Being impulsive makes us speak or act without reflecting, moved by the first thing we feel at that moment. This disinhibited and impulsive behavior already has its own genetic basis. A team of researchers from the University of Lleida and the Biomedical Research Institute of Lleida (Spain) has identified a gene variant linked to this personality trait: the gene of impulsivity.
The gene in question is SIRPB1 , located on chromosome 20 and which has important functions in inflammation processes and neuroprotection. To identify it, the experts used a comparative genome methodology called CGH to analyze a variation in copy number. Thus, they had the participation of 260 volunteers, male, whose degree of impulsivity was measured using a personality test as well as genetic tests.
The comparison of the data revealed that those who had obtained lower levels of impulsivity in the test had a higher copy number in this area and vice versa: those who had obtained higher marks of impulsivity had fewer copies of the gene in this region.
"It can be considered that some gene close to this region acts as a modulation element between daring and prudence, " explains Joan Fibla, co-author of the study published in the journal Genes, Brain and Behavior .
