Urinary excretion of bufotenin (N,N-dimethyl-5-hydroxytryptamine) is increased in suspicious violent offenders: a confirmatory study.
Psychiatry research September 29, 1995 J Kärkkäinen, M Räisänen, M O Huttunen et al. 17 citations
Among violent offenders, those with paranoid personality traits tend to have higher urinary levels of bufotenin, a substance measured by mass spectrometry. In drug-free patients, bufotenin excretion was positively linked to suspiciousness and negatively linked to socialization, two strongly interdependent personality traits. In drug users, bufotenin excretion correlated positively with social desirability and negatively with irritability, but not with suspiciousness. The study found no association between bufotenin levels and violence toward family members, contrary to an earlier report. These results support the earlier finding linking bufotenin to paranoid traits in violent offenders.