Is empathy in our genes?

Nurture or Nature? It seems through current research that genes are more directly related to people's personalities then was once thought. There is a gene that acts as a docking station for the chemical Oxycontin, which is otherwise known as the "love hormone" which plays a role in social behaviors such as bonding, empathy, and anxiety. These genes are so identifiable, that strangers who watch how a person reacts to another person talking, can tell if that person has a variation of this gene. The genes bring out specific character traits like nodding when you agree with someone speaking, or holding eye contact. Serena Rodrigues Saturn, Ph.D., a senior author of the study and an assistant professor of psychology at Oregon State University, in Corvallis says "This is the first time anyone has observed how different genotypes manifest themselves in behaviors that complete strangers can pick up on."

"People who have two "G" variants of this Oxycontin receptor gene tend to have better social skills and higher self-esteem, research has shown. Conversely, those with at least one "A" variant tend to have a harder time dealing with stress, worse mental-health outcomes, and a greater likelihood of being autistic." However, the Oxycontin receptor doesn't act alone. Keith Kendrick, Ph.D., a neuro-scientist at the University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, in Chengdu, notes that there are other genes that are also directly associated with social behavior. Maybe more interesting is that the Oxycontin receptor can be changed by life experience, so nurture does ultimately play a role, even in this theory.



Everything is interconnected. Both nurture & nature play a big role in peoples lives and how they think, act, & behave. Just as I mentioned in my former post, proteins that were once thought to be very rigid in structure, can be absolutely fluid. This principle holds true for most of biology. Things are constantly adapting and evolving due to environmental factors, but there will always be some form of hard-wiring traits that are instinctively picked up from previous generations. This article is a great example of this.