PLATELET SEROTONERGIC MARKERS AND AGGRESSIVE-BEHAVIOR IN HEALTHY-SUBJECTS

The availability of peripheral markers of the serotonergic system, whi ch appears to play a major role in aggressive behaviour, prompted us t o investigate in healthy subjects the possible correlations between pl atelet H-3-imipramine (H-3-IMI) binding or mono-amine-oxidase (MAO) ac tivity and aggression as measured by the Italian version (QTA) of the Buss and Durkee Inventory. The results showed the presence of signific ant and positive correlations between MAO activity and QTA total score s and the scales of negativism and verbal aggression, and no correlati on between H-3-IMI binding parameters and QTA. These findings seem to suggest that perhaps the MAO activity is more linked to the dimension of aggression than is IMI binding.