Ms. Hitti, for WebMD, writes about a study in genetics and how they may affect an individual’s sex drive. More specifically, her article, “Sex Drive May Be Swayed by Genetics,” summarizes the significance of a recent study focused on “the different patterns in the DRD4 gene,” which “makes a protein that serves as a receptor for dopamine, a chemical messenger produced by the brain.”
What does that mean for those of us lacking a degree in genetics or medicine? Well, the DRD4 gene produces a “protein,” which is an organic compound (multiple molecules joined together). This protein has a job: it is a receptor for dopamine. Receptors function in your body to receive instructions from other chemical components.
According to various Wikipedia articles (take this for what you will), studies have shown that dopamine is a neurotransmitter, and the proteins produced by the DRD4 gene receive information from dopamine. Among other things, scientists believe that dopamine transmits information pertaining to voluntary movement, one’s sense of punishment/reward, one’s sense of motivation, one’s mood/emotional state, and it affects the body’s production of prolactin, which affects sexual gratification.
Researchers in Israel studied the DRD4 gene in people as a follow up to some interesting results produced in animal research. One of the researchers, Richard P. Ebstein, PhD (who ‘directs the Scheinfeld Center for Human Genetics in the Social Sciences at The Hebrew University of Jerusalem”), led the project. The study surveyed 148 “young adults” about “their sexual attitudes and behavior.”
Researchers asked many deeply personal questions, which included:
• How important is sex in your life?
• How frequently do you want to engage in sexual activity?
• How frequently do you have sexual fantasies?
• How frequently are you sexually stimulated/aroused?
• How difficult is it for you to be stimulated/aroused sexually?
• How often do you have problems [with] vaginal lubrication or erection?
The researchers, according to Hitti, focused on comparing the survey's results to “variations in the participants' DRD4 gene.” Apparently, a pattern was detected with different variations of the gene. Hitti writes that, “…one variation of the DRD4 gene was associated with lower levels of sexual desire, while another variation was tied to higher levels of sexual desire.”
As a responsible medical reporter, Hitti was quick to point out that: “The study doesn't show that any participants had sexual problems. It also doesn't prove that the DRD4 gene determined participant's sexual desire, or that other genetic or nongenetic influences were involved.” She listed a host of other theories that the study could not prove (or presumably disprove). However, the conclusion that genetics may play a role in sexual desire would lead scientists in a very obvious, very logical direction: gene therapy as a method for treating persons with low or waning sexual desire.
As Hitti puts it, “If genetics affect sexual desire, it might be possible to create new drug treatments for desire disorders…” Ebstein and his colleagues also reported another, less obvious benefit from this study. Often, sexual desire is treated as a psychological condition. Though there may still be psychological causes and effective psychological approaches to treatment, some may have a purely physical component causing them to have a lower or higher sex drive than may be ideal. This could alleviate a lot of guilt issues and provide hope for an actual cure down the road. This realization alone might also affect people’s attitudes about sexual dysfunction.
The research has shown a pattern, but a larger study will be needed to confirm its findings, which are preliminary at best. Of course, this could represent a major breakthrough for couples suffering from partners with mismatched sex drives.
Marriage Matters has often emphasized the importance of physical intimacy in a healthy marriage. Sex is only one variable in that equation, but it is a substantial one. What are your thoughts? Will gene therapy one day save married couples from sexual frustrations that have plagued generations? Would it change our attitudes toward our spouses if we knew their problems were genetic (inherited) rather than psychological?
Perhaps, if nothing else, this study provides married couples suffering from mismatched sex drives with some hope that their spouse’s lack of interest (or insatiable interest) in sex is not a form of rejection, but possibly a genetic condition that requires some patience, understanding, and a lot more research.
Source: Title: “Sex Drive May Be Swayed by Genetics. Study: “Genetic Component Could Help Remove Guilt From Low, High Desire." By: Miranda Hitti, WebMD Health News. [Reviewed by Louise Chang, MD] Date: May 31, 2006.
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