Dopamine D3 receptor gene polymorphism and violent behavior: Relation to impulsiveness and ADHD-related psychopathology
Abstract
Several lines of evidence indicate that dopaminergic neurotransmission is involved in the regulation of impulsive aggression and violence and that genetically determined variability in dopaminergic gene expression modifies complex traits including that of impulsivity and aggression. In this study we report an association of the dopamine D3 receptor (DRD3) polymorphism with impulsiveness according to Eysenck's EIQ and scores on the German short version of the Wender Utah Rating Scale (WURS-k), which we used for the assessment of a history of ADHD-related symptoms. This association was detected in a group of violent offenders, but not in non-violent individuals. Highest scores of EIQ impulsiveness and of the WURS-k were found in heterozygous violent individuals, while homozygotes showed significant lower rating scores, suggesting an heterosis effect. The results of our study suggest that variations of the DRD3 gene are likely involved in the regulation of impulsivity and some psychopathological aspects of ADHD related to violent behavior.
Integrity signals
Registry
Cites
Statistics
Claims the paper makes
Claims other papers make about this one
Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?
The DRD3 polymorphism has been found to be associated with impulsivity, with the association significant in violent but not nonviolent individuals, and no association between DRD3 and violence per se.
“The DRD3 polymorphism has been found to be associated with impulsivity. This association was significant in violent, but not in nonviolent individuals, and there were no association between DRD3 and violence per se (Retz et al., 2003).”
From Human Aggression Across the Lifespan (2011) · cites this paper as Retz et al., 2003
Cites
A Systematic Method for Clinical Description and Classification of Personality Variants: A Proposal
Cloninger, C. R. (1987) · Archives of General Psychiatry · doi:10.1001/archpsyc.1987.01800180093014 · Cited by 3,678 · see citing works
Sokoloff, P., Bruno Giros, A., Martres, M., Bouthenet, M.-L., & Schwartz, J. (1990) · Nature · doi:10.1038/347146a0 · Cited by 2,608 · see citing works
Ebstein, R. P., Novick, O., Umansky, R., Priel, B., Osher, Y., Blaine, D., Bennett, E. R., Nemanov, L., Katz, M., & Belmaker, R. H. (1996) · Nature Genetics · doi:10.1038/ng0196-78 · Cited by 1,475 · see citing works
(1993) · American Journal of Psychiatry · doi:10.1176/ajp.150.6.885 · Cited by 1,421 · see citing works
Zacks, C. M., Abbott, R. L., & Fine, M. (1990) · Cornea · doi:10.1097/00003226-199004000-00002 · Cited by 1,240 · see citing works
Benjamin, J., Li, L., Patterson, C. A., Greenberg, B. D., Murphy, D. L., & Hamer, D. H. (1996) · Nature Genetics · doi:10.1038/ng0196-81 · Cited by 1,191 · see citing works
Gogos, J. A., Morgan, M., Luine, V., Santha, M., Ogawa, S., Pfaff, D., & Karayiorgou, M. (1998) · Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences · doi:10.1073/pnas.95.17.9991 · Cited by 864 · see citing works
ATTENTION-DEFICIT HYPERACTIVITY DISORDER IN ADULTS
Wender, P. H. (1998) · Psychiatric Clinics of North America · doi:10.1016/s0193-953x(05)70039-3 · Cited by 728 · see citing works
Harrison, A. A., Everitt, B. J., & Robbins, T. W. (1997) · Psychopharmacology · doi:10.1007/s002130050410 · Cited by 452 · see citing works
The Role of Inheritance in Behavior
Plomin, R. J. (1990) · Science · doi:10.1126/science.2183351 · Cited by 446 · see citing works
Impulsivity, aggression, and serotonin: a molecular psychobiological perspective
Lesch, K., & Merschdorf, U. (2000) · Behavioral Sciences & the Law · doi:10.1002/1099-0798(200010)18:5 · Cited by 364 · see citing works
Susceptibility to affect: a comparison of three personality taxonomies.
Zelenski, J. M., & Larsen, R. (1999) · Journal of Personality · doi:10.1111/1467-6494.00072 · Cited by 347 · see citing works
Comings, D. E., & MacMurray, J. P. (2000) · Molecular Genetics and Metabolism · doi:10.1006/mgme.2000.3015 · Cited by 333 · see citing works
Association between schizophrenia and homozygosity at the dopamine D3 receptor gene.
Crocq, M. A., Mant, R., Asherson, P. J., Williams, J. H., Hodé, Y., Mayerová, A., Collier, D. A., Lannfelt, L., Sokoloff, P., & Schwartz, J. (1992) · Journal of Medical Genetics · doi:10.1136/jmg.29.12.858 · Cited by 276 · see citing works
SHERMAN, D. K., IACONO, W. G., & McGUE, M. K. (1997) · Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry · doi:10.1097/00004583-199706000-00010 · Cited by 250 · see citing works
Virkkunen, M. (1989) · Archives of General Psychiatry · doi:10.1001/archpsyc.1989.01810070026003 · Cited by 241 · see citing works
Lannfelt, L., Sokoloff, P., Martres, M., Pilon, C., Bruno Giros, A., Jönsson, E. G., Sedvall, G., & Schwartz, J. (1992) · Psychiatric Genetics · doi:10.1097/00041444-199210000-00003 · Cited by 240 · see citing works
Lundstrom, K. H., & Turpin, M. P. (1996) · Biochemical and Biophysical Research Communications · doi:10.1006/bbrc.1996.1296 · Cited by 232 · see citing works
Coccaro, E. F., Bergeman, C. S., Kavoussi, R. J., & Seroczynski, A. D. (1997) · Biological Psychiatry · doi:10.1016/s0006-3223(96)00257-0 · Cited by 222 · see citing works
Strous, R. D., Bark, N. M., Parsia, S. S., Volavka, J., & Lachman, H. M. (1997) · Psychiatry Research · doi:10.1016/s0165-1781(96)03111-3 · Cited by 217 · see citing works
→Agren, H., Mefford, I. N., Rudorfer, M. V., Linnoila, M., & Potter, W. Z. (1986) · Journal of Psychiatric Research · doi:10.1016/0022-3956(86)90002-6 · Cited by 201 · see citing works
Lachman, H. M., Nolan, K. A., Mohr, P., Saito, T., & Volavka, J. (1998) · American Journal of Psychiatry · doi:10.1176/ajp.155.6.835 · Cited by 198 · see citing works
Benjamin, J., Osher, Y., Kotler, M., Gritsenko, I., Nemanov, L., Belmaker, R. H., & Ebstein, R. P. (2000) · Molecular Psychiatry · doi:10.1038/sj.mp.4000640 · Cited by 196 · see citing works
Etiology of the impulsivity/aggression relationship: Genes or environment?
Seroczynski, A. D., Bergeman, C. S., & Coccaro, E. F. (1999) · Psychiatry Research · doi:10.1016/s0165-1781(99)00013-x · Cited by 195 · see citing works
Volavka, J. (1999) · Journal of Neuropsychiatry · doi:10.1176/jnp.11.3.307 · Cited by 181 · see citing works
Relationship between homozygosity at the dopamine D3 receptor gene and schizophrenia
Mant, R., Williams, J. H., Asherson, P. J., Parfitt, E., McGuffin, P., & Owen, M. J. (1994) · American Journal of Medical Genetics · doi:10.1002/ajmg.1320540106 · Cited by 180 · see citing works
Okuyama, Y., Ishiguro, H., Nankai, M., Shibuya, H., Watanabe, A., & Arinami, T. (2000) · Molecular Psychiatry · doi:10.1038/sj.mp.4000563 · Cited by 171 · see citing works
Payton, A., Holmes, J., Barrett, J., Hever, T., Fitzpatrick, H., Trumper, A., Harrington, R., McGuffin, P., O'DONOVAN, M., Owen, M., et al. (2001) · American journal of medical genetics · doi:10.1002/ajmg.1407 · Cited by 132 · see citing works
Impulsive corporal punishment by mothers and antisocial behavior and impulsiveness of children
Straus, M. A., & Mouradian, V. E. (1998) · Behavioral Sciences & the Law · doi:10.1002/(sici)1099-0798(199822)16:3 · Cited by 129 · see citing works
Filley, C. M., Price, B. H., Nell, V., Antoinette, T., Morgan, A., Bresnahan, J. F., Pincus, J. H., Gelbort, M. M., Weissberg, M., & Kelly, J. P. (2001) · PubMed · Cited by 96 · see citing works
Analysis of SCA1, DRPLA, MJD, SCA2, and SCA6 CAG repeats in 48 portuguese ataxia families
Silveira, I., Coutinho, P., Maciel, P., Gaspar, C., Hayes, S. M., Dias, A., Guimar�es, J., Loureiro, J. L., Sequeiros, J., & Rouleau, G. A. (1998) · American Journal of Medical Genetics · doi:10.1002/(sici)1096-8628(19980328)81:2 · Cited by 64 · see citing works
Homozygosity at the dopamine DRD3 receptor gene in cocaine dependence
Comings, D. E., Gonzalez, N., Wu, S., et al. (1999) · Molecular Psychiatry · doi:10.1038/sj.mp.4000542 · Cited by 64 · see citing works
Association between the dopamine D3 receptor gene locus (DRD3) and unipolar affective disorder
Dikeos, D. G., Papadimitriou, G. N., Avramopoulos, D., Karadima, G., Daskalopoulou, E. G., Souery, D., Mendlewicz, J., Vassilopoulos, D., & STEFANIS, C. N. (1999) · Psychiatric Genetics · doi:10.1097/00041444-199912000-00005 · Cited by 59 · see citing works
Dopamine D3 receptor gene polymorphism and alcohol dependence
Thome, J., Weijers, H. ‐., Wiesbeck, G. A., et al. (1999) · Psychiatric Genetics · doi:10.1097/00041444-199903000-00004 · Cited by 57 · see citing works
Self-citationAssociation between Tourette's syndrome and homozygosity at the dopamine D3 receptor gene
Comings, D., Muhleman, D. R., Dietz, G., Dino, M., Legro, R. S., & Gade, R. (1993) · The Lancet · doi:10.1016/0140-6736(93)93123-i · Cited by 57 · see citing works
GENETIC STUDIES OF SUICIDAL BEHAVIOR
Roy, A., Rylander, G., & Sarchiapone, M. (1997) · Psychiatric Clinics of North America · doi:10.1016/s0193-953x(05)70332-4 · Cited by 54 · see citing works
Regulation and functional characterization of a rat recombinant dopamine D3 receptor
Cox, B., Rosser, M. P., Kozlowski, M. R., et al. (1995) · Synapse · doi:10.1002/syn.890210102 · Cited by 53 · see citing works
Barr, C., Wigg, K., Wu, J., Zai, C., Bloom, S., Tannock, R., Roberts, W., Malone, M., Schachar, R., & Kennedy, J. L. (2000) · American journal of medical genetics · doi:10.1002/(sici)1096-8628(20000207)96:1 · Cited by 53 · see citing works
Wiesbeck, G. A., Mauerer, C., Thome, J., et al. (1995) · Psychoneuroendocrinology · doi:10.1016/0306-4530(95)00014-3 · Cited by 48 · see citing works
Self-citationArolt, V., Lencer, R., Purmann, S., Sch�rmann, M., M�ller-Myhsok, B., Krecker, K., & SCHWINGER, E. (1999) · American Journal of Medical Genetics · doi:10.1002/(sici)1096-8628(19991215)88:6 · Cited by 46 · see citing works
Muglia, P., Jain, U., & Kennedy, J. (2002) · Behavioural Brain Research · doi:10.1016/s0166-4328(01)00438-7 · Cited by 43 · see citing works
The genetics of addiction: alcohol-dependence and D3 dopamine receptor gene
Gorwood, P. A. P. M., Limosin, F., Batel, P., Duaux, E., Gouya, L., & Adès, J. (2001) · Pathologie Biologie · doi:10.1016/s0369-8114(01)00236-x · Cited by 29 · see citing works
Effect of 6-OHDA injected into the locus coeruleus on apomorphine-induced aggression
Puciłowski, O., Kozak, W. M., & Valzelli, L. (1986) · Pharmacology Biochemistry and Behavior · doi:10.1016/0091-3057(86)90590-3 · Cited by 20 · see citing works
Heterozygosity Effects in Studies of Genetic Markers and Disease
Beckman, L. E., & hlander, N. F. O. (1990) · Human Heredity · doi:10.1159/000153955 · Cited by 18 · see citing works
MOTIVATIONAL DIVERSITY AND MESOLIMBIC DOPAMINE: A HYPOTHESIS CONCERNING TEMPERAMENT
King, R. (1986) · Elsevier eBooks · doi:10.1016/b978-0-12-558703-7.50021-8 · Cited by 13 · see citing works
Flagged first, then by citations
Cited by
Sorted by citations
Molecular genetics of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder
Faraone, S. V., Perlis, R. H., Doyle, A. E., Smoller, J. W., Goralnick, J. J., Holmgren, M. A., & Sklar, P. (2005) · Biological Psychiatry · doi:10.1016/j.biopsych.2004.11.024 · Cited by 2,357 · see citing works
Genetics of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder
Faraone, S. V., & Larsson, H. (2019) · Molecular Psychiatry · doi:10.1038/s41380-018-0070-0 · Cited by 1,338 · see citing works
Shared heritability of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder and autism spectrum disorder
Rommelse, N. N. J., Franke, B., Geurts, H. M., Hartman, C. A., & Buitelaar, J. K. (2010) · European Child & Adolescent Psychiatry · doi:10.1007/s00787-010-0092-x · Cited by 564 · see citing works
Molecular Genetics of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder
Faraone, S. V., & Mick, E. (2010) · Psychiatric Clinics of North America · doi:10.1016/j.psc.2009.12.004 · Cited by 411 · see citing works
Human Aggression Across the Lifespan
Tuvblad, C., & Baker, L. A. (2011) · Advances in Genetics · doi:10.1016/b978-0-12-380858-5.00007-1 · Cited by 139 · see citing works
“This association was significant in violent, but not in nonviolent individuals, and there were no association between DRD3 and violence per se (Retz et al., 2003).”
BackgroundAggressive behavior in humans: Genes and pathways identified through association studies
Fernàndez‐Castillo, N., & Cormand, B. (2016) · American Journal of Medical Genetics Part B: Neuropsychiatric Genetics · doi:10.1002/ajmg.b.32419 · Cited by 87 · see citing works
Neurogenetics and Epigenetics in Impulsive Behaviour: Impact on Reward Circuitry
Archer, T., & Blum, K. (2012) · Journal of Genetic Syndromes & Gene Therapy · doi:10.4172/2157-7412.1000115 · Cited by 54 · see citing works
Czoty, P. W., Gage, H. D., & Nader, M. A. (2010) · Psychopharmacology · doi:10.1007/s00213-009-1756-4 · Cited by 40 · see citing works
Peng, X., Brenner, L. A., Mathai, A. J., Cook, T. B., Fuchs, D., Postolache, N., Groer, M. W., Pandey, J. P., Mohyuddin, F., Giegling, I., et al. (2018) · Psychiatry Research · doi:10.1016/j.psychres.2018.03.045 · Cited by 16 · see citing works
- Authors
- Retz, W., R�sler, M., Supprian, T., Retz-Junginger, P., & Thome, J.
- Affiliations
- Saarland University (DE)
- Central Institute of Mental Health (DE)
- Venue
- Journal of Neural Transmission
- Published
- 2003-05-01
- Volume
- 110
- Issue
- 5
- Pages
- 561-572
- ISSN
- 0300-9564 (ISSN-L)
- 1435-1463
- OpenAlex
- W2009658853
- Cited by
- 100
- References
- 46
- Citations by year
- 2026: 1 · 2025: 4 · 2022: 2 · 2021: 1 · 2020: 4 · 2018: 3 · 2017: 2 · 2016: 5 · 2015: 3 · 2014: 9 · 2013: 5 · 2012: 8
- FWCI
- 1.85
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Licence
- www.springer.com/tdm (tdm)
- Locations
- Journal of Neural Transmission (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience › Neurotransmitter Receptor Influence on Behavior
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Psychopathy, Forensic Psychiatry, Sexual Offending
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Psychiatry and Mental health › Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder
- Keywords
- dopamine D3 receptor, violent behavior, impulsivity, violent offenders, dopamine signaling, aggression, Wender Utah Rating Scale
- MeSH terms
- Adult, Aged, Alleles, Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity, Genotype, Humans, Disruptive, Impulse Control, and Conduct Disorders, Impulsive Behavior, Male, Middle Aged, Polymorphism, Genetic, Violence, Receptors, Dopamine D2, Receptors, Dopamine D3
About these checks
Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.
Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.
Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.
What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›
Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review