title: Association of a functional variant of neuronal nitric oxide synthase gene with self-reported impulsiveness, venturesomeness and empathy in male offenders.
abstract: It has been shown that a functional promoter dinucleotide repeat length variation of the neuronal nitric oxide synthase gene (NOS1 Ex1f-VNTR) is associated with impulsivity-related behavioral phenotypes. In this study, the Eysenck Impulsivity Questionnaire (IVE-7) was administered to 182 male offenders to prove the hypothesis that NOS1 Ex1f-VNTR is associated with self-reported impulsiveness, venturesomeness and empathy. Multivariate analysis of variance (MANCOVA) revealed a significant multivariate effect of NOS1 Ex1f-VNTR genotype on IVE-7 measures (P = 0.0006). The effect was more pronounced regarding impulsiveness and empathy (P = 0.0052 and P = 0.0036, respectively) as compared with venturesomeness, which was only of borderline significance. The findings give additional evidence that NOS-I is involved in the regulation of impulsive personality traits and support the notion that the NOS1 gene takes part in the regulation of social behavior.
authors.affiliation: Neurocentre, Institute for Forensic Psychology and Psychiatry, Saarland University Hospital, Homburg, Saar, Germany. wolfgang.retz@uks.eu
authors.forename: Wolfgang
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Retz
authors.forename: Andreas
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Reif
authors.forename: Christine M
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Freitag
authors.forename: Petra
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Retz-Junginger
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Rösler
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D001289:Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity / Q000235:genetics; D057237:Criminals; D004645:Empathy / Q000235:genetics*; D014644:Genetic Variation; D005838:Genotype; D006801:Humans; D007175:Impulsive Behavior / Q000235:genetics*; D008297:Male; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D052248:Nitric Oxide Synthase Type I / Q000235:genetics*; D010551:Personality / Q000235:genetics*; D010554:Personality Disorders / Q000235:genetics; D010641:Phenotype; D011594:Psychometrics; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014754:Violence; D044465:White People / Q000235:genetics
chemical_list: C496320:NOS1 protein, human; D052248:Nitric Oxide Synthase Type I