Regarding the differences between the sexes, it is known that men tend to display more loud, aggressive and dominant tendencies compared to women who display more caring, nurturing and affectionate roles. Studies have shown that males are three times more likely to have the MAOA-L variation than females. This is mainly due to the fact that women can be heterozygous or homozygous for the gene, while men are hemizygous as they only possess one X chromosome, so they are automatically at a biological disadvantage (Sabol, Hu & Hamer, 1998). Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay Notably, aggression is not always associated only with men, as high levels of aggression can be observed in women carrying the MAOA-H gene as opposed to men carrying MAOA-L, as a greater activity in the male amygdala region (Holz et al., 2014). Furthermore, greater hippocampal activation was associated with the materialization of fear and anger in male MAOA-L carriers and female MAOA-H carriers. This may provide further evidence to suggest that negative experiences may provide stimuli for aggressive actions to progress, as this region of the brain is where memories and emotions are heightened (Denson et al., 2009). Controversially, the MAOA-L genotype has actually been linked to observable happiness in women. A recent study affirmed this theory, in which women's happiness levels were measured on a "happiness scale." The data revealed that women who possessed the MAAO-L gene were happier than those who did not, and no association was found between men and happiness. detected. This study has yet to be replicated, so the accuracy of the experiment cannot be questioned (Chen et al., 2013). On the other hand, women may suffer from low estrogen levels during the menstrual period, which is linked to fluctuating MAOA levels causing psychological and emotional stress and likelihood of violence (Staniloiu & Marksowitch, 2012). A similar occurrence can be observed with high testosterone and low cortisol levels in males, which have been related to social aggression. Testosterone and cortisol are both end products invented in the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis, and this neuropathological region of the brain is dedicated to motivation and reward-seeking pathways. Thus, it can be argued that high testosterone/low cortisol is a precursor to threatening behavior and active risk seeking (Terburg, Morgan & Honk, 2009). Overall it can be ascertained that continued research on the female aspect of MAOA variation is needed as most studies to date have focused primarily on male aggression. Therefore, no clear conclusions can be drawn from the available evidence.
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