BALTIMORE, Dec. 22 (UPI) -- U.S. researchers say they've identified a genetic mutation in the brain that may cause people under the influence of alcohol to exhibit violent behavior.
Research led by David Goldman at the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism in Maryland found that a single DNA change that blocks a gene known as HTR2B, involved in serotonin production in the brain, was predictive of highly impulsive behavior, an article in the online version of the journal Nature said Wednesday.
Serotonin is a neurotransmitter known to influence many behaviors including impulsivity.
"Interestingly, we found that the genetic variant alone was insufficient to cause people to act in such ways," Goldman said.
"Carriers of the HTR2B variant who had committed impulsive crimes were male, and all had become violent only while drunk from alcohol, which itself leads to behavioral disinhibition," he said.
In collaboration with researchers in Finland and France, Goldman studied a sample of violent criminal offenders in Finland and found the hallmark of the violent acts committed by those in the study sample was that they were spontaneous and purposeless.
"Impulsivity, or action without foresight, is a factor in many pathological behaviors including suicide, aggression and addiction," Goldman said.
