|
Gene variations contribute to aggression and
anger in women
BUDAPEST, HUNGARY, March 9 – Ever wonder why some women seem to be
more ill-tempered than others? University of Pittsburgh researchers
have found that behaviors such as anger, hostility and aggression
may be genetic, rooted in variations in a serotonin receptor gene.
Indrani Halder, Ph.D., of the Cardiovascular Behavioral Medicine
Program at the University of Pittsburgh, will present the findings
today at the American Psychosomatic Society's Annual Meeting, held
in Budapest, Hungary.
Previous studies have associated the hormone serotonin with anger
and aggression in both humans and animals and have shown that
increased serotonin activity is related to a decrease in angry and
aggressive behaviors. In the study being presented today,
researchers sought to determine if this relationship was genetically
determined. The study is the first to look at the relationship
between variations in the serotonin receptor 2C gene and anger and
hostility.
Completed at the University of Pittsburgh's Behavioral Physiology
Laboratory, the study looked at 550 unrelated women of European
descent. In order to find normal variations in genes and behavior,
the women were not prescreened for behavioral type. Researchers
found that those who had one or both of two alterations in the
promoter region of the serotonin receptor 2C gene were more likely
to score lower on two common tests for anger, hostility and
aggression.
These findings may aid in establishing a potential marker for
certain conditions associated with aggression and anger.
"Aggression and hostility are predictors of hypertension, glucose
metabolism and heart diseases," said Dr. Halder. "The genetic marker
we found for hostility also may be useful for predicting a person's
predisposition to such diseases."
|
Now,
keep up to date with daily feeds of newly posted stories about America's
Seniors...click on the box to the left