Rico
COSTA RICA EXTRA – A recent study by researchers at Binghamton University, State University of New York has revealed that about half of us inherited a gene that makes us more likely to have one-night stands and to stray if we are in an ostensibly monogamous relationship.
The culprit? A little gene called DRD4.
When you carry a variant of that gene, which is a dopamine receptor, you are more likely, according to researcher Justin Garcia, “to have a history of uncommitted sex, including one-night stands and acts of infidelity.”
That same gene appears to make us want to hit the bottle and the blackjack table. Dopamine is involved in the brain’s pleasure and reward system. In cases of uncommitted sex, the risks may be high but the rewards are high, too, which can produce a big ol’ dopamine rush.
The study may shed some light on why some people report feeling very much in love with and attached to their partners, yet still commit acts of infidelity.
A detailed report can be found in the current issue of Public Library of Science’s PLoS ONE journal. The article, “Associations between Dopamine D4 Receptor Gene Variation with Both Infidelity and Sexual Promiscuity,” can be found at http://dx.plos.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0014162
