FRIDAY, MARCH 4, 2011
The Racial Controversy of a Violent Gene
I would submit that there is at least one gene for something, and it concerns one of society’s ugliest controversies, the stereotype of the black male thug.
I am referring to a gene called monoamine oxidase A, or MAOA. This gene produces an enzyme that breaks down the neurotransmitters that activate many of the brain’s circuits. Back in the 1990’s, scientists discovered a mutation of MAOA that completely turns it off. The result is called Brunner syndrome, which only 14 related men have been known to have (plus animal models). What makes this extremely rare mutation so important is that it proves that MAOA really is a violent delinquency gene. A man with Brunner syndrome is what expert psychiatrists refer to as “a bad guy.” Five of these men were arsonists. Some of the men were rapists or attempted killers. Inexplicably, four men with the mutation somehow escaped having the syndrome, but for men with the mutation, those are not good odds. Nevertheless, out of the approximately three-and-a-half-billion men in the world, 14 really are not that many. Trust me, your neighbor—the one with the motorcycle—is probably not one of them. In conclusion, out of sight, out of mind.
Two small studies gave hints that the especially dangerous 2-repeat allele might be more common among African Americans.One study wrote that 6% of their non-white (but probably mostly African-American) male subjects had this allele. The other had 5 of 37 (14%) African-American men possessing “rare MAOA alleles.” Those percentages are remarkable given that studies of white men have suggested that 1% or fewer have this gene.
If a single gene could offer some explanation as to why African-Americans commit roughly five times as many violent crimes per capita as whites, then wouldn’t studying it potentially save countless lives and deserve a Nobel Prize?
A genetic mutation that makes men impulsive and aggressive, especially when drunk, has been isolated in Finnish men.
Research on violent criminals in Finland has uncovered a genetic variant of a brain receptor molecule that contributes that makes people more likely to be aggressive when they have been drinking.
The findings could lead to a better understanding into why some people are more prone to sudden bouts of violence and to the treatment of violent offenders.
Finnish men watch an ice hockey match while having a sauna in Helsinki. A genetic mutation in some Finnish men makes them more pre-disposed towards violence
Incredibly, the gene is only found in men from Finland and so cannot explain similar behaviour in other countries such as the UK.
A report of the findings appears in the December 23rd issue of Nature.
“Impulsivity, or action without foresight, is a factor in many pathological behaviours including suicide, aggression, and addiction,” says David Goldman chief of the Laboratory of Neurogenetics at the NIH”s National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA).
“But it is also a trait that can be of value if a quick decision must be made or in situations where risk-taking is favoured.”
In collaboration with researchers in Finland and France, Dr. Goldman and colleagues studied a sample of violent criminal offenders in Finland.
The hallmark of the violent crimes committed by individuals in the study sample was that they were spontaneous and purposeless.
“We conducted this study in Finland because of its unique population history and medical genetics,” says Dr. Goldman.
http://4yous.info/the-violent-gene-genetic-mutation-found-only-in-finnish-men-that-makes-them-fight/
