Gender specific gene-environment interactions on laboratory-assessed aggression.
We examined gene-environment interactive effects on aggressive behavior among men and women genotyped (short versus long alleles) for the serotonin transporter gene. Aggressive behavior was indexed via a laboratory paradigm that measured the intensity and duration of shocks delivered to a putative "employee". Half of the participants were exposed to a physical stressor during the procedure (stress) and half were not (no-stress). Participants' physiological responses were gauged via acoustic startle eyeblink reactions (startle reactivity). Results were that men with the homozygous short (s/s) genotype showed increased aggression only under stress, whereas women and men carrying the long allele did not show differences in aggression in stress versus no-stress. However, although stress exposure produced increases in startle reactivity, there were no genotype or gender differences in physiology. These results replicate longitudinal research findings confirming the interactive effects of genes and environment on behavioral reactivity and on the development of externalizing psychopathological syndromes, at least in men.
Verona
Edelyn
E
Department of Psychology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 603 E. Daniel Street, Champaign, IL 61820, USA. everona@cyrus.psych.uiuc.edu
Joiner
Thomas E
TE
Johnson
Frank
F
Bender
Theodore W
TW
D000328:Adult; D000374:Aggression / Q000523:psychology*; D000483:Alleles; D017931:DNA Primers / Q000235:genetics; D004777:Environment; D005260:Female; D020022:Genetic Predisposition to Disease; D005838:Genotype; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D013216:Reflex, Startle / Q000502:physiology; D012107:Research Design; D050486:Serotonin Plasma Membrane Transport Proteins / Q000235:genetics*; D012737:Sex Factors; D012919:Social Behavior; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000235:genetics*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
D017931:DNA Primers; D050486:Serotonin Plasma Membrane Transport Proteins