The cerebellum in aggression: Extending the cortico-limbic dual-route model of motivation and emotion.

According to the dual-route model of emotion, impulsive (affective) aggression involves fast acting limbic regions, whereas in instrumental (predatory) aggression the neural focus lies on top-down anterior cortical areas. However, increasing neuroscientific evidence now points toward differential involvement of the cerebellum in the aggression circuit. In particular, the medial cerebellum, the vermis, is suggested to be part of the limbic circuit involved in fast, preattentive processing during imminent threat and provocation, mediating impulsive forms of aggression. By contrast, the lateral cerebellar hemispheres with their connections to the motor and prefrontal cortex provide a substrate for the top-down regulatory control mechanisms that allow for premeditated and instrumental forms of aggression. This theoretical account can be reconciled with the involvement of the cerebellum in homeostatic functions and predictive coding.