Kenneth Blum
McKnight Brain Institute,
College of Medicine, Gainesville, FL
Tanzania
Review Article
Neuropsychiatric Genetics of Happiness, Friendships, and Politics: Hypothesizing Homophily ("Birds of a Feather Flock Together") as a Function of Reward Gene Polymorphisms
Author(s): Kenneth Blum, Marlene Oscar-Berman, Abdalla Bowirrat, John Giordano, Margaret Madigan, Eric R. Braverman, DebmaylaBarh, FrankFornari, JoanBorsten and Thomas SimpaticoKenneth Blum, Marlene Oscar-Berman, Abdalla Bowirrat, John Giordano, Margaret Madigan, Eric R. Braverman, DebmaylaBarh, FrankFornari, JoanBorsten and Thomas Simpatico
Mindful of the new evolutionary ideas related to an emerging scientific focus known as omics, we propose that spiritual, social, and political behaviors may be tied in part to inheritable reward gene polymorphisms, as has been demonstrated for the addictions. If so, analyses of gene polymorphisms may assist in predicting liberalism or conservatism in partisan attachments. For example, both drinking (alcohol) and obesity seem to cluster in large social networks and are influenced by friends having the same genotype, in particular the DRD2 A1 allele. Likewise, voting, voting turnout and attachment to a particular political ideology is differentially related to various reward genes (e.g., 5HTT, MOA, DRD2, and DRD4), possibly predicting liberalism or conservatism. Moreover, voters’ genetic information may predict presidential outcomes more than the actual issues at hand or the presi.. View More»
