• Lesley A Ricci, Daniel F Connor, Randall Morrison, and Richard H Melloni.
• Behavioral Neuroscience Program, Department of Psychology, Northeastern University, Boston, Massachusetts 02115, USA.
• Biol. Psychiatry. 2007 Aug 1; 62 (3): 218-25.

BackgroundRisperidone has been shown to be clinically effective for the treatment of aggressive behavior in children, yet no information is available regarding whether risperidone exhibits aggression-specific suppression in preclinical studies that use validated developmentally immature animal models of escalated aggression. Previously, we have shown that exposure to low doses of the psychostimulant cocaine-hydrochloride (.5 mg/kg intraperitoneally) during the majority of pubertal development (postnatal days [P]27-57) generates animals that exhibit a high level of offensive aggression. This study examined whether risperidone exerts selective aggression-suppressing effects by using this pharmacologic animal model of highly escalated offensive aggression.MethodsExperimental hamsters were tested for offensive aggression after the acute administration of risperidone (.05-1.0 mg/kg, intraperitoneally).ResultsRisperidone dose-dependently reduced the highly aggressive phenotype, with a significant reduction observed at .1-.2 mg/kg for most aggressive responses measured. Experimental animals treated with higher doses of risperidone (.3-1.0 mg/kg) showed significant reductions in aggression and social interest toward intruders, indicating more general behavioral inhibition.ConclusionsThese studies provide evidence that risperidone exerts specific aggression-suppressing effects in a developmentally immature animal model of escalated aggression.

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