Program & Abstract Book - EPFL Latsis Symposium 2009
Program & Abstract Book - EPFL Latsis Symposium 2009
Program & Abstract Book - EPFL Latsis Symposium 2009
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<strong>EPFL</strong> <strong>Latsis</strong> <strong>Symposium</strong> <strong>2009</strong>: Understanding Violence<br />
S-3<br />
28<br />
February 11-13 <strong>2009</strong><br />
ag g r e s s i o n, s e r o t o n i n , a n D g e n e X e n v i r o n -<br />
m e n t i n t e r a c t i o n s<br />
Suomi, Stephen J.<br />
Laboratory of Comparative Ethology, the National Institute of<br />
Child Health & Human Development (NICHD), National Institutes<br />
of Health (NIH), Bethesda, Maryland<br />
Recent research has disclosed marked individual differences in patterns<br />
of biobehavioral development exhibited by rhesus monkeys across the life<br />
span. For example, approximately 5-10% of rhesus monkeys growing up in<br />
the wild consistently exhibit impulsive and/or inappropriately aggressive responses<br />
to mildly stressful situations throughout development; those same<br />
individuals also show chronic deficits in their central serotonin metabolism.<br />
These characteristic patterns of biobehavioral response emerge early in life<br />
and remain remarkably stable from infancy to adulthood. Laboratory studies<br />
have demonstrated that although these characteristics are highly heritable,<br />
they are also subject to major modification by specific early experiences,<br />
particularly those involving early social attachment relationships.<br />
For example, a specific polymorphism in the serotonin transporter gene<br />
is associated with deficits in serotonin metabolism, extreme aggression,<br />
and excessive alcohol consumption among monkeys who have experienced<br />
insecure early attachment relationships but not in monkeys who have developed<br />
secure attachment relationships with their mothers during infancy<br />
(“maternal buffering”). Moreover, because the attachment style of a monkey<br />
mother is typically “copied” by her daughters when they grow up and<br />
become mothers themselves, similar buffering is likely to occur for the next<br />
generation of infants carrying that specific polymorphism.