Biological roots to domestic violence?

In an experiment carried out with rats, it was observed that aggressive behavior passed from one generation to the other, even without any between the parent and its offspring. Researchers are exploring several approaches to explain the results. Childhood traumas alone do not explain the development of domestic violence - at least in the case of rats. As part of a study conducted at EPFL, researchers from the Brain Mind Institute were able to show that purely biological elements played a crucial role in the development of aggressive behavior. Carmen Sandi and her team's research targets a deeper understanding of human domestic violence. "But it is unimaginable to isolate human beings from social interaction to see the personality they would develop," indicates the researcher. Hence, she carried out experiments with rats in order to conduct her research.