The world's first wiki where authorship really matters. Imagine a global collaborative knowledge base for original thoughts. Open access and freely available to everyone.
mememoir wiki meme memoir author authorship tracking technology evolutionary knowledge reputation system wiki2.0 global collaboration memes
 
Hoffmann, R. A wiki for the life sciences where authorship matters. Nature Genetics (2008)
 
 
 
 
 
 

An association between a functional polymorphism in the monoamine oxidase a gene promoter, impulsive traits and early abuse experiences.

Monoamine oxidase A (MAOA) activity is altered in mood disorders and lower activity associated with aggressive behavior. The gene has a functional polymorphism with a variable number tandem repeat (VNTR) in the upstream regulatory region (MAOA-uVNTR). In this study, we examined possible associations between the MAOA-uVNTR polymorphism and mood disorders, suicidal behavior, aggression/impulsivity, and effects of reported childhood abuse. In total, 663 unrelated subjects with a psychiatric disorder and 104 healthy volunteers were genotyped for the 30 base pair functional VNTR. A novel repeat variation was identified. No statistically significant associations were found between this functional MAOA-uVNTR polymorphism and mood disorders or suicide attempts. However, the lower expression allele was associated with a history of abuse before 15 years of age in male subjects and with higher impulsivity in males but not females. Our results suggest that the lower expression of the MAOA-uVNTR polymorphism is related to a history of early abuse and may sensitize males, but not females, to the effects of early abuse experiences on impulsive traits in adulthood. The polymorphism may be a marker for impulsivity that in turn may contribute to the risk for abuse. This trait could then be further aggravated by abuse.[1]

References

  1. An association between a functional polymorphism in the monoamine oxidase a gene promoter, impulsive traits and early abuse experiences. Huang, Y.Y., Cate, S.P., Battistuzzi, C., Oquendo, M.A., Brent, D., Mann, J.J. Neuropsychopharmacology (2004)
 

Editor

Links