Imipramine Binding to Blood Platelets and Aggressive Behavior in Offenders, Schizophrenics and Normal Volunteers

The relationships between [3H]imipramine binding to blood platelets and manifestation of aggressive behavior was studied in three different groups of subjects. Arrested offenders displayed high imipramine binding compared to controls, with violent offenders exceeding their nonviolent counterparts. Hostile schizophrenic patients showed imipramine binding higher than nonhostile matched patients. In normal volunteers, on the other hand, no correlation between imipramine binding and scores of aggression was found. The results support the notion about the involvement of a neuronal serotonergic system in the regulation of aggressive behavior. The contribution of this biological factor is detectable in pathological manifestation of aggression but not in normal behavior.