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How can food deprivation during development influence aggression in adult mice?

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red deer stags (Cervus elaphus) — Aggressive behaviour A pair of red deer stags (*Cervus elaphus*) competing for possession of a female in the rutting season.

In the study of aggressive behaviour, research indicates that environmental factors during early development play a significant role in shaping an animal's temperament. Specifically, mice that experience food deprivation during their developmental stages are observed to become particularly aggressive as adults.1

This outcome highlights that aggression is not solely determined by genetics or instinct; rather, it emerges from a complex, continuous interaction between an individual's inherited genes and the environment in which those genes are expressed. While genetic factors—such as those on the Y chromosome—influence hormone secretion and brain sensitivity to testosterone, environmental stressors like nutritional scarcity can profoundly alter adult behavioral patterns.12