Book excerpt: Every clinician today needs a basic understanding of what causes violent behavior. The second edition of Neurobiology of Violence synthesizes current research on the origins of violence and reveals its implications for managing aggressive patients and minimizing risk. Author Jan Volavka, currently Chief of Clinical Research at the Nathan S. Kline Institute, spent time in a Nazi prison as a child and has devoted much of his career to studying violence in humans. In Neurobiology of Violence, Second Edition, he brought together research and clinical data from many diverse disciplines in a single-authored volume with a unified voice that is clearly written and interesting to read. Neurobiology of Violence, Second Edition, will give you a firm grounding in a complex subject that will help you diagnose, manage, and predict violent behavior. In the first part of the book you'll examine the basic science of the origins of violence in humans, such as Factors in animal aggression that have parallels in human aggression, including the relationship between serotonin and aggression The genetic and environmental factors that interplay from conception to adulthood to result in violence. In the latter part, you'll develop new insights and strategies for working with violent patients in discussions of the latest clinical science, including Major mental disorders and violent behaviors, including behaviors expressed in the community and those in psychiatric hospitals Alcohol and various drugs and the tendencies of each type of abuse to predispose people to violence Current psychopharmacological approaches to managing violent behavior in patients. With more than 1000 updated references, the second edition of Neurobiology of Violence is a seminal resource for clinicians. It is an important tool for psychiatrists, neurologists, psychologists, and all other clinicians who struggle to understand and treat violent patients.