Accepted_test

The use of a sample consisting of individuals from one ethnicity and belonging to a single age group allows us to minimize the influence of sociocultural factors important in the formation of behavioral traits.

The Bass-Perry Aggression Questionnaire (BPAQ) and the Reactive and Proactive Aggression Questionnaire were used to assess aggression levels. Genotyping was performed using PCR-RFLP, allele-specific PCR, fragment analysis, and Sanger sequencing. GenAlEx v 6.51 and Structure v.2.3.4 software were used to conduct population-genetics analysis. Associations were identified using analysis of variance (Statistica v.10) and an alternative approach based on Bayesian sampling and probability modeling (APSampler v. 3.61).

It was shown that the genotype distribution in the sample corresponds to the Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium. Analysis of variance revealed a significant association of SNP rs53576 in the OXTR gene with verbal aggression (p = 0.048). Additionally, an interaction effect of this SNP with the microsatellite locus rs3032358 in the AR gene was found when analyzing associations with verbal aggression (p = 0.002), reactive aggression (p = 0.003), and anger (p = 0.045) scales. A significant association of the microsatellite locus rs3032358 polymorphism in the AR gene with physical aggression was shown for men (p = 0.031). For women, an interaction effect of two SNP loci (OXTR rs53576 and HTR2A rs6311) was found when analyzing associations with the reactive aggression scale (p = 0.037). The results of non-parametric associative analysis were consistent with the results of the analysis of variance.

Significant associations between the studied genetic loci and self-assessed aggressive behavior traits were identified.