title: Serotonin and Dopamine Candidate Gene Variants and Alcohol- and Non-Alcohol-Related Aggression.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Aggressive and criminal traits have a complex genetic background which interacts with environmental factors. Alcohol intoxication has been related to lower thresholds of aggressive behaviors. In this association study of two independent samples, a number of candidate gene variants (5HT2A T102C, 5-HTTLPR, DRD Ins-141Del, DAT1 VNTR) were related to violent criminal behavior and alcohol-related aggressive traits.
  
  
  METHODS
  Treatment-seeking alcohol-dependent individuals (293 patients and 499 controls from Germany, 180 patients and 402 controls from Poland) underwent a Semi-Structured Assessment for the Genetics of Alcoholism interview which gathered information on alcohol-related violence and criminal behaviors, beside alcohol dependence characteristics.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Patients with a history of violent or non-violent crime were more often male, had an earlier onset of alcoholism, more withdrawal seizures and delirium tremens, and were more likely to have a history of suicide attempts. No significant association between candidate gene variants and criminal behavior was detected. 5HTTLPR variant was related to one characteristic of alcohol-related violence.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  With findings from genome-wide association studies linking aggression-related traits to second messenger systems, further studies are needed to determine the genetic underpinnings of non-alcohol and alcohol-related aggression.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, Prignitz County Hospital, Martin-Luther University, Halle-Wittenberg, Germany ulrich.preuss@medizin.uni-halle.de.
authors.forename: Ulrich W
authors.initials: UW
authors.lastname: Preuss
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Ludwig Maximilian University, München, Germany.
authors.forename: Gabriele
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Koller
authors.affiliation: Institute of Psychology, Department of Clinical Psychology, University of Szczecin, Szczecin, Poland.
authors.forename: Agnieszka
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Samochowiec
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Ludwig Maximilian University, München, Germany.
authors.forename: Peter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Zill
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Pomeranian Medical University, Szczecin, Poland.
authors.forename: Jerzy
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Samochowiec
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Pomeranian Medical University, Szczecin, Poland.
authors.forename: Jolanta
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Kucharska-Mazur
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, Prignitz County Hospital, Martin-Luther University, Halle-Wittenberg, Germany.
authors.forename: Jessica
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Wong
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Ludwig Maximilian University, München, Germany Privatklinik Meiringen, Meiringen, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Soyka
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000374:Aggression / Q000187:drug effects*; D000437:Alcoholism / Q000235:genetics*; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D050483:Dopamine Plasma Membrane Transport Proteins / Q000235:genetics*; D005260:Female; D055106:Genome-Wide Association Study; D005838:Genotype; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D018598:Minisatellite Repeats / Q000235:genetics; D011110:Polymorphism, Genetic / Q000235:genetics; D044402:Receptor, Serotonin, 5-HT2A / Q000235:genetics*; D017447:Receptors, Dopamine D1 / Q000235:genetics*; D050486:Serotonin Plasma Membrane Transport Proteins / Q000235:genetics*; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: C583260:DRD1 protein, human; D050483:Dopamine Plasma Membrane Transport Proteins; D044402:Receptor, Serotonin, 5-HT2A; D017447:Receptors, Dopamine D1; C493214:SLC6A3 protein, human; C493230:SLC6A4 protein, human; D050486:Serotonin Plasma Membrane Transport Proteins