Having ‘loose’ sexual morals where you favour one-night stands and no-strings sex is supposedly linked to DNA. Believe it?

A team of researchers, led by Justin Garcia of Binghamton University, State University of New York, have developed a new theory about sexual behaviour and genes, and have concluded that the presence of the DRD4 gene could be the reason why some people are more vulnerable to promiscuity and cheating than others.

Already dubbed the ‘thrill-seeking’ gene, DRD4 is known to affect the brain’s chemistry and subsequently, an individual’s behaviour. “We already know that while many people experience sexual activity, the circumstances, meaning and behaviour is different for each person,” said Garcia.

The study
Drawing up an in-depth history of the sexual and intimate deeds of 181 young adults, along with their

DNA samples, the researchers were able to scrutinize and determine that the differences in sexual behaviour could be influenced by genetic variation.

The findings
 “What we found was that individuals with a certain variant of the DRD4 gene were more likely to have a history of uncommitted sex, including one-night stands and acts of infidelity,” noted Garcia.

The desire to cheat and have uncommitted sex seems to stem from the brain’s pleasure and reward hub, which is where the rush of dopamine comes in, say the researchers.

"It's rewarding and makes us excited and gives us pleasure," said Garcia. "But the people with the DRD4 gene need more stimuli to feel satiated. Some of them say 'wow,' that was a rush after jumping out of a plane. Others ask, 'When is the plane going back up?'"

*Read the full report here.

Our thoughts
We’re not so convinced.

Do you accept that the propensity to have ‘loose’ sexual morals is linked to DNA?
  By: Meagan Karstens