TY - JOUR A1 - Holz, Nathalie A1 - Boecker-Schlier, Regina A1 - Buchmann, Arlette F. A1 - Blomeyer, Dorothea A1 - Baumeister, Sarah A1 - Hohmann, Sarah A1 - Jennen-Steinmetz, Christine A1 - Wolf, Isabella A1 - Rietschel, Marcella A1 - Witt, Stephanie H. A1 - Plichta, Michael M. A1 - Meyer-Lindenberg, Andreas A1 - Schmidt, Martin H. A1 - Esser, Günter A1 - Banaschewski, Tobias A1 - Brandeis, Daniel A1 - Laucht, Manfred T1 - Evidence for a Sex-Dependent MAOAx Childhood Stress Interaction in the Neural Circuitry of Aggression JF - Cerebral cortex N2 - Converging evidence emphasizes the role of an interaction between monoamine oxidase A (MAOA) genotype, environmental adversity, and sex in the pathophysiology of aggression. The present study aimed to clarify the impact of this interaction on neural activity in aggression-related brain systems. Functional magnetic resonance imaging was performed in 125 healthy adults from a high-risk community sample followed since birth. DNA was genotyped for the MAOA-VNTR (variable number of tandem repeats). Exposure to childhood life stress (CLS) between the ages of 4 and 11 years was assessed using a standardized parent interview, aggression by the Youth/Young Adult Self-Report between the ages of 15 and 25 years, and the VIRA-R (Vragenlijst Instrumentele En Reactieve Agressie) at the age of 15 years. Significant interactions were obtained between MAOA genotype, CLS, and sex relating to amygdala, hippocampus, and anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) response, respectively. Activity in the amygdala and hippocampus during emotional face-matching increased with the level of CLS in male MAOA-L, while decreasing in male MAOA-H, with the reverse pattern present in females. Findings in the opposite direction in the ACC during a flanker NoGo task suggested that increased emotional activity coincided with decreased inhibitory control. Moreover, increasing amygdala activity was associated with higher Y(A)SR aggression in male MAOA-L and female MAOA-H carriers. Likewise, a significant association between amygdala activity and reactive aggression was detected in female MAOA-H carriers. The results point to a moderating role of sex in the MAOAx CLS interaction for intermediate phenotypes of emotional and inhibitory processing, suggesting a possible mechanism in conferring susceptibility to violence-related disorders. KW - aggression KW - amygdala KW - fMRI KW - life stress KW - MAOA Y1 - 2016 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1093/cercor/bhu249 SN - 1047-3211 SN - 1460-2199 VL - 26 SP - 904 EP - 914 PB - Oxford Univ. Press CY - Cary ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Zohsel, Katrin A1 - Baldus, Christiane A1 - Schmidt, Martin H. A1 - Esser, Günter A1 - Banaschewski, Tobias A1 - Thomasius, Rainer A1 - Laucht, Manfred T1 - Predicting later problematic cannabis use from psychopathological symptoms during childhood and adolescence: Results of a 25-year longitudinal study JF - Drug and alcohol dependence : an international journal on biomedical and psychosocial approaches N2 - Background: Cannabis is the most commonly used illegal substance among adolescents and young adults. Problematic cannabis use is often associated with comorbid psychopathological problems. The purpose of the current study was to elucidate the underlying developmental processes connecting externalizing and internalizing psychopathology in childhood and adolescence with problematic cannabis use in young adulthood. Methods: Data were drawn from the Mannheim Study of Children at Risk, an ongoing epidemiological cohort study from birth to adulthood. For n = 307 participants, symptom scores of conduct/oppositional defiant disorder, attention problems, hyperactivity/impulsivity, and internalizing disorders were available for the periods of childhood (4.5-11 years) and adolescence (15 years). At age 25 years, problematic cannabis use was assessed via clinical interview and a self-rating questionnaire. Results: At age 25 years, problematic cannabis use was identified in n = 28 participants (9.1%). Childhood conduct/oppositional behavior problems were predictive of problematic cannabis use during young adulthood when comorbid symptoms were controlled for. No such effect was found for childhood attention, hyperactivity/impulsivity or internalizing problems. With respect to psychopathological symptoms during adolescence, only attention problems were significantly related to later problematic cannabis use when controlling for comorbidity. Conclusions: The current study highlights the role of conduct/oppositional behavior problems during childhood and attention problems during adolescence in later problematic cannabis use. It sheds more light on the developmental sequence of childhood and adolescence psychopathology and young adult cannabis use, which is a prerequisite for effective prevention approaches. (C) 2016 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved. KW - Problematic cannabis use KW - Externalizing behavior KW - Internalizing behavior KW - Childhood KW - Adolescence Y1 - 2016 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2016.04.012 SN - 0376-8716 SN - 1879-0046 VL - 163 SP - 251 EP - 255 PB - Elsevier CY - Clare ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Hohmann, Sarah A1 - Zohsel, Katrin A1 - Buchmann, Arlette F. A1 - Blomeyer, Dorothea A1 - Holz, Nathalie A1 - Boecker-Schlier, Regina A1 - Jennen-Steinmetz, Christine A1 - Rietschel, Marcella A1 - Witt, Stephanie H. A1 - Schmidt, Martin H. A1 - Esser, Günter A1 - Meyer-Lindenberg, Andreas A1 - Banaschewski, Tobias A1 - Brandeis, Daniel A1 - Hohm, Erika A1 - Laucht, Manfred T1 - Interacting effect of MAOA genotype and maternal prenatal smoking on aggressive behavior in young adulthood JF - Journal of neural transmission N2 - Findings on the etiology of aggressive behavior have provided evidence for an effect both of genetic factors, such as variation in the monoamine oxidase A (MAOA) gene, and adverse environmental factors. Recent studies have supported the existence of gene × environment interactions, with early experiences playing a key role. In the present study, the effects of prenatal nicotine exposure, MAOA genotype and their interaction on aggressive behavior during young adulthood were examined. In a sample of 272 young adults (129 males, 143 females) from an epidemiological cohort study, smoking during pregnancy was measured with a standardized parent interview at the offspring’s age of 3 months. Aggressive behavior was assessed between the ages of 19 and 25 years using the Young Adult Self-Report. DNA was genotyped for the MAOA 5′ untranslated region variable number of tandem repeats polymorphism (VNTR). Results revealed a significant interaction between MAOA and smoking during pregnancy, indicating higher levels of aggressive behavior in young adults carrying the MAOA low-expressing genotype who had experienced prenatal nicotine exposure (n = 8, p = .025). In contrast, in carriers of the MAOA high-expressing genotype, maternal smoking during pregnancy had no effect on aggressive behavior during young adulthood (n = 20, p = .145). This study extends earlier findings demonstrating an interaction between MAOA genotype and prenatal nicotine exposure on aggressive behavior into young adulthood. The results point to the long-term adverse effects of smoking during pregnancy on the offspring’s mental health, possibly underlining the importance of smoking cessation during pregnancy. According to the nature of the study (particularly sample size and power), analyses are exploratory and results need to be interpreted cautiously. KW - MAOA KW - Smoking during pregnancy KW - Interaction KW - Aggression KW - Longitudinal KW - Young adulthood Y1 - 2016 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1007/s00702-016-1582-x SN - 0300-9564 SN - 1435-1463 VL - 123 SP - 885 EP - 894 PB - Springer CY - Wien ER -