Freely Available Online www.openaccesspub.org | JNRT CC-license DOI : 10.14302/issn.2470-5020.jnrt-18-2554 Vol-2 Issue 4 Pg. no.- 28 JOURNAL OF NEUROLOGICAL RESEARCH AND THERAPY ISSN NO: 2470-5020 Review Neurobiological Differences Between Aggression and Agitation in Persons with Dementia Ladislav Volicer 1,* 1 School of Aging Studies, University of South Florida, Tampa FL, USA Abstract Background Controversy exists about definition of agitation and especially about inclusion of aggression as a part of agitation in people with dementia. Methods Papers describing neurobiological indices related to behavioral symptoms of dementia were reviewed. Papers comparing indices in persons exhibiting aggression and persons exhibiting agitation were selected for this review. Results The survey found seven papers which compared neuroanatomical indices and three papers which compared neurochemical indices. The neuroanatomical indices differentiating agitation and aggression included changes in brain perfusion, sizes of brain areas, distribution of neurofibrillary tangles, and white matter changes. The neurochemical indices differentiating agitation and aggression included relationships with neurotransmitter variables and the cell count in the locus coeruleus. Conclusion Despite the small number of papers and some methodological problems, the presented information clearly indicates that aggression and agitation are two distinct unrelated syndromes in persons with dementia. DOI: 10.14302/issn.2470-5020.jnrt-18-2554 Corresponding author: Ladislav Volicer, School of Aging Studies, University of South Florida, Tampa FL, USA 2337 Dekan Lane Land O’Lakes, FL 34639, Telephone: 813-909-0539, Email: lvolicer@usf.edu Running title: Agitation and aggression in dementia are different Keywords: dementia, agitation, aggression, neurobiology Received: Dec 19, 2018 Accepted: Jan 18, 2019 Published: Feb 21, 2019 Editor: Bruno Vitturi, Faculdade de Ciências Médicas da Santa Casa de São Paulo, Brazil.