31 May, 2006 19:38 GMT
Some forms of the D4 gene depressed sexual desire, arousal and function. Others had the opposite effect. The 'randy' mutation is thought to be relatively new, dating back 50,000 years to the time when modern humans' ancestors left Africa.
Randy people have something in their genes that makes them sex-mad, scientists have found. Three out of 10 men and women find it harder to control their sexual urges because of the genetic fluke.
It's the first hard evidence linking desire to DNA.
The Israeli research could give Casanovas Charlie Sheen, Michael Douglas, Rob Lowe and Warren Beatty the excuse they have longed for.
But the bad news for them is six out of 10 people's genes fight to stop them getting horny, according to the Hebrew University in Jerusalem.
Sexual Behavior Hardwired?
Professor Richard Ebstein said: "For the first time, a specific gene variant has been linked to human sexual desire, arousal and function. These findings suggest that some aspects of human sexual behavior are hardwired and that individual differences in sexuality are partially due to specific genes. Such genes may in the future become the targets of specific drug treatments for specific problems."
Differences in human sexuality were historically assumed to be the result of learned behavior or psychology.
But Ebstein's team ran DNA tests on 148 healthy male and female university students
They were then asked to fill in a questionnairre rating their levels of sexual desire, arousal and function.
When the results were compared, scientists found sexual responses were linked to the D4 receptor gene.
Mutant Gene Triggers Reward System
It triggers a reaction to dopamine, a brain chemical that enables messages to pass from one neuron to another.
It is associated with the brain's "reward" system -- circuits that kick in when a pleasurable feeling is experienced.
Some forms of the D4 gene depressed sexual desire, arousal and function. Others had the opposite effect. The "randy" mutation is thought to be relatively new, dating back 50,000 years to the time when modern humans' ancestors left Africa.
Writing in the journal
Molecular Psychiatry, the scientists said their discovery could lead to a change of thinking about the treatment of sexual problems.
They wrote: "Patients could benefit from the concept that individual differences have a genetic component and that both high and low levels of sexual desire may be adaptational and not in themselves a cause for guilt or treatment."
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