NEW DIRECTIONS IN THE GENETICS OF IMPULSIVITY AND AGGRESSION

这个子项目是利用由NIH/NCRR资助的中心拨款提供的资源的许多研究子项目之一。子项目和调查员(PI)可能从另一个NIH来源获得了主要资金，因此可能会出现在其他CRISE条目中。列出的机构是针对中心的，而不一定是针对调查员的机构。这项拟议的研究的目的是利用已知的5-羟色胺相关基因的多态性，调查人格障碍患者冲动攻击行为的遗传贡献。冲动性攻击行为在人格障碍患者中很普遍，并占与这些障碍相关的发病率的很大一部分。在人格障碍患者中调查5-羟色胺相关基因的基因型与冲动性攻击之间的联系是合乎逻辑的，因为观察到：1)在具有冲动性攻击行为的人格障碍患者中，中枢神经系统的5-羟色胺能活性降低；2)冲动性攻击被证明至少部分是可遗传的；3)已描述了5-羟色胺相关的多态(基因的变异性)，允许在个体受试者中描述基因的特征。此外，我们建议利用催乳素对芬氟拉明的反应来测量中枢5-羟色胺的功能，以允许与基因型和临床现象进行比较。

This subproject is one of many research subprojects utilizing the resources provided by a Center grant funded by NIH/NCRR. The subproject and investigator (PI) may have received primary funding from another NIH source, and thus could be represented in other CRISP entries. The institution listed is for the Center, which is not necessarily the institution for the investigator. The purpose of the proposed study is to investigate the genetic contribution to impulsive aggressive behavior in patients with personality disorders, utilizing known polymorphisms in serotonin-related genes. Impulsive aggressive behavior is prevalent in patients with personality disorders and accounts for a substantial portion of the morbidity associated with these disorders. It is logical to investigate the association between genotype in serotonin-related genes and impulsive aggression in patients with personality disorders, in light of the observations that: 1) decreased serotongergic activity in the central nervous systgem has been demonstrated in personality disordered patients with impulsive aggressive behavior; 2) impulsive aggression has been shown to be at least partially heritable; 3) serotonin-related polymorphisms (variability in genotype) have been described, allowing for the characterization of genotype in individual subjects. In addition, we propose to measure central serotonin function utilizing the prolactin response to fenfluramine to allow for comparisons with both genotype and clinical phenomena.