Culture, Sex & Gender

Sex Drive Gene

Leave it to the Israelis. Live Science reports that scientists at Hebrew University have discovered the “sex drive” gene which may change the way scientists and psychologists view sexuality.

The researchers found that individual differences in human sexual desire can be attributed to genetic variations. The study is the first to provide data to show that common variations in the sequence of DNA impact on sexual desire, arousal and function, the researchers said.
The scientists, at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, examined the DNA of 148 healthy male and female university students and compared the results with questionnaires asking for the students’ self-descriptions of their sexual desire, arousal and sexual function. They found a correlation between variants in a gene called the D4 receptor and the students’ self-reports on sexuality.
The results suggest that low sexual desire might be a normal biological condition rather than a psychological problem, the researchers say. Further, it might be possible to develop drugs to alter sexual desire based on the new findings.

2 thoughts on “Sex Drive Gene

  1. This post was just brought to my attention by an anonymous reader on my blog. I’ve been dealing with issues of having too MUCH sexual energy (while this article was talking about people being genetically LOW sexed). I’d be interested in any follow-up material you come across.

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