Serenic
A serenic, or antiaggressive agent, is a type of drug which reduces the capacity for irritability and aggression.[1]
Examples
The recreational drug
emotional empathy and prosocial behavior.[3][4] The entactogenic effects of these drugs are thought to be related to their ability to temporarily increase the levels of certain brain chemicals, including serotonin,[5] dopamine, and, particularly, oxytocin.[3][6][7]
Certain other
animal research as serenics.[9]
endogenous hormones oxytocin and vasopressin, respectively, have been shown to decrease aggressive behavior in scientific research, implicating them in the normal regulation of pathways involving aggressive behavior in the brain.[10][11] Certain neurosteroids, such as allopregnanolone, also appear to play a role in the regulation of aggression, including, notably, sexually-dimorphic aggressive behavior.[12] The sex hormones testosterone and estradiol
also regulate aggression.
Nicotinic acetylcholine receptors within the CNS, specifically α7 homopentameric receptors, are implicated in the regulation of aggression. The serenic effect of nicotine is well documented both in laboratory animals and humans, and, conversely, nicotinic receptor antagonists and nicotine withdrawal are associated with irritability and aggression.[13][14][15] Additionally, nicotinic receptors are required for rabies virus entry into a neuron, and the dysfunction of these neurons is implicated in the rabies-associated aggression.[16]
