and selected reviews and discusses recent developments. The focus is on work that explicitly links aggression to the NVS and/or CS and on work within TRR 379.

Using the NVS and the CS, the projects within TRR 379 are developing a wide range of innovative, experimental setups to investigate the various aspects of aggression in a transdiagnostic manner across large samples of individuals with mental disorders, in conjunction with established paradigms and questionnaires as well as a rich repertoire of neurophysiological measures. Based on the initial results, the interdisciplinary community of TRR 379 researchers engages in intensive and critical discussions on how the various aspects of the RDoC approach, as well as other transdiagnostic approaches such as "HiTOP" and "Computational Psychiatry," can be utilized both conceptually and methodologically for current and future projects. Early-career researchers are particularly active in this area.