Impulsivity,Inhibitory Control And Aggression And Their Vagal Mechanisms

Aggression is anything that is done with the intent to harm another person and that the person being attacked wants to avoid that harm.In order to further study aggressive behavior,this study subdivides it into active aggressive behavior(in order to achieve a certain goal)and proactive aggressive behavior(in order to vent negative emotions)from the perspective of emotion and function.The general aggression model points out that the attack behavior mainly includes three stages: input,path and result.Firstly,the environmental factors in the input stage,such as aggression,personal factors,such as impulsivity and other personality traits,will affect the internal state of the path stage.Internal states mainly include the individual’s cognitive abilities such as inhibitory control.Finally,in the outcome stage,individuals conduct environmental assessment on their own feelings and external environment,resulting in aggressive behavior or prosocial behavior.In addition,the multi-vagal theory suggests that the medullated vagal nerve plays a role in regulating negative emotions and personality traits and promoting prosocial behaviors in human social development.The neurovisceral integration model indicates that vagal nerve activity is a physiological index that can better reflect the inhibition control of individuals.Therefore,this study started from the general aggression model to study the influence of impulsivity and inhibitory control on aggressive behavior,and further explored the role of vagal activity in the influence of impulsivity and inhibitory control on aggressive behavior based on the multi-vagal theory and the neurovisceral integration model.In the first study,data from 627 college students’ Barratt impulsivity questionnaire,TEXI executive function questionnaire and active and reactive aggression questionnaire were collected by using the questionnaire method,and a mediation model of impulsivity versus active and reactive aggression behavior and inhibition control was established.Studies 2 and 3 further subdivide suppression control into cold suppression control and heat suppression control on the basis of study 1,and measure them by behavioral experiments.In study 2,the classical Stroop task was used to measure the cold inhibition control of subjects,and the resting vagal data were collected to explore the influencing factors of proactive and reactive aggressive behavior and the relationship between baseline vagal activity.In study 3,the Stroop task was used to measure the heat inhibition control ability of the subjects,and the resting vagal nerve data were collected to explore the influencing factors of proactive and reactive aggressive behavior and the relationship between baseline vagal nerve activity.Results:(1)Predictive inhibition of impulsivity was significantly negative;Impulsivity positively predicted active and reactive aggression.Inhibitory control plays a mediating role in impulsive and reactive aggression.(2)Baseline vagal tone was worse in high-impulsivity individuals;Individuals with low impulsivity and high baseline vagal tone showed less active aggression than others.Individuals with high impulsivity exhibited more reactive aggression than individuals with low impulsivity regardless of baseline vagal tone.(3)The individuals with high impulsivity had poor negative heat suppression control;Individuals with high impulsivity and low RMSSD baseline had worse negative heat inhibition control than those with low impulsivity and high baseline.Individuals with high impulsivity and high baseline RMSSD had worse negative heat suppression control than individuals with low impulsivity and high baseline RMSSD.In conclusion,individuals with high impulsivity exhibited poor inhibitory control and more proactive-reactive aggression,but high vagal activity mitigated the effect of impulsivity on inhibitory control and proactive-reactive aggression.