Does short-term inflammation increase anger and aggression?
Inflammatory Challenge in Human Aggression
Researchers will give a mild, short-lived immune challenge to people with and without histories of aggression to find out if inflammation makes anger and aggressive behavior worse.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Ohio State University NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Columbus, UNITED STATES) |
| Project ID | NIH-11309150 on NIH RePORTER |
What this research studies
You would come to Ohio State for two sessions where, in random order and without knowing which you receive, you get a low-dose endotoxin or a placebo. During and after each session you would have blood draws to measure inflammatory signals, complete self-report anger and mood questionnaires, and take part in behavioral tasks that measure aggressive responding. The study compares people who have a history of frequent aggressive episodes with similar people who have low lifetime aggression to see if the inflammatory challenge changes anger, hostile thinking, or aggressive actions more in one group. Sessions require monitoring for several hours so staff can track physical and emotional responses.
Who could benefit from this research
Good fit: Adults diagnosed with mood, anxiety, stress-related, or personality disorders who meet criteria for either high lifetime aggression (e.g., high LHA score and frequent anger attacks) or low lifetime aggression are the intended participants.
Not a fit: People without those psychiatric diagnoses, children, pregnant people, or individuals with medical conditions that make endotoxin administration unsafe would not be eligible and are unlikely to benefit directly from participating.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this could point to inflammation as a treatable contributor to anger and aggression, guiding new therapies or prevention strategies.
How similar studies have performed: Animal experiments and human studies linking high inflammatory markers to aggression exist, but deliberately provoking short-term inflammation to test causal effects on human aggression is a novel approach.
Where this research is happening
Columbus, UNITED STATES
- Ohio State University — Columbus, United States (Active)
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Coccaro, Emil Frank — Ohio State University
- Study coordinator: Coccaro, Emil Frank
About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page below.