I don't wanna be et by Reavers

So, you remember how the Reavers were created by the Pax, a gas intended as a mellowing agent? So, funny story (pardon the simplification of some aspects of it) - there's a substance in our bodies called MAO which metabolizes excess neurotransmitters, preventing them from building up and overloading the neuron. There is a gene (MAOA, I think) which determines whether people have either high or low innate levels of MAO.

We also know that people who were maltreated as children are, statistically, somewhat more likely to become violent criminals than those who were not maltreated. Interestingly, people with high MAO levels are all about as likely to become violent criminals, regardless of past abuse. However, abused children with low MAO levels are highly likely to become violent criminals.

Now, why is this kind of scary? Because MAO inhibitors - yep, things that lower MAO levels - are common anti-depressants (not as common as they used to be though). Depressed people have lower-than-normal neurotransmitter levels, so inhibiting the MAO brings them back up to normal levels, ideally helping cure the depression. But inhibiting MAO in people with normal levels of neurotransmitters (i.e. the majority of the populace) gives us - you guessed it - neurotransmitter overload and increased chance of violence.

So, MAO inhibitors either level people out or lead to violent excitation. Sound familiar? The Pax sounds a lot like some kind of uber-MAO inhibitor, hence, dead people and Reavers. Isn't science fun?

Thanks to Karen for bringing the Reaver Gene and these facts to my attention!