Neural networks underlying trait aggression depend on MAOA gene alleles
Autor: | Dhana Wolf, Ingo Vernaleken, Patrick Eisner, Klaus Mathiak, Thorben Schlüter, Thomas Eggermann, Jonathan Repple, Martin Klasen, Klaus Zerres, Florian D. Zepf, Ute Habel |
---|---|
Rok vydání: | 2016 |
Předmět: |
Adult
Male Histology Adolescent Genotype media_common.quotation_subject Rest Ventromedial prefrontal cortex Prefrontal Cortex Empathy Biology Amygdala 050105 experimental psychology Angular gyrus 03 medical and health sciences Young Adult 0302 clinical medicine Supramarginal gyrus Gene Frequency Surveys and Questionnaires Neural Pathways medicine Image Processing Computer-Assisted Humans 0501 psychology and cognitive sciences Monoamine Oxidase Default mode network Alleles media_common Genetics Resting state fMRI Aggression General Neuroscience 05 social sciences Brain Magnetic Resonance Imaging medicine.anatomical_structure Neural Networks Computer Anatomy medicine.symptom 030217 neurology & neurosurgery |
Zdroj: | Brain structurefunction. 223(2) |
ISSN: | 1863-2661 |
Popis: | Low expressing alleles of the MAOA gene (MAOA-L) have been associated with an increased risk for developing an aggressive personality. This suggests an MAOA-L-specific neurobiological vulnerability associated with trait aggression. The neural networks underlying this vulnerability are unknown. The present study investigated genotype-specific associations between resting state brain networks and trait aggression (Buss-Perry Aggression Questionnaire) in 82 healthy Caucasian males. Genotype influences on aggression-related networks were studied for intrinsic and seed-based brain connectivity. Intrinsic connectivity was higher in the ventromedial prefrontal cortex (VMPFC) of MAOA-L compared to high expressing allele (MAOA-H) carriers. Seed-based connectivity analyses revealed genotype differences in the functional involvement of this region. MAOA genotype modulated the relationship between trait aggression and VMPFC connectivity with supramarginal gyrus (SMG) and areas of the default mode network (DMN). Separate analyses for the two groups were performed to better understand how the genotype modulated the relationship between aggression and brain networks. They revealed a positive correlation between VMPFC connectivity and aggression in right angular gyrus (AG) and a negative correlation in right SMG in the MAOA-L group. No such effect emerged in the MAOA-H carriers. The results indicate a particular relevance of VMPFC for aggression in MAOA-L carriers; in specific, a detachment from the DMN along with a strengthened coupling to the AG seems to go along with lower trait aggression. MAOA-L carriers may thus depend on a synchronization of emotion regulation systems (VMPFC) with core areas of empathy (SMG) to prevent aggression. |
Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
Externí odkaz: |