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Journal of Psychiatry & Neuroscience : JPN logoLink to Journal of Psychiatry & Neuroscience : JPN
. 1995 Mar;20(2):141–149.

Drugs and aggression: correlations, crime and human manipulative studies and some proposed mechanisms.

R O Pihl 1, J Peterson 1
PMCID: PMC1188673  PMID: 7703223

Abstract

Violence and drugs seem to mix readily. In this paper, relevant correlational studies are briefly reviewed and methodological issues are discussed. With a focus on alcohol, facts pointing to some type of causal relationship are presented both from crime and laboratory manipulative studies. Dose and rate-dependent anxiolytic, psychomotor stimulant and alteration in inhibitory and problem-solving cognitive functions are each in turn seen as precipatory to aggression. Drugs other than alcohol which interact with these systems are also discussed.

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Selected References

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