Too many drunken uncles causing chaos at family gatherings? DNA might be to blame, says a newly published study out of Finland.
The study, led by University of Helsinki psychiatrist Roope Tikkanen and published in the journal Translational Psychiatry, finds that a genetic mutation makes carriers prone to impulsive behavior, particularly while drunk.
The mutation is in the serotonin 2B receptor, and its discovery was detailed in a 2010 study, which also linked it to impulsive behavior, though not specifically in connection with alcohol. The new study compares risky alcohol-related behavior of people with and without the genetic mutation. In all, 170 people were evaluated.
The results: Carriers of the mutation "demonstrated aggressive outbursts, got into fights and behaved in an impulsive manner under the influence of alcohol. They were also arrested for driving while under the influence of alcohol more often than the controls," the study says.
By measures of alcohol consumption, the carriers in the study were not diagnosed as alcoholics, "but they had a tendency to lose behavioral control while under the influence of alcohol," the study says.
Even without alcohol in the mix, the mutation appears to color carriers' behavior, Tikkanen said in a statement released by the University of Helsinki. "The results also indicate that persons with this mutation are more impulsive by nature even when sober, and they are more likely to struggle with self-control or mood disorders," he said in the statement.
About 100,000 Finns, 2.2 percent of the nation's population, carry the mutation, the university's statement said.
Initially, the mutation was identified only in Finnish men, but the latest study evaluated subjects of both genders. The mutation has also been discovered in Russians, according to press reports.