SpringerLink
Log in

Polymorphism of the MAOA Gene (rs1137070) and Internet Addiction in Adolescents

  • HUMAN GENETICS
  • Published:
Russian Journal of Genetics Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Monoamine oxidase A (MAOA) catalyzes the degradation of norepinephrine, dopamine, and serotonin, i.e., neurotransmitters involved in the pathogenesis of pathological addictions, including internet addiction (IA). Gene MAOA has been actively studied in terms of genetic predisposition to the development of aggressive behavior potentially involved in the formation of IA. The study included 602 adolescents (9–18 years old, mean age = 14.6, SD = 1.7) from the Angara-Yenisei macroregion (Russians n = 329, Tuvans n = 158, Khakasses n = 72, other populations n = 43). The type of IA was assessed according to the Chen scale (Chen Internet Addiction Scale, CIAS); gene polymorphism was detected using real-time PCR. The distribution of the TT genotype of MAOA rs1137070 polymorphism associated with low activity of the monoamine oxidase A enzyme and aggressive behavior affected by IA was found to be significantly higher in Tuvan adolescents compared with Russian ones (31.1/21.2% p = 0.02). Pathological internet addiction (more than 65 points on the Chen scale) is often observed among Khakass adolescents compared to Russian ones (26.4/15.5%, p = 0.03). Thus, the allelic variant T of MAOA rs1137070 polymorphism appears to be a potential marker for dependent and aggressive behavior to form, Asian representatives being more susceptible to the development of pathological addictions than Russian adolescents.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Subscribe and save

Springer+ Basic
EUR 32.99 /Month
  • Get 10 units per month
  • Download Article/Chapter or Ebook
  • 1 Unit = 1 Article or 1 Chapter
  • Cancel anytime
Subscribe now

Buy Now

Price includes VAT (Germany)

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1.

REFERENCES

  1. Mboya, I.B., Leyaro, B.J., Kongo, A., et al., Internet addiction and associated factors among medical and allied health sciences students in northern Tanzania: a cross-sectional study, BMC Psychol., 2020, vol. 8, no. 73. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40359-020-00439-9

  2. Casale, S. and Fioravanti, G., Internet addiction: theoretical models, assessment and intervention, in Encyclopedia of Child and Adolescent Health, Elsevier, 2023, vol. 3, pp. 351—360. https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-12-818872-9.00143-6

  3. Paik, A., Oh, D., and Kim, D., A case of withdrawal psychosis from internet addiction disorder, Psychiatry Invest., 2014, vol. 2, no. 11, pp. 207—209. https://doi.org/10.4306/pi.2014.11.2.207

    Article  Google Scholar 

  4. Young, K.S., Psychology of computer use: XL. Addictive use of the internet: a case that breaks the stereotype, Psychol. Rep., 1996, vol. 79, pp. 899—902. https://doi.org/10.2466/pr0.1996.79.3.899

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  5. Young, K.S., Internet addiction: the emergence of a new clinical disorder, Cyberpsychol. Behav., 1998, vol. 1, pp. 237—244. https://doi.org/10.1089/cpb.1998.1.237

    Article  Google Scholar 

  6. Mak, K.-K., Lai, C.-M., Ko, C.-H., et al., Psychometric properties of the revised Chen internet addiction scale (CIAS-R) in Chinese adolescents, J. Abnorm. Child Psychol., 2014, vol. 42, pp. 1237—1245. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10802-014-9851-3

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  7. Chia, D.X.Y., Ng, C.W.L., Kandasami, G., et al., Prevalence of internet addiction and gaming disorders in Southeast Asia: a meta-analysis, Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health, 2020, vol. 17, р. 2582. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17072582

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  8. Ojeda, D.A., Niño, C.L., López-León, S., et al., A functional polymorphism in the promoter region of MAOA gene is associated with daytime sleepiness in healthy subjects, J. Neurol. Sci., 2014, vol. 337, pp. 176—179. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jns.2013.12.005

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  9. Shih, J.C. and Thompson, R.F., Monoamine oxidase in neuropsychiatry and behavior, Am. J. Hum. Genet., 1999, vol. 65, pp. 593—598. https://doi.org/10.1086/302562

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  10. McGregor, N.W., Hemmings, S.M.J., Erdman, L., et al., Modification of the association between early adversity and obsessive-compulsive disorder by polymorphisms in the MAOA, MAOB and COMT genes, Psychiatry Res., 2016, vol. 246, pp. 527—532. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psychres.2016.10.044

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  11. Shih, J.C., Wu, J.B., and Chen, K., Transcriptional regulation and multiple functions of MAO genes, J. Neural. Transm. (Vienna), 2011, vol. 118, pp. 979—986. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00702-010-0562-9

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  12. Naoi, M., Maruyama, W., and Shamoto-Nagai, M., Type A monoamine oxidase and serotonin are coordinately involved in depressive disorders: from neurotransmitter imbalance to impaired neurogenesis, J. Neural. Transm. (Vienna), 2018, vol. 125, no. 1, pp. 53—66. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00702-017-1709-8

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  13. Liu, Z., Huang, L., Luo, X.-J., et al., MAOA variants and genetic susceptibility to major psychiatric disorders, Mol. Neurobiol., 2016, vol. 53, pp. 4319—4327. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12035-015-9374-0

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  14. McDermott, R., Tingley, D., Cowden, J., et al., Monoamine oxidase A gene (MAOA) predicts behavioral aggression following provocation, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A., 2009, vol. 106, pp. 2118—2123. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.0808376106

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  15. Ferguson, C.J., Genetic contributions to antisocial personality and behavior: a meta-analytic review from an evolutionary perspective, J. Soc. Psychol., 2010, vol. 150, pp. 160—180. https://doi.org/10.1080/00224540903366503

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  16. Sohrabi, S., The criminal gene: the link between MAOA and aggression (review), BMC Proc., 2015, vol. 9. https://doi.org/10.1186/1753-6561-9-S1-A49

  17. Chiang, S.-L., Nithiyanantham, S., Velmurugan, B.K., Tu, H.-P., et al., A haplotype-specific linkage disequilibrium pattern of monoamine oxidase A gene associated with regular smoking in women, J. Gene Med., 2019, vol. 21. https://doi.org/10.1002/jgm.3142

  18. Sun, Y., Liu, L., Feng, J., Yue, W., et al., MAOA rs1137070 and heroin addiction interactively alter gray matter volume of the salience network, Sci. Rep., 2017, vol. 7. https://doi.org/10.1038/srep45321

  19. Yen, J.-Y., Chou, W.-P., Lin, H.-C., Wu, H.-C., et al., Roles of hostility and depression in the association between the MAOA gene polymorphism and internet gaming disorder, Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health, 2021, vol. 18. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18136910

  20. Dorfman, H.M., Meyer-Lindenberg, A., and Buckholtz, J.W., Neurobiological mechanisms for impulsive-aggression: the role of MAOA, Curr. Top. Behav. Neurosci., 2014, vol. 17, pp. 297—313. https://doi.org/10.1007/7854_2013_272

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  21. Tereshchenko, S.Yu., Kasparov, E.V., Semenova, N.B., et al., Generalized and specific problematic internet use in central Siberia adolescents: a school-based study of prevalence, age—sex depending content structure, and comorbidity with psychosocial problems, Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health, 2022, vol. 19. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19137593

  22. Tereshchenko, S.Y. and Smolnikova, M.V., Neurobiological risk factors in the formation of internet addiction in adolescence: vital hypotheses and the nearest perspectives, Sots. Psikhol. O-vo, 2020, vol. 11, no. 1, pp. 55—71. https://doi.org/10.17759/sps.2020110104

    Article  Google Scholar 

  23. Zmorzyński, S., Styk, W., Klinkosz, W., Iskra, J., and Filip, A.A., Personality traits and polymorphisms of genes coding neurotransmitter receptors or transporters: review of single gene and genome-wide association studies, Ann. Gen. Psychiatry, 2021, vol. 20, p. 7. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12991-021-00328-4

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  24. Kolla, N.J. and Bortolato, M., The role of monoamine oxidase A in the neurobiology of aggressive, antisocial, and violent behavior: a tale of mice and men, Prog. Neurobiol. (N. Y.), 2020, vol. 194. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pneurobio.2020.101875

  25. Ensembl—a genome browser for vertebrate genomes 2023. https://www.ensembl.org/index.html. Accessed April 4, 2023.

  26. Siwei, C., Laurent, C.F., Goodrich, J.K., et al., A genome-wide mutational constraint map quantified from variation in 76 156 human genomes, bioRxiv, 2022, vol. 3. https://doi.org/10.1101/2022.03.20.485034

  27. Malygin, V.L., Internet-zavisimoe povedenie: kriterii i metody diagnostiki (Internet Addictive Behavior: Criteria and Diagnostic Methods), Moscow: Mosk. Gos. Med.-Stomatol. Univ., 2011.

  28. Tu, H.P., Ko, A.M.S., Wang, S.J., et al., Monoamine oxidase A gene polymorphisms and enzyme activity associated with risk of gout in Taiwan aborigines, Hum. Genet., 2010, vol. 127, pp. 223—229. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00439-009-0765-z

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  29. Fong, T.W., The vulnerable faces of pathological gambling, Psychiatry (Edgmont), 2005, vol. 2, pp. 34—42.

    PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  30. Fong, T.W. and Tsuang, J., Asian-Americans, addictions, and barriers to treatment, Psychiatry (Edgmont), 2007, vol. 4, pp. 51—59.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  31. Barry, D.T., Steinberg, M.A., Wu, R., and Potenza, M.N., Differences in characteristics of Asian American and white problem gamblers calling a gambling helpline, CNS Spectr., 2009, vol. 14, pp. 83—91. https://doi.org/10.1017/s1092852900000237

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Scientific Research Institute of Medical Problems of the North, Federal Research Center Krasnoyarsk Science Center, Siberian Branch, Russian Academy of Sciences, 660022, Krasnoyarsk, Russia

    K. V. Kopylova, I. V. Marchenko, M. V. Shubina, N. N. Gorbacheva, I. A. Novitckii & M. V. Smolnikova

Authors
  1. K. V. Kopylova
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. I. V. Marchenko
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. M. V. Shubina
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. N. N. Gorbacheva
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. I. A. Novitckii
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  6. M. V. Smolnikova
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to M. V. Smolnikova.

Ethics declarations

Conflict of interest. The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Statement of compliance with standards of research involving humans as subjects. All procedures performed in research with participation of people comply with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research ethics committee and the 1964 Declaration of Helsinki and its subsequent amendments or comparable ethical standards.

Informed consent was obtained from each of the participants included in the study.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Kopylova, K.V., Marchenko, I.V., Shubina, M.V. et al. Polymorphism of the MAOA Gene (rs1137070) and Internet Addiction in Adolescents. Russ J Genet 59, 1069–1075 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1134/S102279542310006X

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Revised:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1134/S102279542310006X

Keywords:

Search

Navigation