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

EAPSI：单胺氧化酶的作用 - 基因多态性在猕猴攻击行为中的作用

• 批准号: 1713932
• 负责人: Danielle Jones
• 金额: $ 0.54万
• 依托单位: Jones Danielle N
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Fellowship Award
• 财政年份: 2017
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2017-06-01 至 2018-05-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1713932&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: EAPSI; Role; Monoamine; Oxidase; Gene

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.

攻击性是一种行为，在所有灵长类物种中，在维持社会秩序和重要资源采购方面发挥着功能性作用;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，科学家们必须努力了解攻击性行为的生物学基础。该奖项支持研究人员前往日本犬山调查这一主题，在那里她将在灵长类动物研究所（PRI）的Yukiori后藤博士的指导下工作。特别是，该项目将研究MAOA基因和两种猕猴的攻击水平之间的关系。PRI为同时研究灵长类动物的行为和遗传学提供了一个独特的机会，其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疗法。关于攻击行为遗传基础的研究主要集中在MAOA基因上，尽管其在行为调节中的作用尚未完全了解。MAOA基因编码单胺氧化酶-A，它在大脑中发挥作用，降解神经递质5-羟色胺、多巴胺和去甲肾上腺素。在人类和非人类灵长类动物中，已经记录了MAOA基因的两种变体，一种高活性变体（MAOA-H）和一种低活性变体（MAOA-L）。过去的研究发现，低活性变体与高水平的攻击性有关，可能是由于循环神经递质水平较高。该项目将重点关注恒河猴（Macaca mulatta）和日本（Macaca fuscata）猕猴的不同攻击水平及其与特定MAOA基因变异的关系。该研究将包括三个部分：一）。行为数据的收集和分析，因为它涉及到物种内和物种之间的攻击行为，II。确定参与行为研究的所有个体的MAOA基因型，和III.）研究基因变异与攻击性水平之间的关联，从而解释个体间的攻击性水平以及物种特异性模式。该奖项是东亚和太平洋夏季研究所项目下的一个奖项，由美国国家科学基金会和日本科学促进会共同资助，旨在支持美国研究生的夏季研究。