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Updated: Jun 23, 2026

Measurement of Fronto-limbic Activity Using an Emotional Oddball Task in Children with Familial High Risk for Schizophrenia
Published on: December 2, 2015
High activity of monoamine oxidase A is associated with externalizing behaviour in maltreated and nonmaltreated
Esther J M van der Vegt1, Ben A Oostra, Alejandro Arias-Vásquez
1Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Sophia Children's Hospital, Erasmus MC, Rotterdam, The Netherlands.
Abstract:
Individual differences in a functional polymorphism of the promoter of the Monoamine oxidase A (MAO-A) gene might partly explain the increased vulnerability of maltreated children for externalizing behaviour. A sample of 239 internationally adopted boys was studied. Adoptive parents provided the information about abuse and neglect before the adoption and rated externalizing behaviour of their adopted children, using the Child Behaviour Checklist. MAO-A alleles were classified in high and low activity. We found that individuals with high MAO-A activity had more externalizing behaviour than those with low MAO-A activity. No modifying effect of MAO-A on the relationship between early maltreatment on externalizing behaviour was observed. Our results suggest that in severely maltreated children, high MAO-A activity may not protect against the effects of maltreatment but may convey an increased risk for externalizing behaviour.
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