A Rogue Gene Could Be Making You Act Like a Drunken Idiot

The next time you get wasted and make a stupid mistake, blame it on HTR2B.

That's the name of a gene intimately related to impulsive, reckless behaviour and the inevitable guilt that follows a night of hitting the bottle a little too hard.

More specifically, a mutation in that gene, which plays a key role in serotonin production and decision-making in the brain, has been isolated and seems to cause a significantly higher incidence of risky behaviors like "impulsive sexual events, traveling, moving a residence, or changing employer often."

That's what was gleaned from a recent study in Finland seeking to understand the role that alcohol plays in impulse control by focusing on a group of 14 nonviolent offenders and studying the effects of alcohol on their behavior.

Compared to the 156 "healthy" participants in the control group, those with the HTR2B mutation "demonstrated aggressive outbursts, got into fights and behaved in an impulsive manner under the influence of alcohol," and they also also tended to be arrested for driving while under the influence of alcohol "more often than the controls."

"We wanted to take a look at healthy people in the general population to check if this mutation had any effects. The most interesting finding was that it caused impulsive behaviour while under intoxication, and that included impulsive sex, impulsively spending money, and driving under the influence," lead researcher Roope Tikkanen told The Guardian. "When they are sober, they have a tendency towards impulsivity, but our discovery is that it will be enhanced by small amounts of alcohol."

While this kind of behaviour sounds like the vast majority of binge drinkers, the gene has so far only been isolated in 2.2 percent of Finland's population. That's about 100,000 people, and hardly enough to extrapolate to large groups. But the study does offer a fascinating glimpse into how booze affects some people more dramatically (and visibly) than others.

In the article, none of the possessors of the HTR2B gene were alcoholics by any psychiatric measure, yet when they drank, they tended to be less in control than the non-HTR2B group. Dr. Tikkanen also told The Guardian that, based on his research, those who do have the gene would be well-advised to "attend courses to help them keep their alcohol consumption within healthy limits, and have therapy to boost their self control."

So, the next time "that guy" in your group of friends gets a little crazy after a few drinks, be compassionate and remember how science says that it might not actually be their fault.