Citation

Buchmann AF, Zohsel K, Blomeyer D, Hohm E, Hohmann S, Jennen-Steinmetz C, Treutlein J, Becker K, Banaschewski T, Schmidt MH, Esser G, Brandeis D, Poustka L, Zimmermann US, Laucht M. Psychopharmacology 2014; 231(16): 3089-3097.

Affiliation

Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Central Institute of Mental Health, Medical Faculty Mannheim, Heidelberg University, J 5, 68159, Mannheim, Germany.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2014, Holtzbrinck Springer Nature Publishing Group)

DOI

10.1007/s00213-014-3484-7

PMID

24553580

Abstract

RATIONALE: Considerable evidence suggests that genetic factors combine with environmental influences to impact on the development of aggressive behavior. A genetic variant that has repeatedly been reported to render individuals more sensitive to the presence of adverse experiences, including stress exposure during fetal life, is the seven-repeat allele of the dopamine D4 receptor (DRD4) gene. OBJECTIVES: The present investigation concentrated on the interplay of prenatal maternal stress and DRD4 genotype in predicting self-reported aggression in young adults. As disruption of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal system has been discussed as a pathophysiological pathway to aggression, cortisol stress reactivity was additionally examined. METHODS: As part of an epidemiological cohort study, prenatal maternal stress was assessed by maternal interview 3 months after childbirth. Between the ages of 19 and 23 years, 298 offspring (140 males, 158 females) completed the Young Adult Self-Report to measure aggressive behavior and were genotyped for the DRD4 gene. At 19 years, 219 participants additionally underwent the Trier Social Stress Test to determine cortisol reactivity. RESULTS: Extending earlier findings with respect to childhood antisocial behavior, the results revealed that, under conditions of higher prenatal maternal stress, carriers of the DRD4 seven-repeat allele displayed more aggression in adulthood (p = 0.032). Moreover, the same conditions which seemed to promote aggression were found to predict attenuated cortisol secretion (p = 0.028). CONCLUSIONS: This is the first study to indicate a long-term impact of prenatal stress exposure on the cortisol stress response depending on DRD4 genotype.

Language: en