Some abusers may have faulty mechanism for controlling aggression.(Brief Article)

1902 MAR 28 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Some perpetrators of domestic violence may suffer from a nervous system irregularity that makes it harder for them to control emotions and aggression, suggest the results of a study.

These findings, if validated by other studies, may increase understanding of the complex phenomenon of domestic violence but can't explain it in full, according to lead study author John C. Umhau, of the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism.

"It is important to emphasize that domestic violence is the culmination of a complex set of interactions between the perpetrator, the victim, the environmental circumstances and cultural mores in which the violence takes place," Umhau said.

Domestic violence occurs worldwide and has vast social and medical consequences. "In the United States, an estimated 30% of all women who are murdered are killed by their husbands, boyfriends or ex-partners," according to the study's authors.

The study results are published in the current issue of the journal Psychophysiology.

When perpetrators become violent, they often exhibit extreme responses to environmental stimuli, such as heart palpitations, breathlessness, trembling of the voice and body, flushing and sweating. These symptoms stem from the autonomic nervous system - the part of the nervous system generally not under conscious control.

Umhau and colleagues focused their analysis on two measures of the autonomic nervous system: heart rate and vagal nerve activity, which is one of several heart rate regulators. Generally, increases in heart rate correlate with decreases in vagal nerve activity. "The vagus responds rapidly to changing metabolic demands, whether from agitated emotional arousal or from a simple posture change, and immediately adjusts heart rate," said Umhau.