kindaloupe, I think the word you're looking for is amygdala. Scroll down to the bottom of the page for diagrams/info;

"Stimulation of the basolateral nuclear group [part of the amygdala] results in arousal and attention. Strong stimulation of the same group can produce powerful fear or rage. Destruction of the amygdala of violent criminals has reduced their aggressiveness. The amygdala seems to be important for learning to associate objects with reward or punishment. The amygdala is also a key structure for fear learning. Fear conditioning has been demonstrated to have many effects on hypothalamic and brain stem centers mediated by the central nucleus of the amygdala .... The amygdala is among the brain areas with the highest density of receptors for sex hormones .... The range of emotions associated with the amygdala is really quite wide."

Click here for a report on the Neurobiology of suicide and aggression.

Ted, you may want to take this researcher to task for claims like this, but you'll probably be wasting your time, as all other research in this subject area over the last few decades points to the same conclusions.

...Over 90% of murderers are males. Violent crime by females appears to be increasing (19)

... Suicides occur most frequently among young white males. The Centers for Disease Control report that in 1990 there were 30,906 suicides in the United States, of which 24,724 occurred in males and 22,448 in white males.

...Individuals with additional Y chromosomes are more common in violent, criminal populations. As males are more aggressive than females, there may be a role for the Y chromosome in aggression. Testosterone may play a role in mediating aggression, as well."


Also, click here for info re the role of the amygdala in aggression. Like other psychopaths studied, Charles Whitman, the Texas Sniper, had a tumour of the amygdala. Researchers have found that injecting the neurotransmitter serotonin into the amygdala reduces aggression in these unfortunates.

Predatory aggression is increased by lesions of the corticomedial nuclei of the amygdala ... THis area ... normally serves to inhibit predation. The medial amygdala is larger in males. Testosterone injected into the amygdala enhances aggressiveness.

Intermale aggression is reduced by castration and enhanced by androgens (Male hormones ie testosterone)

High levels of testosterone in males correlated with antisocial behaviour... The presence of testosterone during the period that the brain is developing masculinizes the brain in terms of aggression just as it does in terms of sex behaviour per se.

Murder of unrelated males is perpetrated almost exclusively by males. The relationship of murder rate to age in males is constant across cultures (23-45). It is correlated with testosterone levels (Pfaff, 1999)

Violence within the family is virtually always initiated by males. Crimes of sexual violence are overwhelmingly male-initiated. (Pfaff, 1999)

Male animals of many species must have a territory in order to mate. Males will defend their territory from intruding males. Note that human males may combine territorial aggression with reproductive success (females are raped, males are killed)

Male chimpanzees "scout" along the border of their territorial range and "guard" community territory. In humans, "my yard", "my turf", "my neighbourhood", "my State", "my Country", "remember Pearl Harbour".

Wars are almost always fought by young males.