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Associations between Dopamine D4 Receptor Gene Variation with Both Infidelity and Sexual Promiscuity
Open accessAbstract
BACKGROUND: Human sexual behavior is highly variable both within and between populations. While sex-related characteristics and sexual behavior are central to evolutionary theory (sexual selection), little is known about the genetic bases of individual variation in sexual behavior. The variable number tandem repeats (VNTR) polymorphism in exon III of the human dopamine D4 receptor gene (DRD4) has been correlated with an array of behavioral phenotypes and may be predicatively responsible for variation in motivating some sexual behaviors, particularly promiscuity and infidelity. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: We administered an anonymous survey on personal history of sexual behavior and intimate relationships to 181 young adults. We also collected buccal wash samples and genotyped the DRD4 VNTR. Here we show that individuals with at least one 7-repeat allele (7R+) report a greater categorical rate of promiscuous sexual behavior (i.e., having ever had a "one-night stand") and report a more than 50% increase in instances of sexual infidelity. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: DRD4 VNTR genotype varies considerably within and among populations and has been subject to relatively recent, local selective pressures. Individual differences in sexual behavior are likely partially mediated by individual genetic variation in genes coding for motivation and reward in the brain. Conceptualizing these findings in terms of r/K selection theory suggests a mechanism for selective pressure for and against the 7R+ genotype that may explain the considerable global allelic variation for this polymorphism.
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“Variations in a dopamine receptor gene have been found to correlate in humans with infidelity and sexual promiscuity (Garcia et al. 2010).”
From Natural Selection, Childrearing, and the Ethics of Marriage (and Divorce): Building a Case for the Neuroenhancement of Human Relationships (2012) · cites this paper as Garcia et al. 2010
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Metadata
- Authors
- Garcia, J. R., MacKillop, J., Aller, E. L., Merriwether, A. M., Wilson, D. S., & Lum, J. K.
- Affiliations
- Binghamton University (US)
- University of Georgia (US)
- Corresponding author
- Garcia, Justin R.
- Venue
- PLoS ONE
- Publisher
- Public Library of Science (PLoS)
- Published
- 2010-11-30
- Volume
- 5
- Issue
- 11
- Pages
- e14162
- ISSN
- 1932-6203 (ISSN-L)
- PMC
- PMC2994774
- OpenAlex
- W1997660607
- Cited by
- 134
- References
- 48
- Citations by year
- 2026: 8 · 2025: 5 · 2023: 3 · 2022: 4 · 2021: 24 · 2020: 6 · 2019: 3 · 2018: 8 · 2017: 8 · 2016: 13 · 2015: 16 · 2014: 10 · 2013: 8 · 2012: 10
- FWCI
- 3.36
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- gold
- doi.org
- Locations
- PLoS ONE (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion)
- The Open Repository - Binghamton (Binghamton University) (submittedVersion, cc-by)
- Funders
- National Institutes of Health (DA027827)
- Binghamton University
- National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (K23AA016936)
- National Institute on Drug Abuse (P30DA027827)
- Topics
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience › Neurotransmitter Receptor Influence on Behavior
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Evolutionary Psychology and Human Behavior
- Life Sciences › Agricultural and Biological Sciences › Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics › Animal Behavior and Reproduction
- Keywords
- dopamine D4 receptor, 7-repeat allele, sexual infidelity, promiscuity, one-night stands, sexual selection, young adults
- MeSH terms
- Female, Genotype, Humans, Male, Motivation, Polymorphism, Genetic, Surveys and Questionnaires, Reward, Sexual Behavior, Sex Factors, Smoking, Linear Models, Minisatellite Repeats, Statistics, Nonparametric, Receptors, Dopamine D4, Young Adult
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