Procrastinating: it's in your genes

In an article published in a journal of the Association for Psychological Science Daniel Gustavson, a scientist of the University of Colorado Boulder, looks at the genetic linkage of procrastination and impulsivity.  Impulsivity is to act on something without thinking about the severity of the action.  Our ancestors made many impulse decisions because they did not know what the next day would hold for them, while procrastination has emerged much more recent in history.  As people in today's world we make long term goals for ourselves and while trying to reach those goals we can become impulsive and get easily distracted.  Many studies have found that there is a positive relationship between procrastination and impulsivity but it is unclear influences them.

 In Gustavson's study he did not only want to answer of why some people procrastinate and make rash decisions more than others, but wants to go further to explain what procrastination is, why it happens and what can be done to minimize it.  To do this he performs a study with 181 monozygotic twins, who share 100% of their genes, and 166 dizygotic twins who share 50% of their genes.  Each individual took several surveys aimed to measure their tendencies towards procrastination and impulsiveness.  What they found is that both traits are inheritable and that there is a complete genetic overlap between the two.  The linkage between the traits Gustavson and his team look forward to further research investigating how these two traits are related to higher level cognitive abilities.

Alcohol and Impulsive Behavior

Scientists have identified a possible cause of what makes some people more impulsive when under the influence of alcohol. As currently only discovered in Finland, 2.2% of the population, nearly 100,000 people, contain a mutation in their DNA that interferes with the HTR2B gene function. HTR2B gene promotes the development of serotonin receptors in the brain, which play a crucial role in decision making and self control. Therefore, when containing the mutation and under the influence of alcohol (an OH-group), a person's serotonin receptors are not functioning properly, contributing to impulsive behavior. The individuals with this mutation more likely get into fights, have impulsive sex, drink and drive, and participate in other harmful and violent acts.

To further explain this research, Rooke Tikkanen, a psychiatrist, conducted an experiment. Tikkanen examined 14 individuals with the mutation and 156 controls without the mutation. The amounts of alcohol each person received was monitored, and no one was an alcoholic. After giving the individuals alcohol, the ones with the mutation acted more impulsively, and the others mostly did not. Some results may also be effected by a person's natural behavior and environmental upbringing, but the results still show us something. Alcohol hinders some people's serotonin receptors.

I think this study is very interesting. I have often wondered why some people are more likely to become alcoholics after a couple drinks and why some people respond to alcohol with such impulsivity. I am not entirely convinced that impulsivity, when under the influence of alcohol, may be a result of a mutation in humankind's DNA. There are several factors to consider in these cases, such as pre-existing personal behavior, environmental upbringing, and other biological factors. However, the HTR2B gene seems very interesting, and I want to know more about it.


Main Article: Gene Mutation linked to Impulsivity when under Alcohol

Other Article: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/5-HT2B_receptor

Genetic Mutation May Cause Drunken Recklessness and Poor Impulse Control

After years of research and studies done on levels of recklessness in people's actions while drunk, scientists have finally come across a gene mutation that can be linked to an increased level of drunken recklessness and impulsive behavior while drunk. They have identified that the mutation is occurring in a gene of the serotonin 2B receptor (thought to be linked to impulsive control).

Scientists conducted a study of 14 people that carry the serotonin 2B receptor mutation along with 156 non-carriers, giving them multiple questionnaires, screenings and reports of history drunkenness. After this study was conducted (in Finland) it was proven that the people with the mutation present all predict impulsive and aggressive behavior while intoxicated. More than 100,000 Finland residents are predicted to have this mutation (2% of the population to be more precise).

I believe that with more studies and studies done on larger population sizes, scientists could be on the right track to discovering how impulsive control and recklessness while consuming alcohol can be affected due to your genes.

Link to article:
https://reason.com/blog/2015/11/18/drunken-recklessness-may-be-genetic

Link to secondary article:
http://health.usnews.com/health-news/articles/2015/11/17/gene-mutation-may-be-tied-to-drunken-recklessness

Impulsive Genes?

Is impulsiveness genetic?  This article states that yes, it is genetic, and has a greater risk of affecting men.  Psychology professor Scott Stoltenberg at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln found a link between the gene NRXN3, and being impulsive. This gene has a job in brain development and how neurons in the brain function.  Stoltenberg believes that this gene could also explain certain people’s susceptibility toward drug or alcohol abuse.  This leads to the conclusion that our traits, such as compulsiveness, are not only in our brain, but in our genes as well.  There was a study done with about 450 people to find out more information on impulsivity and this gene.  Scientists concluded that there was a connection between a certain variant of the NRXN3 gene and impulsivity in men and also between the gene and alcohol problems. These same connections are not necessarily found in women, but scientists are not particularly positive as to the difference in the gene between men and women. This proves, however, that when a woman complains that their partner is too impulsive, they might be right!