ABSTRACT
In a remarkable change of direction, the study of antisocial behavior has transformed from an almost entirely environmental approach to a biosocial paradigm where biological, psychological, and sociological constructs are studied for their multifactorial effects on crime. A signal finding from this new approach relates to the complex interplay between genetic and environmental conditions to produce behavior. A cadre of landmark studies suggests Monoamine oxidase A (MAOA) is a potentially important candidate gene for antisocial conditions. The latter finding is significant because prominent theoretical models articulate frontal–limbic connectivity as the neurological pathways for aggression and related conditions. R. McDermott and colleagues conducted a novel experimental study to evaluate the warrior reputation of the MAOA polymorphism. The hallmark of H. G. Brunner Syndrome was “repeated episodes of aggression, sometimes violent behavior, occurring in all eight affected males. Aggressive behavior was usually triggered by anger and was often out of proportion to the provocation.
