title: Discovery of biochemical biomarkers for aggression: A role for metabolomics in psychiatry.
abstract: Human aggression encompasses a wide range of behaviors and is related to many psychiatric disorders. We introduce the different classification systems of aggression and related disorders as a basis for discussing biochemical biomarkers and then present an overview of studies in humans (published between 1990 and 2015) that reported statistically significant associations of biochemical biomarkers with aggression, DSM-IV disorders involving aggression, and their subtypes. The markers are of different types, including inflammation markers, neurotransmitters, lipoproteins, and hormones from various classes. Most studies focused on only a limited portfolio of biomarkers, frequently a specific class only. When integrating the data, it is clear that compounds from several biological pathways have been found to be associated with aggressive behavior, indicating complexity and the need for a broad approach. In the second part of the paper, using examples from the aggression literature and psychiatric metabolomics studies, we argue that a better understanding of aggression would benefit from a more holistic approach such as provided by metabolomics. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biological Psychology, VU Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.|EMGO+ Institute for Health and Care Research, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Fiona A
authors.initials: FA
authors.lastname: Hagenbeek
authors.affiliation: Good Biomarker Sciences Leiden, Leiden, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Cornelis
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Kluft
authors.affiliation: Division of Analytical Biosciences, Leiden Academic Center for Drug Research, Leiden University, Leiden, The Netherlands.|The Netherlands Metabolomics Centre, Leiden, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Thomas
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Hankemeier
authors.affiliation: Department of Biological Psychology, VU Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.|EMGO+ Institute for Health and Care Research, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.|Neuroscience Campus Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Meike
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Bartels
authors.affiliation: Department of Biological Psychology, VU Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.|EMGO+ Institute for Health and Care Research, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.|Neuroscience Campus Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Harmen H M
authors.initials: HH
authors.lastname: Draisma
authors.affiliation: Department of Biological Psychology, VU Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.|Neuroscience Campus Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.|Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, GGZ inGeest/VU University Medical Center, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Christel M
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Middeldorp
authors.affiliation: Division of Analytical Biosciences, Leiden Academic Center for Drug Research, Leiden University, Leiden, The Netherlands.|The Netherlands Metabolomics Centre, Leiden, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Ruud
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Berger
authors.affiliation: Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, Department of Surgical Sciences, Puericultura Institute and Neonatal Section, University of Cagliari, Cagliari, Italy.
authors.forename: Antonio
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Noto
authors.affiliation: Department of Biomedical Sciences, University of Cagliari, Cagliari, Italy.
authors.forename: Milena
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Lussu
authors.affiliation: Department of Biological Psychology, VU Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.|EMGO+ Institute for Health and Care Research, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.|BBMRINL: Infrastructure for the Application of Metabolomics Technology in Epidemiology, Leiden, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: René
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Pool
authors.affiliation: Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, Department of Surgical Sciences, Puericultura Institute and Neonatal Section, University of Cagliari, Cagliari, Italy.
authors.forename: Vassilios
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Fanos
authors.affiliation: Department of Biological Psychology, VU Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.|EMGO+ Institute for Health and Care Research, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.|Neuroscience Campus Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Dorret I
authors.initials: DI
authors.lastname: Boomsma
mesh_terms: D000374:Aggression / Q000145:classification* / Q000502:physiology*; D015415:Biomarkers; D039721:Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders; D006801:Humans; D001523:Mental Disorders; D055432:Metabolomics / Q000379:methods; D011570:Psychiatry
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers
keywords: aggression; biomarkers; metabolomics; psychiatry