Genetic evidence that Darwin was right about criminality: Nature, not nurture

Medical Hypotheses

Volumn 70, Issue 6, 2008, Pages 1092-1102

  Baschetti, Riccardo ^a  

^a NONE

Author keywords

[No Author keywords available]

Indexed keywords

ANTISOCIAL BEHAVIOR; BEHAVIOR; BIOLOGICAL TRAIT; CRIMINAL BEHAVIOR; EDITORIAL; EVOLUTIONARY ADAPTATION; GENE MUTATION; GENETIC TRAIT; GENETIC VARIABILITY; HEREDITY; HUMAN; INHERITANCE; MEDICAL RESEARCH; NONHUMAN; PRIORITY JOURNAL; SOCIAL ENVIRONMENT; VIOLENCE;

GENES; HISTORY, 19TH CENTURY; HUMANS; MUTATION; NATURE; SOCIAL BEHAVIOR DISORDERS; VARIATION (GENETICS);

ANIMALIA;

EID: 42749090085     PISSN: 03069877     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1016/j.mehy.2008.01.005     Document Type: Editorial

References (122)

1. Cohen J.E. The evolution of a great mind: the life and work of Darwin. Lancet 367 (2006) 721-722
2. Mullan R. A biography of Darwin's big idea. Lancet 369 (2007) 1252
3. Darwin CR. The descent of man and selection in relation to sex. John Murray, London, 1875. Elibron classics replica edition. Adamant Media Corporation; 2005.
4. Baschetti R. Evolutionary, neurobiological, gene-based solution of the ideological "puzzle" of human altruism and cooperation. Med Hypotheses 69 (2007) 241-249
5. Baschetti R. The dawn of science-based moral reasoning. Med Hypotheses 68 (2007) 4-8
6. Baschetti R. Evolutionary, biological origins of morality: implications for research with human embryonic stem cells. Stem Cells Dev 14 (2005) 239-247
7. Hamlin J.K., Wynn K., and Bloom P. Social evaluation by preverbal infants. Nature 450 (2007) 557-559
8. Wallace B., Cesarini D., Lichtenstein P., and Johannesson M. Heritability of ultimatum game responder behavior. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 104 (2007) 15631-15634
9. Knafo A., Israel S., Darvasi A., et al. Individual differences in allocation of funds in the dictator game associated with length of the arginine vasopressin 1a receptor RS3 promoter region and correlation between RS3 length and hippocampal mRNA. Genes Brain Behav 7 (2008) 266-275
10. The International Alt/Self Map Consortium. A same gene for altruism and selfishness in primates. Med Sci (Paris) 2007;23:440-4.
11. Bachner-Melman R., Gritsenko I., Nemanov L., Zohar A.H., Dina C., and Ebstein R.P. Dopaminergic polymorphisms associated with self-report measures of human altruism: a fresh phenotype for the dopamine D4 receptor. Mol Psychiatry 10 (2005) 333-335
12. Knafo A., and Plomin R. Prosocial behavior from early to middle childhood: genetic and environmental influences on stability and change. Dev Psychol 42 (2006) 771-786
13. Rushton J.P. Genetic and environmental contributions to pro-social attitudes: a twin study of social responsibility. Proc R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 271 (2004) 2583-2585
14. Ayala F.J. Darwin's greatest discovery: Design without designer. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 104 Suppl. 1 (2007) 8567-8573
15. Holden C. Gene variant may influence how people learn from their mistakes. Science 318 (2007) 1539
16. Klein T.A., Neumann J., Reuter M., Hennig J., von Cramon D.Y., and Ullsperger M. Genetically determined differences in learning from errors. Science 318 (2007) 1642-1645
17. Pennisi E. Breakthrough of the year: human genetic variation. Science 318 (2007) 1842-1843
18. Kennedy D. Breakthrough of the year. Science 318 (2007) 1833
19. Hanson R.B., and Bloom F.E. Fending off furtive strategies. Science 285 (1999) 1847
20. Mohr W.K. Discarding ideology: the nature/nurture endgame. Perspect Psychiatr Care 39 (2003) 113-121
21. Stimmel B. The role of ethnography in alcoholism and substance abuse: the nature versus nurture controversy. Adv Alcohol Subst Abuse 4 (1984) 1-8
22. Plomin R. Genes and behaviour. Ann Med 27 (1995) 503-505
23. Butler D. Geneticist quits in protest at 'genes and violence' claim. Nature 378 (1995) 224
24. Hogenboom M. Nature via nurture: genes, experience and what makes us human. BMJ 326 (2003) 1402
25. Roush W. Conflict marks crime conference. Science 269 (1995) 1808-1809
26. Watson J.D. Genes and politics. J Mol Med 75 (1997) 624-636
27. Costanza R. Avoiding system failure. Nature 446 (2007) 613-614
28. Charlton B.G. Health equity for all: capitalism is a force for good. BMJ 335 (2007) 628-629
29. Boehm C. The origin of morality as social control. Response to commentary discussion. In: Katz L.D. (Ed). Evolutionary origins of morality: cross-disciplinary perspectives (2000), Imprint Academic, Thorverton, UK 149-183
30. Reel M. Brazilian president wins second term sizable margin: advocate for poor overcame scandals. The Washington Post; October 30, 2006: A 12.
31. Editorial. Victory for Lula: Brazil's president earns a second term, but will he make good use of it? The Washington Post; October 31, 2006: A 20.
32. Reel M. Brazil's Lula forced to a runoff in reelection bid: president wins first-round vote but falls short of majority needed for outright victory. The Washington Post; October 2, 2006: A 14.
33. Reel M. Support from Brazil's poor gives Lula edge in election. The Washington Post; October 1, 2006: A 19.
34. Goodman PS. The persistently poor: an internal report criticizes World Bank's efforts on poverty. The Washington Post; December 8, 2006: D 1.
35. Astor M. 19 killed as gangs attack buses, police posts around Rio de Janeiro. The Washington Post; December 29, 2006: A 20.
36. Reel M. 19 killed as police battle drug gangs in Rio: shootouts add to alarm over city's violence. The Washington Post; April 19, 2007: A 22.
37. Hennigan T. 'Marvellous City' seeks army help to end its daily bloodshed. The Times; April 13, 2007.
38. Anonymous. World in brief. The Washington Post; May 3, 2007: A 20.
39. Donahue P. Corruption watchdog downgrades U.S. The Washington Post; November 8, 2006: A 25.
40. Kennicott P. 'Manda Bala': corruption's human toll. The Washington Post; September 28, 2007: C 05.
41. Downie A. Lula vs. Congress in Brazil. Time; February 01, 2007. Available from: www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1584152,00.html; 2007.
42. Reel M. Lula's silence only makes Brazilian public grow fonder: president shuns debates and press in reelection campaign. The Washington Post; August 27, 2006: A 14.
43. Carneiro M. Era pior do que se pensava. [It was worse than what they thought]. In Portuguese. Veja 29 (2006) 56-63
44. Anonymous. Brazil: minimum wage to rise. The Washington Post; December 28, 2006: D 3.
45. Wilson E.O. The attempt to suppress human behavioral genetics. J Gen Educ 29 (1980) 277-287
46. DiLalla L.F., and Gottesman I.I. Biological and genetic contributors to violence-Widom's untold tale. Psychol Bull 109 (1991) 125-129
47. Cadoret R.J., Troughton E., Bagford J., and Woodworth G. Genetic and environmental factors in adoptee antisocial personality. Eur Arch Psychiatry Neurol Sci 239 (1990) 231-240
48. Baker L.A., Mack W., Moffitt T.E., and Mednick S. Sex differences in property crime in a Danish adoption cohort. Behav Genet 19 (1989) 355-370
49. Mednick S.A., Gabrielli Jr. W.F., and Hutchings B. Genetic influences in criminal convictions: evidence from an adoption cohort. Science 224 (1984) 891-894
50. Bohman M., Cloninger C.R., Sigvardsson S., and von Knorring A.L. Predisposition to petty criminality in Swedish adoptees. I. Genetic and environmental heterogeneity. Arch Gen Psychiatry 39 (1982) 1233-1241
51. Cloninger C.R., Sigvardsson S., Bohman M., and von Knorring A.L. Predisposition to petty criminality in Swedish adoptees. II. Cross-fostering analysis of gene-environment interaction. Arch Gen Psychiatry 39 (1982) 1242-1247
52. Sigvardsson S., Cloninger C.R., Bohman M., and von Knorring A.L. Predisposition to petty criminality in Swedish adoptees. III. Sex differences and validation of the male typology. Arch Gen Psychiatry 39 (1982) 1248-1253
53. Prichard Z.M., Jorm A.F., Mackinnon A., and Easteal S. Association analysis of 15 polymorphisms within 10 candidate genes for antisocial behavioural traits. Psychiatr Genet 17 (2007) 299-303
54. Savulescu J. Why genetic testing for genes for criminality is morally required. Princet J Bioeth 4 (2001) 79-97
55. Viding E., and Frith U. Genes for susceptibility to violence lurk in the brain. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 103 (2006) 6085-6086
56. Larsson H., Tuvblad C., Rijsdijk F.V., Andershed H., Grann M., and Lichtenstein P. A common genetic factor explains the association between psychopathic personality and antisocial behavior. Psychol Med 37 (2007) 15-26
57. Baker L.A., Jacobson K.C., Raine A., Lozano D.I., and Bezdjian S. Genetic and environmental bases of childhood antisocial behavior: a multi-informant twin study. J Abnorm Psychol 116 (2007) 219-235
58. Maes H.H., Silberg J.L., Neale M.C., and Eaves L.J. Genetic and cultural transmission of antisocial behavior: an extended twin parent model. Twin Res Hum Genet 10 (2007) 136-150
59. Silberg J.L., Rutter M., Tracy K., Maes H.H., and Eaves L. Etiological heterogeneity in the development of antisocial behavior: the Virginia Twin Study of Adolescent Behavioral Development and the Young Adult Follow-Up. Psychol Med 37 (2007) 1193-1202
60. Koenen K.C., Caspi A., Moffitt T.E., Rijsdijk F., and Taylor A. Genetic influences on the overlap between low IQ and antisocial behavior in young children. J Abnorm Psychol 115 (2006) 787-797
61. Moffitt T.E. Genetic and environmental influences on antisocial behaviors: evidence from behavioral-genetic research. Adv Genet 55 (2005) 41-104
62. Gerra G., Garofano L., Pellegrini C., et al. Allelic association of a dopamine transporter gene polymorphism with antisocial behaviour in heroin-dependent patients. Addict Biol 10 (2005) 275-281
63. Malone S.M., Taylor J., Marmorstein N.R., McGue M., and Iacono W.G. Genetic and environmental influences on antisocial behavior and alcohol dependence from adolescence to early adulthood. Dev Psychopathol 16 (2004) 943-966
64. Arseneault L., Moffitt T.E., Caspi A., et al. Strong genetic effects on cross-situational antisocial behaviour among 5-year-old children according to mothers, teachers, examiner-observers, and twins' self-reports. J Child Psychol Psychiatry 44 (2003) 832-848
65. Slutske W.S. The genetics of antisocial behavior. Curr Psychiatry Rep 3 (2001) 158-162
66. Goldstein R.B., Prescott C.A., and Kendler K.S. Genetic and environmental factors in conduct problems and adult antisocial behavior among adult female twins. J Nerv Ment Dis 189 (2001) 201-209
67. Smith C.A., and Farrington D.P. Continuities in antisocial behavior and parenting across three generations. J Child Psychol Psychiatry 45 (2004) 230-247
68. Sjöberg R.L., Nilsson K.W., Wargelius H.L., Leppert J., Lindström L., and Oreland L. Adolescent girls and criminal activity: role of MAOA-LPR genotype and psychosocial factors. Am J Med Genet B Neuropsychiatr Genet 144 (2007) 159-164
69. Nilsson K.W., Sjöberg R.L., Damberg M., et al. Role of monoamine oxidase A genotype and psychosocial factors in male adolescent criminal activity. Biol Psychiatry 59 (2006) 121-127
70. Putkonen A., Ryynänen O.P., Eronen M., and Tiihonen J. The quantitative risk of violent crime and criminal offending: a case-control study among the offspring of recidivistic Finnish homicide offenders. Acta Psychiatr Scand Suppl 412 (2002) 54-57
71. Taylor J., Iacono W.G., and McGue M. Evidence for a genetic etiology of early-onset delinquency. J Abnorm Psychol 109 (2000) 634-643
72. Gotz M.J., Johnstone E.C., and Ratcliffe S.G. Criminality and antisocial behaviour in unselected men with sex chromosome abnormalities. Psychol Med 29 (1999) 953-962
73. Lyons M.J. A twin study of self-reported criminal behaviour. Ciba Found Symp 194 (1996) 61-70
74. Bohman M. Predisposition to criminality: Swedish adoption studies in retrospect. Ciba Found Symp 194 (1996) 99-109
75. Putkonen A., Ryynänen O.P., Eronen M., and Tiihonen J. Transmission of violent offending and crime across three generations. Soc Psychiatry Psychiatr Epidemiol 42 (2007) 94-99
76. Meyer-Lindenberg A., Buckholtz J.W., Kolachana B., et al. Neural mechanisms of genetic risk for impulsivity and violence in humans. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 103 (2006) 6269-6274
77. Gelhorn H., Stallings M., Young S., et al. Common and specific genetic influences on aggressive and nonaggressive conduct disorder domains. J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry 45 (2006) 570-577
78. Polderman T.J., Posthuma D., De Sonneville L.M., Verhulst F.C., and Boomsma D.I. Genetic analyses of teacher ratings of problem behavior in 5-year-old twins. Twin Res Hum Genet 9 (2006) 122-130
79. Retz W., Retz-Junginger P., Supprian T., Thome J., and Rösler M. Association of serotonin transporter promoter gene polymorphism with violence: relation with personality disorders, impulsivity, and childhood ADHD psychopathology. Behav Sci Law 22 (2004) 415-425
80. Button T.M., Scourfield J., Martin N., and McGuffin P. Do aggressive and non-aggressive antisocial behaviors in adolescents result from the same genetic and environmental effects?. Am J Med Genet B Neuropsychiatr Genet 129 (2004) 59-63
81. Eley T.C., Lichtenstein P., and Moffitt T.E. A longitudinal behavioral genetic analysis of the etiology of aggressive and nonaggressive antisocial behavior. Dev Psychopathol 15 (2003) 383-402
82. Lesch K.P., and Merschdorf U. Impulsivity, aggression, and serotonin: a molecular psychobiological perspective. Behav Sci Law 18 (2000) 581-604
83. Eley T.C., Lichtenstein P., and Stevenson J. Sex differences in the etiology of aggressive and nonaggressive antisocial behavior: results from two twin studies. Child Dev 70 (1999) 155-168
84. Cadoret R.J., Yates W.R., Troughton E., Woodworth G., and Stewart M.A. Genetic-environmental interaction in the genesis of aggressivity and conduct disorders. Arch Gen Psychiatry 52 (1995) 916-924
85. Brunner H.G., Nelen M., Breakefield X.O., Ropers H.H., and van Oost B.A. Abnormal behavior associated with a point mutation in the structural gene for monoamine oxidase A. Science 262 (1993) 578-580
86. Mattay V.S., and Goldberg T.E. Imaging genetic influences in human brain function. Curr Opin Neurobiol 14 (2004) 239-247
87. Conger R.D., Neppl T., Kim K.J., and Scaramella L. Angry and aggressive behavior across three generations: a prospective, longitudinal study of parents and children. J Abnorm Child Psychol 31 (2003) 143-160
88. Blair R.J.R. Neurocognitive models of aggression, the antisocial personality disorders, and psychopathy. J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry 71 (2001) 727-731
89. Woodworth M., and Porter S. In cold blood: characteristics of criminal homicides as a function of psychopathy. J Abnorm Psychol 111 (2002) 436-445
90. In: Garland B. (Ed). Neuroscience and the law: brain, mind, and the scales of justice (2003), Dana Press, Washington, DC
91. Viding E., Blair R.J., Moffitt T.E., and Plomin R. Evidence for substantial genetic risk for psychopathy in 7-year-olds. J Child Psychol Psychiatry 46 (2005) 592-597
92. Plaisier E., Gribouval O., Alamowitch S., et al. COL4A1 mutations and hereditary angiopathy, nephropathy, aneurysms, and muscle cramps. N Engl J Med 357 (2007) 2687-2695
93. Ishikawa S.S., Raine A., Lencz T., Bihrle S., and Lacasse L. Autonomic stress reactivity and executive functions in successful and unsuccessful criminal psychopaths from the community. J Abnorm Psychol 110 (2001) 423-432
94. Larsson H., Andershed H., and Lichtenstein P. A genetic factor explains most of the variation in the psychopathic personality. J Abnorm Psychol 115 (2006) 221-230
95. Lynam D.R., Caspi A., Moffitt T.E., Raine A., Loeber R., and Stouthamer-Loeber M. Adolescent psychopathy and the big five: results from two samples. J Abnorm Child Psychol 33 (2005) 431-443
96. Blair R.J., Peschardt K.S., Budhani S., Mitchell D.G., and Pine D.S. The development of psychopathy. J Child Psychol Psychiatry 47 (2006) 262-276
97. Viding E. On the nature and nurture of antisocial behavior and violence. Ann N Y Acad Sci 1036 (2004) 267-277
98. Eisenberger N.I., Way B.M., Taylor S.E., Welch W.T., and Lieberman M.D. Understanding genetic risk for aggression: clues from the brain's response to social exclusion. Biol Psychiatry 61 (2007) 1100-1108
99. Touchette N. Genetics and crime conference reaps subtle benefit. Nature Med 1 (1995) 1108-1109
100. Soares R., and França R. A falsa questão da pobreza [The false question of poverty]. In Portuguese. Veja 7 (2007) 46-47
101. Reel M. In Rio, death comes early: juveniles are often victims as gangs, police vie for control of slums. The Washington Post; April 16, 2007: A 01.
102. Linhares J. O pior de todos os pesadelos. [The worst of all nightmares]. In Portuguese. Veja 50 (2006) 148-151
103. Bortoloti M. Sem limites para a barbárie [Without limits for barbarity]. In Portuguese. Veja 6 (2007) 46-51
104. Wikipedia. List of countries by homicide rate. Available from: ; 2007.
105. Mersky J.P., and Reynolds A.J. Child maltreatment and violent delinquency: disentangling main effects and subgroup effects. Child Maltreat 12 (2007) 246-258
106. Hosser D., Raddatz S., and Windzio M. Child maltreatment, revictimization, and violent behavior. Violence Vict 22 (2007) 318-333
107. Lansford J.E., Miller-Johnson S., Berlin L.J., Dodge K.A., Bates J.E., and Pettit G.S. Early physical abuse and later violent delinquency: a prospective longitudinal study. Child Maltreat 12 (2007) 233-245
108. Huizinga D., Haberstick B.C., Smolen A., et al. Childhood maltreatment, subsequent antisocial behavior, and the role of monoamine oxidase A genotype. Biol Psychiatry 60 (2006) 677-683
109. Smith C.A., Ireland T.O., and Thornberry T.P. Adolescent maltreatment and its impact on young adult antisocial behavior. Child Abuse Negl 29 (2005) 1099-1119
110. Tremblay R.E., Nagin D.S., Seguin J.R., et al. Physical aggression during early childhood: trajectories and predictors. Pediatrics 114 (2004) e43-e50
111. Caspi A., McClay J., Moffitt T.E., et al. Role of genotype in the cycle of violence in maltreated children. Science 297 (2002) 851-854
112. Jaffee S.R., Caspi A., Moffitt T.E., et al. Nature X nurture: genetic vulnerabilities interact with physical maltreatment to promote conduct problems. Dev Psychopathol 17 (2005) 67-84
113. Hops H., Davis B., Leve C., and Sheeber L. Cross-generational transmission of aggressive parent behavior: a prospective, mediational examination. J Abnorm Child Psychol 31 (2003) 161-169
114. Koolhof R., Loeber R., Wei E.H., Pardini D., and D'escury A.C. Inhibition deficits of serious delinquent boys of low intelligence. Crim Behav Ment Health 17 (2007) 274-292
115. Heilbrun Jr. A.B. Differentiation of death-row murderers and life-sentence murderers by antisociality and intelligence measures. J Pers Assess 54 (1990) 617-627
116. Badcock C. More danger in doctrine than in genetics. Nature 388 (1997) 13
117. Mayor S. WHO report shows public health impact of violence. BMJ 325 (2002) 731
118. Dawes C.T., Fowler J.H., Johnson T., McElreath R., and Smirnov O. Egalitarian motives in humans. Nature 446 (2007) 794-796
119. Fowler J.H., Johnson T., and Smirnov O. Human behaviour: Egalitarian motive and altruistic punishment. Nature 433 (2005) 1-32
120. Boyd R., Gintis H., Bowles S., and Richerson P.J. The evolution of altruistic punishment. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 100 (2003) 3531-3535
121. Seymour B., Singer T., and Dolan R. The neurobiology of punishment. Nat Rev Neurosci 8 (2007) 300-311
122. de Quervain D.J., Fischbacher U., Treyer V., et al. The neural basis of altruistic punishment. Science 305 (2004) 1254-1258