Role of genotype in the cycle of violence in maltreated children
Role of genotype in the cycle of violence in maltreated children
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DOI：
10.1126/science.1072290
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发表时间：
2002-08-02
期刊：
影响因子：
56.9
通讯作者：
Poulton, R
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Caspi, A;McClay, J;Poulton, R
我们研究了一个从出生到成年的男孩的大样本，以确定为什么一些受虐待的孩子长大后会发展出反社会行为，而另一些则不会。编码神经递质代谢酶单胺氧化酶A（MAOA）的基因的功能多态性被发现可以减轻虐待的影响。被虐待的儿童基因型赋予高水平的MAOA表达不太可能发展成反社会问题。这些发现可能部分解释了为什么并非所有虐待的受害者长大后都会伤害他人，并且他们提供了流行病学证据，表明基因型可以调节儿童对环境侮辱的敏感性。
We studied a large sample of male children from birth to adulthood to determine why some children who are maltreated grow up to develop antisocial behavior, whereas others do not. A functional polymorphism in the gene encoding the neurotransmitter-metabolizing enzyme monoamine oxidase A (MAOA) was found to moderate the effect of maltreatment. Maltreated children with a genotype conferring high levels of MAOA expression were less likely to develop antisocial problems. These findings may partly explain why not all victims of maltreatment grow up to victimize others, and they provide epidemiological evidence that genotypes can moderate children's sensitivity to environmental insults.