Neuropsychobiological transdiagnostic risk mechanisms for aggression in mental disorders across the life span
Abstract Background Aggression in mental disorders (AMD) is a prevalent symptom, poses difficulties to the clinical setting and has far-reaching societal implications. The biological basis of different manifestations, developmental courses, and disease-specific mechanisms remains largely unknown. The lack of understanding of the complex mechanisms underlying AMD due to the heterogeneity of aggression and psychiatric disorders themselves, will be addressed by studying a longitudinal transdiagnostic cohort of patients suffering from mental disorders dimensionally quantified with respect to aggressive behavior. Methods Capitalizing on the Research Domain Criteria “negative valence system” (NVS) and “cognitive system” (CS), multilevel measurements of behavioral and biological systems provide a harmonized dataset at three study sites (Frankfurt, Mannheim/Heidelberg, Aachen; 900 adults, 200 children/youth) including forensic satellites ( n = 150). A cross-sectional matched control group (300 adults, 100 youth) will also be included. Discussion The goal of the study is to provide a multilevel characterization of patients, assessing dimensional phenotypic measures across time points and diagnoses, to finally define aggressive biosignatures. Trial Registration The present study has been registered at https://drks.de/register/en/trial/DRKS00035731 (number of registration: DRKS00035731; date of registration: 20/02/2025).
Authors
- Jana Zweerings (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5724-1054)
- Christine Ecker (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1003-5931)
- Lisa Wagels (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4874-4474)
- Chiara Gramegna (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5005-9316)
- Ute Habel (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0703-7722)
- Heike Tost (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7339-7569)
- Antonia Fritsch (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3093-9046)
- Gabriele Ende (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8778-771X)
- Tobias Banaschewski (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4595-1144)
- Philippa Hüpen (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1504-7197)
- Christian Paret (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9225-7182)
- Katja Bertsch (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9177-9010)
- Wolfgang Retz (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8582-3414)
- Carmen Weidler (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6547-2776)
- Corinne Neukel (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7613-342X)
- Andreas Meyer-Lindenberg
- Natalya Chechko
- Daniel Turner
- Christine Freitag
- Vanessa Reindl
- Thomas Frodl (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8113-6959)
- Sabine 1960- Herpertz
- Michael Hanke
- Michael Plichta
- Ina Kuschel
- Annika Maas
- Andreas G. Chiocchetti
- Lisa Berg
- Jaqueline Scharf
- Henry Schirok
- Nathalie Holz
- Christian Schmahl
- Oliver Tüscher
- Klaus Mathiak
- Andreas Reif
- Catherine Barnes-Scheufler
- Kerstin Konrad
Institutions
- Goethe University Frankfurt (DE)
- Forschungszentrum Jülich (DE)
- Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (DE)
- Heidelberg University (DE)
- University of Würzburg (DE)
- Leibniz Institute for Resilience Research (DE)
- Central Institute of Mental Health (DE)
- Universitätsklinikum Aachen (DE)
- University Hospital Frankfurt (DE)
- Stadtwerke Jülich (Germany) (DE)
- Medizinische Fakultät Mannheim
- Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf (DE)
- Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg (DE)
- RWTH Aachen University (DE)
- Saarland University (DE)
Publication Details
- Journal
- BMC Psychiatry
- Published
- 2026-09-30
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1186/s12888-026-08359-5
- Citations
- 1
- Primary Topic
- Psychopathy, Forensic Psychiatry, Sexual Offending
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 8.93