Possible Association between Serotonin Transporter Promoter Region Polymorphism and Extremely Violent Crime in Chinese Males

Abstract

The neurotransmitter, serotonin, has been implicated in aggressive behavior. The serotonin transporter (5-HTT), which reuptakes serotonin into the nerve terminal, plays a critical role in the regulation of serotonergic function. Previous western reports have demonstrated that the low-activity short (S) allele of the 5-HTT gene-linked polymorphic-region (5-HTTLPR) polymorphism is associated with aggressive behavior and associated personality traits. In the present study, we investigated this 5-HTTLPR genetic polymorphism in a group of Chinese males who had been convicted for extremely violent crime (n = 135) and a normal control group (n = 111). The proportion of S-allele carriers was significantly higher in the criminal group than in the controls (p = 0.006). A significant association was not demonstrated for the relationship between the 5-HTTLPR polymorphism and antisocial personality disorder, substance abuse or alcohol abuse in the criminal group. Our findings demonstrate that carriage of the low-activity S allele is associated with extremely violent criminal behavior in Chinese males, and suggests that the 5-HTT may be implicated in the mechanisms underlying violent behaviors.

Nature and Nurture Predispose to Violent Behavior: Serotonergic Genes and Adverse Childhood Environment

“…In heroin addicts, the s/s genotype was associated with violent offence, but not Buss-Durkee Hostility Inventory scores (Gerra et al, 2004). Additional data also pointed toward an association of the s/s genotype with violent crime (Liao et al, 2004), and a study from our group demonstrated that the s allele was found significantly more often in violent-crime offenders especially when attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) psychopathology was present, explaining 5% of the genetic variance of violent behavior .…”

“…Accordingly, 5HTT constitutes another candidate gene for violent behavior. A small, yet increasing number of studies also investigated the implications of 5HTT genotype on aggression and demonstrated an association between short 5HTT alleles and violent behavior (Gerra et al, 2004;Retz et al, 2004;Liao et al, 2004), although the latter study conveyed several problems as the polymorphism was not in Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium. Gene-environment interactions have not yet been examined in humans.…”

Estudo de revisão dos fatores biológicos, sociais e ambientais associados com o comportamento agressivo

“…Other studies have established the same association with aggressiveness at adulthood, 30,31 thus leading to the conclusion that the presence of low expression alleles in adults is indeed associated with extreme violence.…”

Genetics of Recidivistic Violent Behavior: A Review

“…This is a particularly compelling study because it showed that the 5HTTLPR polymorphism could be used to distinguish different types of offenders. In the second investigation, Liao et al, (2004) 46 . They analyzed genotypic data from a sample of Chinese males.…”