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Molecular Psychiatry (2015) 20, 786792 2015 Macmillan Publishers Limited All rights reserved 1359-4184/15
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ORIGINAL ARTICLE
Genetic background of extreme violent behavior
J Tiihonen1,2,3,19, M-R Rautiainen3,19, HM Ollila3,4, E Repo-Tiihonen2, M Virkkunen5,6, A Palotie7,8,9,10,11, O Pietilinen3, K Kristiansson3, M Joukamaa12, H Lauerma3,13,14, J Saarela15, S Tyni16, H Vartiainen16, J Paananen17, D Goldman18 and T Paunio3,5,6
In developed countries, the majority of all violent crime is committed by a small group of antisocial recidivistic offenders, but no genes have been shown to contribute to recidivistic violent offending or severe violent behavior, such as homicide. Our results, from two independent cohorts of Finnish prisoners, revealed that a monoamine oxidase A (MAOA) low-activity genotype (contributing to low dopamine turnover rate) as well as the CDH13 gene (coding for neuronal membrane adhesion protein) are associated with extremely violent behavior (at least 10 committed homicides, attempted homicides or batteries). No substantial signal was observed for either MAOA or CDH13 among non-violent offenders, indicating that ndings were specic for violent offending, and not largely attributable to substance abuse or antisocial personality disorder. These results indicate both low monoamine metabolism and neuronal membrane dysfunction as plausible factors in the etiology of extreme criminal violent behavior, and imply that at least about 510% of all severe violent crime in Finland is attributable to the aforementioned MAOA and
CDH13 genotypes.
Molecular Psychiatry (2015) 20, 786792; doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/mp.2014.130
Web End =10.1038/mp.2014.130 ; published online 28 October 2014
INTRODUCTIONViolent crime is a major issue that affects the quality of life even in stable and wealthy societies. In industrialized countries, the majority of all violent crime is committed by a relatively small group of antisocial recidivistic offenders,1,2 and more than 50% of
severe antisocial behavior is attributable to genetic factors.3 The classic study by Mednick et al.,4 reported a signicant correlation between adoptees and their biological parents for property crimes, but not for violent crimes. However, a recent study using an enormous Swedish nationwide adoption database with a long follow-up period found convincing evidence that the criminal records of biological parents predicted both violent and non-violent criminality among their adopted away children.5 Two decades ago, it was observed that a rare mutation leading to a complete deciency of monoamine oxidase A (MAOA) was associated with...