title: Polymorphisms in the dopamine D4 receptor gene (DRD4) contribute to individual differences in human sexual behavior: desire, arousal and sexual function.
abstract: Although there is some evidence from twin studies that individual differences in sexual behavior are heritable, little is known about the specific molecular genetic design of human sexuality. Recently, a specific dopamine D4 receptor (DRD4) agonist was shown in rats to induce penile erection through a central mechanism. These findings prompted us to examine possible association between the well-characterized DRD4 gene and core phenotypes of human sexual behavior that included desire, arousal and function in a group of 148 nonclinical university students. We observed association between the exon 3 repeat region, and the C-521T and C-616G promoter region SNPs, with scores on scales that measure human sexual behavior. The single most common DRD4 5-locus haplotype (19%) was significantly associated with Desire, Function and Arousal scores. The current results are consistent with animal studies that show a role for dopamine and specifically the DRD4 receptor in sexual behavior and suggest that one pathway by which individual variation in human desire, arousal and function are mediated is based on allelic variants coding for differences in DRD4 receptor gene expression and protein concentrations in key brain areas.
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Health Sciences, Ben Gurion University of the Negev, Beer Sheva, Israel.
authors.forename: I Z
authors.initials: IZ
authors.lastname: Ben Zion
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Tessler
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Cohen
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Lerer
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Raz
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Bachner-Melman
authors.forename: I
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Gritsenko
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Nemanov
authors.forename: A H
authors.initials: AH
authors.lastname: Zohar
authors.forename: R H
authors.initials: RH
authors.lastname: Belmaker
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Benjamin
authors.forename: R P
authors.initials: RP
authors.lastname: Ebstein
mesh_terms: D005192:Family Health; D005260:Female; D006239:Haplotypes; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010641:Phenotype; D011110:Polymorphism, Genetic; D050638:Receptors, Dopamine D4 / Q000235:genetics*; D012725:Sexual Behavior / Q000502:physiology*; D012735:Sexual Dysfunction, Physiological / Q000235:genetics* / Q000503:physiopathology; D019529:Sexuality / Q000502:physiology*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
chemical_list: D050638:Receptors, Dopamine D4