New research from the University of California, San Diego, and Harvard University indicates that the Novelty Seeking Personality is genetic. People with the dopamine receptor gene DRD4 are more sensitive to dopamine, a neurotransmitter that regulates the experience of pleasure and pain, and regulates movement and emotional response. This gene is inherited.

This suggests that a party-girl mother is likely to have a party girl daughter. People who are more sensitive to dopamine get a greater boost from dopamine-triggers like cocaine, nicotine, alcohol, money, sex, food, gambling… you know the list. Because they are more sensitive to the highs and lows, they are more likely to get hooked. And we all know that addiction runs in families, too.

The article in Science Daily points out that people with the novelty-seeking gene variant would be more interested in learning about their friends’ points of view. As a consequence, people with this genetic predisposition who have a greater-than-average number of friends would be exposed to a wider variety of social norms and lifestyles, which might make them more liberal than average. Was it Benjamin Franklin who said, “Travel is toxic to narrow-mindedness.”

Is Conservatism Genetic?

University College London researchers say brains of the right-leaning have big amygdala, small anterior cingulate.

Specifically, the research shows that people with conservative tendencies have a larger amygdala and a smaller anterior cingulate than other people. The amygdala — typically thought of as the “primitive brain” — is responsible for reflexive impulses, like fear. The anterior cingulate is thought to be responsible for courage and optimism. This one-two punch could be responsible for many of the anecdotal claims that conservatives “think differently” from others.

Does this suggest that conservatives have more fear and less courage? How interesting that courage could be based in a larger anterior cingulate, and that fearlessness could result from a smaller amygdala. Courage and fearlessness are different, it seems.

Big Amygdala, Big Social Network

Time Magazine reported on research from Boston University School of Medicine that hat found a connection between the size of this brain region and the number of social relationships a person has. The complexity of those relationships — as measured by the number of people who occupied multiple roles in a social network such as being simultaneously a friend and a co-worker — was also linked with amygdala size.

“The amygdala is strongly connected with almost every other structure in brain. In the past, people assumed it was really important for fear. Then they discovered it was actually important for all emotions. And it’s also important for social interaction and face recognition,” says L.F. Barrett, one of the authors of the study. “The amygdala’s job in general is to signal to the rest of brain when something that you’re faced with is uncertain. For example, if you don’t know who someone is, and you are trying to identify them, whether it is a friend or a foe, the amygdala is probably playing a role in helping you to perform all of those tasks.”

No Amygdala, No Fear

A recent article in the New York Times reports that a woman without an amygdala was fearless, but not in a good way.