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.
