What resolves this contention: Lin et al. characterize VMHvl as a node sufficie…

What resolves this contention: Lin et al. characterize VMHvl as a node sufficient to elicit attack as a stereotyped, reflexive response, with overlapping mating/fighting representations and indiscriminate targeting (including inanimate objects). Falkner/Lin reframe VMHvl activity as encoding a flexible, goal-directed motivational state for aggression seeking that tracks task learning, not merely a fixed-action attack command — challenging a purely 'attack-trigger' interpretation. / Here we show that optogenetic, but not electrical, stimulation of neurons in the ventromedial hypothalamus, ventrolateral subdivision (VMHvl) causes male mice to attack both females and inanimate objects, as well as males. / Inactivation of the VMHvl reduces aggression-seeking behavior, whereas optogenetic stimulation of the VMHvl accelerates moment-to-moment aggression seeking and intensifies future attack.