The Effects of Childhood Maltreatment on Non-Suicidal Self-Injury in Male Adolescents: The Moderating Roles of the Monoamine Oxidase A (MAOA) Gene and the Catechol-O-Methyltransferase (COMT) Gene

Abstract

(1) Background: Numerous studies suggest strong associations between childhood maltreatment and nonsuicidal self-injury (NSSI); this is also true for the roles of dopaminergic genes in the etiology of some psychopathologies related to NSSI. Investigating the interactions of environments and genes is important in order to better understand the etiology of NSSI. (2) Methods: Within a sample of 269 Chinese male adolescents (Mage = 14.72, SD = 0.92), childhood maltreatment and NSSI were evaluated, and saliva samples were collected for MAOA T941G and COMT Val158Met polymorphism analyses. (3) Results: The results revealed no primary effects attributable to MAOA T941G and COMT Val158Met polymorphism on NSSI. However, there was a significant three-way interaction between MAOA, COMT, and child abuse (β = −0.34, p < 0.01) in adolescent NSSI. Except for carriers of the T allele of MAOA and the Met allele of COMT, all studied male adolescents displayed higher NSSI scores when exposed to a higher level of child abuse. A similar three-way interaction was not observed in the case of child neglect. (4) Conclusions: The results indicate that the MAOA gene and COMT gene play moderating roles in the association between child abuse and NSSI of male adolescents and suggest the polygenic underpinnings of NSSI.

Prefrontal cortex neural activity predicts reduction of non-suicidal self-injury in adolescents with major depressive disorder: An event related potential study

“…In this study, the MDD adolescents with self-injury behavior is mainly in the middle school stage, which is basically consistent with previous research results ( Swannell et al, 2014 ; Gao et al, 2021 ; Jiang et al, 2021 ).…”

“…Regression analysis was used to explore whether baseline P300 can be used as a neural marker to predict the clinical efficacy of sertraline tablets in the treatment of adolescent MDD with NSSI behavior. In this study, the MDD adolescents with self-injury behavior is mainly in the middle school stage, which is basically consistent with previous research results (Swannell et al, 2014;Gao et al, 2021;Jiang et al, 2021). P300 incubation period is an electrophysiological index reflecting the speed of mental activities, and its amplitude can reflect the utilization of effective resources by the brain in information processing, which mainly depends on the sensitivity of the patient to stimulation (Duncan et al, 2005).…”

Advancing a temporal framework for understanding the biology of nonsuicidal self- injury: An expert review

“…Moreover, a relationship between reports of an invalidating emotional environment during childhood and the development of NSSI was found only among Val carriers of the brain derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF; Val66Met polymorphism) compared to Met carriers (Hankin et al, 2015). In a population-based sample of Chinese adolescent males, Gao et al (2021) found a three-wave interaction between experiences of childhood abuse with variants of the MAOA and COMT genes in the prediction of NSSI: only in a subgroup of carriers with the T allele of the MAOA gene and the Met allele of COMT, there was no significant relation between experiences of abuse and the development of NSSI.…”

Reward processing in young people with self-harm behaviour

“…Past research suggests these biases in reward processing systems may be present in SH [15][16][17] .…”

“…For example, a genetic predisposition to lower dopamine transmission is correlated with greater SH in individuals with bulimia 15 and in individuals who experienced child abuse 16 . Using fMRI, neural activity in reward-related regions has been shown to be both higher 18.19 and lower 17 when anticipating monetary rewards in SH groups compared with healthy controls, which may be associated with predisposition to SH like in other addictive behaviours 20 .…”