Interaction of prenatal exposure to cigarettes and MAOA genotype in pathways to youth antisocial behavior.

ABSTRACT: Genetic susceptibility to antisocial behavior may increase fetal sensitivity to prenatal exposure to cigarette smoke. Testing putative gene x exposure mechanisms requires precise measurement of exposure and outcomes. We tested whether a functional polymorphism in the gene encoding the enzyme monoamine oxidase A (MAOA) interacts with exposure to predict pathways to adolescent antisocial behavior. We assessed both clinical and information-processing outcomes. One hundred seventy-six adolescents and their mothers participated in a follow-up of a pregnancy cohort with well-characterized exposure. A sex-specific pattern of gene x exposure interaction was detected. Exposed boys with the low-activity MAOA 5' uVNTR (untranslated region variable number of tandem repeats) genotype were at increased

SUBMITTER: Wakschlag LS 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2905677 | biostudies-literature | 2010 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature