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Evidence for a Y chromosomal contribution to an aggressive phenotype in inbred mice

Nature volume 253, pages 529–530 (1975)Cite this article

An Erratum to this article was published on 01 February 1975

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Abstract

IN man the XYY chromosome complement has been reported by some authors to be associated with abnormal tallness, mental deficiency and sociopathic, aggressive behaviour1–4. The interpretation of this literature is controversial. Furthermore, any genetic variation(s) of the Y chromosome which affect(s) aggressive behaviour among chromosomally normal males could mask the correlation between a supernumerary Y and this behaviour5. If such variation exists, then in any population the correlation between the XYY karyotype and aggression would depend on the distribution of Y chromosomes having varying degrees of predisposition towards aggressive behaviour. Our investigations on the developmental genetics of fighting behaviour in mice support the hypothesis that there may be heritable variations of the Y chromosome which are associated to varying degrees with some types of aggression, and that this could account both for the lack of unusual aggressive behaviour in many individuals with an extra Y and for its occurrence in other XYY males.

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Change history

  • 01 February 1975

    In the article "Evidence for a Y chromosomal contribution to an aggressive phenotype in inbred mice" by M. K. Selmanoff, J. E. Jumonville, S. C. Maxson and B. E. Ginsburg (Nature, 253, 529; 1975) the column headings in Table 1 should read DBA/1 Fathers and C57BL/10 Fathers respectively, in both studies.

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Author notes

  1. J. E. JUMONVILLE

    Present address: , 1430 West Edgewater, Chicago, Illinois, 60626

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Behavioral Genetics Laboratory, Department of Biobehavioral Sciences, The University of Connecticut, Storrs, Connecticut, 06268

    M. K. SELMANOFF, J. E. JUMONVILLE, S. C. MAXSON & B. E. GINSBURG

Authors
  1. M. K. SELMANOFF
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  2. J. E. JUMONVILLE
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  3. S. C. MAXSON
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  4. B. E. GINSBURG
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SELMANOFF, M., JUMONVILLE, J., MAXSON, S. et al. Evidence for a Y chromosomal contribution to an aggressive phenotype in inbred mice. Nature 253, 529–530 (1975). https://doi.org/10.1038/253529a0

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