Combination of Genes and Prenatal Exposure to Smoking Increases Teens’ Risk of Disruptive Behavior

SOURCE: National Institute of Health (NIH) News

DATE:  March 4, 2009

EXCERPT: "A team of researchers led by the Institute for Juvenile Research, University of Illinois at Chicago, identified a long-lasting influence on behavior of the monoamine oxidase A (MAOA) gene variant following tobacco exposure before birth. MAOA is an enzyme which regulates key neurotransmitters[*], or chemical messengers in the brain. Strikingly, the genetic variant that confers this increased risk differs between boys and girls.

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In boys, with the low-activity MAOA (MAOA-L) gene variant, exposure to prenatal smoking was associated with increased disruptive social interactions, including aggressive behaviors and serious rule-violating. "Low activity" means that the gene produces less of its product, the enzyme monamine oxidase A. In contrast, exposure to prenatal smoking was associated with increased disruptive behavior in girls who had the high-activity MAOA (MAOA-H) variant."   more

RELATED PUBMED LINK:

Wakschlag LS, Kistner EO, Pine DS, Biesecker G, Pickett KE, Skol AD, Dukic V, Blair RJ, Leventhal BL, Cox NJ, Burns JL, Kasza KE, Wright RJ, Cook EH Jr. Interaction of prenatal exposure to cigarettes and MAOA genotype in pathways to youth antisocial behavior. Mol Psychiatry. 2009 Mar 3.