EAPSI: The Role of Monoamine Oxidase - A Gene Polymorphism in Aggressive Behavior in Macaques

在所有灵长类动物中，攻击行为是一种维持社会秩序和获取重要资源的功能行为；然而，在人类中，攻击性有时表现为暴力犯罪，包括袭击、谋杀和强奸。为了维护安全、健康的社区，科学家们努力了解攻击行为的生物学基础是至关重要的。该奖项支持研究人员前往日本犬山研究这一主题，在那里她将在灵长类动物研究所（PRI）的Yukiori Goto博士的指导下工作。特别是，该项目将研究MAOA基因与两种猕猴的攻击水平之间的关系。PRI提供了一个独特的机会来同时研究灵长类动物的行为和遗传学，结果将有助于我们理解基因如何影响攻击水平。在未来，这项研究可能有助于开发人类反社会人格障碍的药物治疗方法。攻击行为的遗传基础研究主要集中在MAOA基因上，但其在行为调节中的作用尚不完全清楚。MAOA基因编码单胺氧化酶a，它在大脑中起降解神经递质血清素、多巴胺和去甲肾上腺素的作用。在人类和非人类灵长类动物中，MAOA基因有两种变体，一种是高活性变体（MAOA- h），另一种是低活性变体（MAOA- l）。过去的研究发现，低活性变体与攻击性水平升高有关，可能是由于循环神经递质水平较高。本项目将重点研究恒河猴（Macaca mulatta）和日本猕猴（Macaca fuscata）中不同程度的攻击及其与特定MAOA基因变异的关系。研究将包括三个组成部分：1)收集和分析与物种内部和物种之间的攻击行为相关的行为数据；2)确定所有参与行为研究的个体的MAOA基因型；3)检查基因变异与攻击水平之间的关联数据，这可能解释个体间的攻击水平以及物种特定模式。该奖项由美国国家科学基金会和日本科学促进会共同资助，隶属于东亚和太平洋暑期研究所项目，支持一名美国研究生进行暑期研究。

Aggression is a behavior that plays a functional role in maintaining social order and vital resource procurement among all primate species; however, in humans, aggression is sometimes manifested as violent crime, including assault, murder, and rape. For the sake of maintaining safe, healthy communities, it is crucial that scientists work to understand the biological underpinnings of aggressive behavior. This award supports the researcher as she investigates this topic by traveling to Inuyama, Japan, where she will work under the advisement of Dr. Yukiori Goto at the Primate Research Institute (PRI). In particular, this project will examine the relationship between the MAOA gene and levels of aggression in two macaque species. The PRI offers a unique opportunity to study primate behavior and genetics simultaneously, and the results will contribute to our understanding of how genes contribute to levels of aggression. In the future, this research may aid in the development of pharmaceutical therapies for antisocial personality disorders in humans. Research on the genetic basis of aggressive behavior has focused on the MAOA gene, though its role in behavior modulation is not fully understood. The MAOA gene codes for the enzyme monoamine oxidase-A and it functions in the brain to degrade the neurotransmitters serotonin, dopamine, and norepinephrine. In humans and nonhuman primates, two variants of the MAOA gene have been documented, a high-activity variant (MAOA-H) and a low-activity variant (MAOA-L). Past studies have found the low-activity variant to be associated with elevated levels of aggression, presumably due to higher levels of circulating neurotransmitters. This project will focus on differential levels of aggression and its relationship to particular MAOA gene variants in rhesus (Macaca mulatta) and Japanese (Macaca fuscata) macaques. The research will consist of three components: I.) collection and analysis of behavioral data as it relates to aggressive behavior within and between species, II.) determination of MAOA genotype for all individuals involved in the behavioral studies, and III.) examination of the data for associations between gene variants and levels of aggression that may explain inter-individual levels of aggression as well as species-specific patterns.This award, under the East Asia and Pacific Summer Institutes program, supports summer research by a U.S. graduate student and is jointly funded by NSF and the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science.