University of Helsinki researchers have identified a genetic mutation which renders carriers susceptible to particularly impulsive and reckless behaviour when drunk.
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The study, which sought to determine why certain drinkers become excessively, obnoxiously drunk after a small amount of alcohol, found that it comes down to a gene in the serotonin 2B receptor.
The research could lead to treatments for impulsive behaviour – or tests which could warn people who’re liable to go haywire when under the influence that they really, really shouldn’t drink. This means more than 100,000 Finns are carriers.
It is believed the variant may block production of a chemical called serotonin in the nucleus accumbens, a part of the brain involved in providing restraint and foresight into the consequences of actions.
“They get into verbal arguments and fights, have unplanned sex, are arrested more often than the healthy controls”, said Tikkanen. Apparently, the country’s gene pool is relatively homogenous due to its isolation, so it’s easier for researchers to pinpoint genetic mutation.
Apart from the putative effect on the health of Finnish population, the discovery of this biological mechanism may be groundbreaking in understanding the role of the serotonin 2B receptor in humans.
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The study could help explain students who wear traffic cones as hats, says the Daily Mail, but the findings will have serious results too, and could even lead to the development of new drugs. Moreover, increasing knowledge of the function of the serotonin 2B receptor may lead to new pharmacological innovations, since no medications specific to it are presently available.
