Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy, and Psychosomatics, Medical School, RWTH Aachen University, Pauwelsstr. 30, 52074, Aachen, Germany.
JARA-Translational Brain Medicine, RWTH Aachen University, 52074, Aachen, Germany.
Brain Struct Funct. 2018 Mar;223(2):873-881. doi: 10.1007/s00429-017-1528-6. Epub 2017 Oct 10.
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.
MAOA 基因（MAOA-L）低表达等位基因与攻击性人格的发展风险增加有关。这表明与特质攻击性相关的 MAOA-L 特异性神经生物学脆弱性。目前的研究旨在调查 82 名健康白种男性静息态大脑网络与特质攻击性（Buss-Perry 攻击性问卷）之间的基因型特异性关联。对内在和基于种子的大脑连接进行了与攻击性相关的网络的基因型影响研究。与高表达等位基因（MAOA-H）携带者相比，MAOA-L 的腹内侧前额叶皮层（VMPFC）的内在连接性更高。基于种子的连接分析显示，该区域的功能参与存在基因型差异。MAOA 基因型调节了特质攻击性与 VMPFC 连接与缘上回（SMG）和默认模式网络（DMN）区域之间的关系。对两组分别进行分析，以更好地理解基因型如何调节攻击性与大脑网络之间的关系。结果表明，在 MAOA-L 组中，VMPFC 连接与右侧角回（AG）的攻击性呈正相关，而在右侧 SMG 则呈负相关。在 MAOA-H 携带者中没有出现这种效果。结果表明，VMPFC 在 MAOA-L 携带者的攻击性中具有特殊的相关性；具体而言，与 DMN 的分离以及与 AG 的耦合增强似乎与较低的特质攻击性有关。因此，MAOA-L 携带者可能依赖于情绪调节系统（VMPFC）与同理心核心区域（SMG）的同步，以防止攻击性。
