Running head: DOES THE WARRIOR GENE CAUSE VIOLENT BEHAVIOR?

Does the Warrior Gene Cause Violent Behavior?

Elvia Torres-Garcia
Salt Lake Community College

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Does the Warrior Gene Cause Violent Behavior?
My interest in the warrior gene began when I first took Psychology 1010, at the time I
had to do a report on Psychopathic and Sociopathic behaviors. Both sociopaths and psychopaths
had something in common they were both products of their environment and had predisposition
to various genetic factors one of them being the MAO-A gene also known as the warrior gene
that was linked to antisocial behavior and aggression. At the time my research was very broad
taking in many factors to explain such behaviors, however this paper will analyze several
research papers dealing specifically with the study of the warrior gene alone to determine if
there are enough facts to prove the possibility that this gene MAOA really is the cause of violent
behavior. The MAO A stands for Monoamine oxidases which are enzymes that are linked in
breaking down the neurotransmitters serotonin, dopamine and adrenaline which also affect mood
(Lea, Chambers 2007).
The first article Id like to introduce is Monoamine oxidase, addiction and the warrior
gene hypothesis by Rod Lea and Geoffrey Chambers published in The New Zealand Medical
Journal, in 2007. The articles was written in response to an earlier publication of the warrior
gene being linked to risk-taking, aggression and criminality in Maori people (Lea, Chambers
2007). After the original story aired there was huge controversy that involved many members of
the community as a whole do the fact that a lot of the data was misrepresented by media outlets.
There are many ethnic differences in MAO-A frequencies, in order for this research to be valid
the data that was originally collected in the Maori men was compared to other MAO-A genes,
that was taken from other ethnic groups to make the study less misleading of one group of people
meaning the Maori males. The specific MAO-A gene that was looked at was the A30bp-rpt (3repeat) allele frequency. According to the study this gene appeared in the Maori men 56% of the

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time in a group of 46. In Caucasian males it was 34%, African males & females 59%, Hispanics
29% and surprisingly enough 77% in Chinese males. The basic premise of this article was to be
able to read the data and alerted extreme caution interpreting allele frequencies. It is a historical
fact that the Maori are known as fearless warriors, but at the same time the Maori have a long
history of human migration in their culture, tribal wars and that these factors have shaped the
evolution of the so called warrior gene. The findings are not definitive but a tool to use for
genetic markers such as alcohol or tobacco abuse and finding ways to improve the health and
wellness of the people in New Zealand. I believe that this article brings up an ethical dilemma
how can we accurately interpret the data without engaging in genetic distortion? In addition the
data states that in a pool of Chinese men 66-88 men the frequency of the MAO-A 3-repeat there
was 77% frequency. Yet China has a lower rate of crime than the United States or most of the
world. I believe there are many other factors including environment that influence this gene.
In the following article this issue of correlation is addressed with the MAO-A genotype
and traumatic brain injury. The study was published 2011 by Pardini MD et al. called Prefrontal
cortex lesions and MAO-A modulate aggression in penetrating traumatic brain injury. The study
was conducted on 155 patients from the Vietnam Head Injury Study registry. The patients were
divided into 2 groups one with lesions caused from injuries in the frontal cortex and the other
group had no penetrating injuries in the frontal cortex but elsewhere in the brain. Both groups
were genotyped for the MAO-A polymorphism (Padini, Krueger, Hodgkinson, 2011). I believe
this particular study was presented well simply because we have known that repeated blows to
the head do cause some form of psychological damage and brain alterations. We discussed in
class how football players and other sports where there is significant exposure to traumatic blows
to the head can cause permanent or significant damage over a long period of time. We can also

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correlate that soldiers experience PTSD, combined with penetrating head injuries in the frontal
cortex and the MAOA genotype we have a recipe for violence and aggression. It is important to
mention this particular study also studied the brains of 42 additional Vietnam veterans who had
no brain injuries and the MAOA genotype, yet in this case the genotype did not show the effects
of aggressive behaviors. I found this interesting because most of the studies done earlier give all
the credit to the MAOA genotype for aggressive and violent behaviors and sometimes dismiss or
do not include any other correlations that can possibly affect this theory. This study is important
yet limited to just veterans trained for combat so there is some bias that these men were already
violent to begin with or at least trained to be. However it is important to make these correlations
between prefrontal cortex damage, PTSD and MAOA genotype in order to be able to design a
plan to help these veterans to manage, treat the psychological trauma they have encountered
along with anger and behavioral management. The next step in this research is to conduct the
same type of study with patients that have penetrating frontal cortex damage not acquired in
combat, perhaps compile a list of victims of abuse with repeated blows to the head and patients
that have experienced extensive damage via other means such as car accidents.
The last study I would like to introduce was done by Hurd, Vaillancourt and Dinsdale
called Aggression, Digit Ration and Variation in Androgen Receptor and Monoamine Oxidase A
Genes in Men, this study was published in 2010 by the Department of Psychology, University of
Alberta, Canada. The importance of this study is the correlation between aggression the size of
your index and ring finger, androgen receptor exposure in the first trimester and or course the
MAO-A gene in men. It is understood that aggressive and violent behavior is sexually dimorphic
most men show this behavior compared to women. This study takes that into consideration by
testing for all of these factors in a pool of 188 men. The study takes into account DNA testing for

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the MAOA genotype, photographs of both the left and right hand to measure the index and ring
fingers. They also tested the amount of exposure of testosterone in the variation of the AR gene.
The results were surprising to me, simply because they could not make a correlation or influence
of the MAOA allele on either the size of the digit ratios and aggressive behaviors in these men.
In addition 56% of the men that were tested were Caucasian and the other were 30% Asian. As
you recall from our first study with the Maori in New Zealand there was a very high gene pool of
the MAOA gene correlating with Chinese men, yet China is not known for having violent crime
rates as the United States. I dont think this research was presented very well simply because in
order to do a fundamental strategic research you want to have a diverse group of people to
compare the gene pool with and also include other environmental and societal factors such as
economics and educational background. This study was done on undergrad students specializing
in psychology so they would be considered high on the economic index, educated and of course
were getting credit for their participation. Even though they had the MAOA genotype, AR genes
and a correlation to their digits did not show aggressive or violent behavior on their
questionnaires. Regardless of their low disposition to aggression, the reality is they did not have
a diverse pool showing social economic status and that perhaps this is another dead end in
singling out that the gene MAOA gene alone is the cause for aggressive behaviors in men. Even
in the early study done with the Vietnam vets you were told that these men had serious issues
with PTSD and were already pre dispose to violent and aggressive behaviors in the front lines of
war. There could also be a predisposition to other factors such as child abuse or traumatic
experience at an earlier age that would add to violent and aggressive behaviors that possibly
these college students did not have or were ever exposed to.

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Humans are orchestrated to be complicated that is what makes us who we are, is those
tiny little differences from the color of our eyes to each strand of DNA. Every single one of us is
different and unique and will adapt to our surroundings and become a product of it. Scientific
research is amazing because it helps us find out a little bit at a time what makes us work from the
inside out, research is not always perfect but a start to something bigger. We have to be very
careful how we interpret facts from prejudice and we need to be able to look at data collected
without singling out what particular variable to be the cause of something in this case that would
be the MAOA genotype to be the sole cause of aggressive or violent behavior. I dont think either
of the studies mentioned accomplished what they were trying to prove, however I do believe that
there is the potential to learn from and to be advantageous for all. In the first study to point out
that the Maori people of New Zealand had a pre disposition to be violent or aggressive was a
misconception taken by the media outlets, at the time that caused some serious controversy
among that community. In reality the researchers were just trying to find if the MAO-A gene was
a factor marker for alcohol and tobacco response traits with a view to improving the health of the
New Zealanders (Lea, Chambers 2007).
In conclusion I believe the article written by Pardini et. al Prefrontal cortex lesions and
MAO-A modulate aggression in penetrating traumatic brain injury is the one that made the best
sense in correlating penetrating traumatic brain injuries and the MAO-A genotype. Even though
the study was only done on Vietnam vets with these distinct correlations and similar background
relating to combat it made a positive impact on society. In order to help our Veterans to deal with
PTSD and traumatic brain injuries to assimilate back into society the mechanisms of how our
brain works in relation to aggressive and violent behaviors is the key to finding a tailored
treatment to manage these negative behaviors.

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References

Hurd, P. L., Vaillancourt, K. L., & Dinsdale, N. L. (2011). Aggression, digit ratio and variation in
androgen receptor and monoamine oxidase A genes in men. Behavior Genetics, 41(4), 543-556.
Lea, R., & Chambers, G. (2007). Monoamine oxidase, addiction, and the warrior gene
hypothesis. Journal of the New Zealand Medical Association, 120(1250), U2441.
Pardini, M., Krueger, F., Hodgkinson, C., Raymont, V., Ferrier, C., Goldman, D., ... & Grafman,
J. (2011). Prefrontal cortex lesions and MAO-A modulate aggression in penetrating traumatic
brain injury. Neurology, 76(12), 1038-1045