title: Association of low-activity MAOA allelic variants with violent crime in incarcerated offenders.
abstract: The main enzyme for serotonin degradation, monoamine oxidase (MAO) A, has recently emerged as a key biological factor in the predisposition to impulsive aggression. Male carriers of low-activity variants of the main functional polymorphism of the MAOA gene (MAOA-uVNTR) have been shown to exhibit a greater proclivity to engage in violent acts. Thus, we hypothesized that low-activity MAOA-uVNTR alleles may be associated with a higher risk for criminal violence among male offenders. To test this possibility, we analyzed the MAOA-uVNTR variants of violent (n = 49) and non-violent (n = 40) male Caucasian and African-American convicts in a correctional facility. All participants were also tested with the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (CTQ), Barratt Impulsivity Scale (BIS-11) and Buss-Perry Aggression Questionnaire (BPAQ) to assess their levels of childhood trauma exposure, impulsivity and aggression, respectively. Our results revealed a robust (P < 0.0001) association between low-activity MAOA-uVNTR alleles and violent crime. This association was replicated in the group of Caucasian violent offenders (P < 0.01), but reached only a marginal trend (P = 0.08) in their African American counterparts. While violent crime charges were not associated with CTQ, BIS-11 and BPAQ scores, carriers of low-activity alleles exhibited a mild, yet significant (P < 0.05) increase in BIS-11 total and attentional-impulsiveness scores. In summary, these findings support the role of MAOA gene as a prominent genetic determinant for criminal violence. Further studies are required to confirm these results in larger samples of inmates and evaluate potential interactions between MAOA alleles and environmental vulnerability factors.
authors.affiliation: Department of Molecular Biosciences, University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS, USA. Electronic address: dstetler@ku.edu.
authors.forename: Dean A
authors.initials: DA
authors.lastname: Stetler
authors.affiliation: Department of Molecular Biosciences, University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS, USA.
authors.forename: Chad
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Davis
authors.affiliation: Department of Molecular Biosciences, University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS, USA.
authors.forename: Kathryn
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Leavitt
authors.affiliation: Department of Molecular Biosciences, University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS, USA.
authors.forename: Ilana
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Schriger
authors.affiliation: Department of Molecular Biosciences, University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS, USA.
authors.forename: Katie
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Benson
authors.affiliation: Department of Molecular Biosciences, University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS, USA.
authors.forename: Samir
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Bhakta
authors.affiliation: Department of Molecular Biosciences, University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS, USA.
authors.forename: Lam Chee
authors.initials: LC
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Department of Molecular Biosciences, University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS, USA.
authors.forename: Cynthia
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Oben
authors.affiliation: Department of Molecular Biosciences, University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS, USA.
authors.forename: Matthew
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Watters
authors.affiliation: Department of Molecular Biosciences, University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS, USA.
authors.forename: Tara
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Haghnegahdar
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS, USA; Consortium for Translational Research on Aggression and Drug Abuse (ConTRADA), University of Kansas, Lawrence KS, USA.
authors.forename: Marco
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Bortolato
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000374:Aggression; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D057237:Criminals; D005787:Gene Frequency; D005838:Genotype; D006801:Humans; D007175:Impulsive Behavior; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D018598:Minisatellite Repeats / Q000235:genetics*; D008995:Monoamine Oxidase / Q000235:genetics*; D011594:Psychometrics; D013223:Statistics as Topic; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014754:Violence; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D008995:Monoamine Oxidase
keywords: Aggression; Childhood maltreatment; Criminal violence; Impulsivity; Monoamine oxidase A
references.citation: Prog Neuropsychopharmacol Biol Psychiatry. 2012 Oct 1;39(1):182-91
references.pmid: 22735397
references.citation: Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2009 Feb 17;106(7):2118-23
references.pmid: 19168625
references.citation: Science. 1995 Jun 23;268(5218):1763-6
references.pmid: 7792602
references.citation: Int J Neuropsychopharmacol. 2013 May;16(4):869-88
references.pmid: 22850464
references.citation: J Child Psychol Psychiatry. 2013 Dec;54(12):1308-17
references.pmid: 23738520
references.citation: Neuroreport. 2008 Mar 26;19(5):515-9
references.pmid: 18388730
references.citation: Neuropsychopharmacology. 2008 Jan;33(2):425-30
references.pmid: 17429405
references.citation: Neuropsychopharmacology. 2009 Jun;34(7):1797-809
references.pmid: 19194374
references.citation: Psychol Bull. 2002 May;128(3):490-529
references.pmid: 12002699
references.citation: Psychiatry Res. 2009 Jun 30;168(1):40-9
references.pmid: 19464063
references.citation: Child Dev. 1996 Jun;67(3):993-1002
references.pmid: 8706540
references.citation: Br J Psychiatry. 2011 Jun;198(6):457-63
references.pmid: 21628708
references.citation: Science. 1993 Oct 22;262(5133):578-80
references.pmid: 8211186
references.citation: Hum Genet. 1998 Sep;103(3):273-9
references.pmid: 9799080
references.citation: Hum Genet. 1999 Dec;105(6):542-51
references.pmid: 10647887
references.citation: Psychiatry Res. 2011 Feb 28;185(3):382-6
references.pmid: 20850185
references.citation: Compr Psychiatry. 2010 Mar-Apr;51(2):130-4
references.pmid: 20152292
references.citation: Biol Psychiatry. 2007 Jul 15;62(2):168-78
references.pmid: 17210136
references.citation: Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2006 Apr 18;103(16):6269-74
references.pmid: 16569698
references.citation: J Child Psychol Psychiatry. 2008 Apr;49(4):359-75
references.pmid: 18221345
references.citation: J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry. 1997 Mar;36(3):340-8
references.pmid: 9055514
references.citation: Int Rev Neurobiol. 2011;100:13-42
references.pmid: 21971001
references.citation: Lancet. 2002 Oct 5;360(9339):1083-8
references.pmid: 12384003
references.citation: J Neural Transm (Vienna). 2007;114(6):817-22
references.pmid: 17426915
references.citation: Science. 2002 Aug 2;297(5582):851-4
references.pmid: 12161658
references.citation: Int J Law Psychiatry. 1984;7(1):35-50
references.pmid: 6519865
references.citation: Behav Genet. 2011 Jul;41(4):543-56
references.pmid: 20967566
references.citation: Hum Mol Genet. 1999 Apr;8(4):621-4
references.pmid: 10072430
references.citation: Adv Drug Deliv Rev. 2008 Oct-Nov;60(13-14):1527-33
references.pmid: 18652859
references.citation: Psychiatr Q. 2014 Sep;85(3):257-65
references.pmid: 24326626
references.citation: Psychiatr Clin North Am. 1997 Jun;20(2):375-94
references.pmid: 9196920
references.citation: Biol Psychiatry. 2007 Aug 15;62(4):355-8
references.pmid: 17141746
references.citation: Mol Psychiatry. 2008 Mar;13(3):313-24
references.pmid: 17519928
references.citation: Clin Child Fam Psychol Rev. 1999 Sep;2(3):149-68
references.pmid: 11227072
references.citation: Neuropsychopharmacology. 2004 Aug;29(8):1498-505
references.pmid: 15150530
references.citation: J Abnorm Child Psychol. 2008 Nov;36(8):1265-78
references.pmid: 18615267
references.citation: J Neurosci. 2012 Jun 20;32(25):8574-82
references.pmid: 22723698
references.citation: Eur J Hum Genet. 2008 May;16(5):626-34
references.pmid: 18212819
references.citation: Psychiatry Res. 2010 May 15;177(1-2):161-6
references.pmid: 20363030
references.citation: J Pers Soc Psychol. 1992 Sep;63(3):452-9
references.pmid: 1403624
references.citation: J Neuropsychiatry Clin Neurosci. 1999 Summer;11(3):307-14
references.pmid: 10440006
references.citation: Psychiatr Genet. 2011 Oct;21(5):229-39
references.pmid: 21368712
references.citation: Behav Genet. 2011 Mar;41(2):262-72
references.pmid: 20734127
references.citation: Dev Psychol. 2006 Nov;42(6):1299-312
references.pmid: 17087562
references.citation: Neuropsychobiology. 2007;56(1):19-23
references.pmid: 17943028
references.citation: Neuropsychopharmacology. 2007 Nov;32(11):2375-83
references.pmid: 17342170
references.citation: Int J Neuropsychopharmacol. 2011 Oct;14(9):1195-207
references.pmid: 21156093
references.citation: J Clin Psychol. 1995 Nov;51(6):768-74
references.pmid: 8778124
references.citation: Trends Neurosci. 2008 Mar;31(3):120-9
references.pmid: 18258310
references.citation: Psychol Med. 2009 Apr;39(4):579-90
references.pmid: 18752729
references.citation: Am J Psychiatry. 1994 Aug;151(8):1132-6
references.pmid: 8037246
references.citation: Biol Psychiatry. 2014 Jan 1;75(1):25-30
references.pmid: 23726513
references.citation: Pers Soc Psychol Rev. 2008 Feb;12(1):3-21
references.pmid: 18453470
references.citation: Neuropsychopharmacology. 2011 Dec;36(13):2674-88
references.pmid: 21832987
references.citation: Behav Brain Res. 2013 Jun 15;247:73-8
references.pmid: 23499704
references.citation: Mol Psychiatry. 2006 Oct;11(10):903-13
references.pmid: 16801953
references.citation: J Pers Soc Psychol. 1987 Dec;53(6):1146-58
references.pmid: 3694454