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Are You An Impulsive, Reckless Drunk? You Probably Suffer From A Gene Mutation

by — Last updated: 2015-11-21 in Healthy Living

The way you behave when you have been drinking says a lot about you — and according to a new study, it says a lot about your genes, too.

Do you tend to make a fool of yourself when you get drunk? If the answer is yes, you may believe that to be pretty typical drunken behavior — but you'd be wrong. Not only has scientific research now identified distinct "types" of drunks, a new study reveals that those who display embarrassing and reckless behavior while drunk may suffer from a genetic mutation!

What Type Of Drunk Are You?

It sounds like a pop quiz, but researchers from the University of Missouri at Columbia really have identified four distinct kinds of drinkers, Their study, published in April 2015 in Addiction Research & Theory, may give you some uncanny insights into your own drunken behavior. Which one are you?

  • Ernest Hemmingways: No, this doesn't mean you can suddenly wield your pen or keyboard artfully when under the influence. The famous writer bragged that he could "drink hells any amount of whiskey without getting drunk", and drunks of this type do not undergo any significant personality changes when they have had one (or 10) too many. According to the study, a surprisingly large 40 percent of all people fall into this group. 
  • Mary Poppins: The fictional character declared herself "practically perfect in every way", and if you are this type of drunk, you'll be a social kind of person who just gets a little more jolly when you hit the booze. 
  • Nutty Professors: Naturally introverted, you'll lose your inhibitions when you are tipsy, revealing a side of you that usually stays hidden when sober. 
  • Mr Hydes: This is not the type of drinker you want to be, but it happens. When you down too much alcohol, you become more aggressive, impulsive, and forget you have brain power for a while. 

Genes Are To Blame For Weird Drunken Behavior?

As a result of their new study published in the journal Translational Psychology, researchers from the University of Helsinki found that people who get themselves into trouble when they are under the influence of alcohol may have a genetic mutation. The study examined the intoxicated behavior of people with a mutation in the HTR2B gene that impacts the way serotonin 2B receptors are read. 
 
 
People with the mutation, called HTR2B Q20, were found to display significantly more embarrassing drunken behavior, becoming impulsive, reckless, and aggressive. 
 
 
They are, in other words, those "Mr Hyde" drunks who get into fights when under the influence, who are tempted to engage in drunk driving, who have sex without thinking it through, and who get arrested when they have had a few too many. 
 
Dr Roope Tikkanen, who worked on the newly published study, shared: 
 
“Very little is known about the role of the serotonin 2B receptor in humans. New knowledge in this area might open up opportunities for new innovations since there is no FDA-approved medicine available that [has] a high affinity particularly for this receptor.” 

Though this study related particularly to reckless behavior while drunk, the team further found that those people who possessed the gene mutation were more likely to suffer from mood swings and depression when sober.

READ Options In Drug And Alcohol Detox

Despite its small sample, the study offers some interesting insights into the reasons for which people become reckless when drunk, as well as the way in which serotonin 2B receptors influence behavior. In the meantime, if you recognize yourself in the description of the reckless, impulsive drunk, it is probably time of lay off the drink.

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