WHEN it comes to aggression, good parenting can abolish the impact of 鈥渂ad鈥� genes, whether you are a human or a rhesus monkeys.
The findings, which were aired on Monday at a press conference to mark the opening of a London meeting on genes and aggression, come at a time when governments in the UK and Australia are attempting to crack down on antisocial behaviour. On the agenda is a push to improve parenting skills.
An earlier New Zealand study had found that children were more likely to become aggressive and antisocial adults if they inherited a 鈥渟hort鈥� version of a gene called MAOA. The gene makes an enzyme that helps to break down neurotransmitters such as serotonin, and protein made by the short version of the gene is less efficient. But the children, who were followed for 26 years, only went off the rails if they had an abusive upbringing as well as the 鈥渟hort鈥� gene.
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The same is also true for rhesus monkeys, adding weight to the human study, Stephen Suomi of the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development in Bethesda, Maryland, told journalists. Suomi鈥檚 results have been accepted for publication in Biological Psychiatry.