News & Blogs - Science says you may have the 'wanderlust gene' | Squat the Planet

News & Blogs Science says you may have the 'wanderlust gene'

Matt Derrick

Retired Wanderer
Staff member
Joined
Aug 4, 2006
Messages
10,542
Reaction score
13,815
Location
Portland, OR
Website
youtube.com
http://www.theplaidzebra.com/if-you...cience-says-you-may-have-the-wanderlust-gene/

BY: MATTHEW CHIN


If you’re the kind of person that feels compelled to travel—bound to an uncontrollable urge that flows through you, motivating you to drop everything and explore the world—chances are that desire is actually embedded in your genetic code.

DRD4, a gene that encodes the dopamine receptor D4, is associated with impulsively seeking happiness levels in your brain. People with this gene tend to make quick decisions in their quest for enjoyment and are fuelled by intuition.

The gene responsible for this behaviour can also be linked to an urge to travel. A variant of the DRD4 gene, DRD4-7R, is nicknamed the “wanderlust gene,” associated with curiosity and restlessness. People with this gene are constantly on the move; no matter how many flights they take, it will never be enough. The common theme between individuals who have this gene is that they have all sought out travel and adventure in the past.

DRD4, a gene that encodes the dopamine receptor D4, is associated with impulsively seeking happiness levels in your brain. The gene responsible for this behaviour can also be linked to an urge to travel.
2_wanderlust-gene.jpg

People with the wanderlust gene are more likely to take risks, explore new places, take drugs, and embrace change, according to National Geographic. About 20 per cent of the world’s population has this gene.

A study conducted by Chuansheng Chen, a psychologist at the University of California, found the 7R version of the gene also related to human migration. For example, the first humans that migrated from Africa roughly 50,000 to 70,000 years ago who possessed the “wanderlust gene” were found to have moved the farthest away from the continent.

The wanderlust gene is also linked to longevity, since the individual will more typically engage in social and physical activities, and thus have a healthier lifestyle. UCI Mind’s 90+ Study found that those who did not have the DRD4-7R gene had a 7-to-9.7 per cent decrease in lifespan. This suggests that a lifestyle rich with experience, risk, and adventure—seen more often in carriers of DRD4-7R—is a healthy and wholesome one.

The wanderlust gene is also linked to longevity, since the individual will more typically engage in social and physical activities, and thus have a healthier lifestyle.
3_wanderlust-gene.jpg

Understandably, some are skeptical that a single gene can be responsible for so much human behaviour. Kenneth Kidd, a genetics doctor at Yale University said in Elite Daily, “You just can’t reduce something as complex as human exploration to a single gene.” As Kidd points out, the decision to travel can’t be accredited solely to the “wanderlust gene”—surely there are many people without the gene who love to travel, and vice versa.

But still, the wanderlust gene may be responsible for the urge felt by many to explore, and if so, those with the gene would be natural-born wanderers—always trying new experiences and reaching new heights.

So if you are labelled “the travel junkie” of your group and your friends don’t understand your constant hunger for experience, just blame it on the gene and tell them you were born that way.

4_wanderlust-gene.jpg

Sources: wordpress.com, bel-air.mx, deejay.it
 

WanderLost Radical

Well-known member
Joined
Dec 7, 2014
Messages
443
Reaction score
667
Location
Montreal
My mom keeps saying I'm making her stress too much... I can now say it's her fault!! muahahaha
 

EphemeralStick

Andie of the House of Queer
Joined
Aug 21, 2010
Messages
1,700
Reaction score
2,442
Location
New Orleans
Makes sense to me. My mom's brother was a lot like me. He started hitch hiking and traveling all over the country when he was 18 and before him, my grandfather (his dad) ran off at 16 to explore Mexico on his own. Everyone says I remind them of my uncle, which I take as a compliment since he was such a badass.
 

kaichulita

soul rebel
Joined
Oct 2, 2014
Messages
182
Reaction score
154
Awesome article. I've always felt more inclined to do riskier things unlike my other friends and my family. Now, I know why ;)
 

Odin

ANTISOLIPSIST
Joined
Apr 7, 2013
Messages
2,401
Reaction score
2,931
Location
Earth
Website
www.youtube.com
This is a good article... but I would be wary to contribute to much to "cast in stone" genetics.

In recent years the field has had a lot of advances and the understanding is that, epigenetic influences from your environment and social immersion play as important a role as the very coding in your particular genome.

If you want to check it out there is a NOVA episode called "Ghost in you Genes." and
This article seems useful...

https://bioethicsbytes.wordpress.com/2008/06/30/epigenetics-the-ghost-in-your-genes/

And lemme see... this should be a link to an actual episode... fuck it I'll embed it.

Watch thiS.



SO just to be CLEAR... for example...

DRD4, a gene that encodes the dopamine receptor D4, is associated with impulsively seeking happiness levels in your brain.

This is true to the function of DRD4 probably... based on the research(I don't know personally lol :p not an expert here)

Yet the intrinsic expression of this coded instruction in you particular genome... MAY...( I emphasize may and do not discount that having perhaps a particular code is more instrumental...)

May.... be dependent on the factors in your environment that can encourage or discourage expression of certain instructions in your genome.

(of note to think.. is these influences are all on top of the mistranslations that can happen in random cell division when mistakes/mutation in replication occur.)

Including chemical, nutritional, geological/geographical, cultural, flight fight stress factors in survival... and psychological influences of your "tribe"/"family" and particular circumstances.

As humans we would like clear cut explanations and reasoning... after all pattern recognition and structuring our Physical daily lives has been an advantage to us in survival. From domesticating plants and animals to codifying our social iterations into a monster of government or religious authority.

Yet... Nature is not so easily codified or controlled I think. The big picture may just be beyond humanities constructed cages.
 
Last edited:

Odin

ANTISOLIPSIST
Joined
Apr 7, 2013
Messages
2,401
Reaction score
2,931
Location
Earth
Website
www.youtube.com
@Odin That all sounds too smart.

We're travellers who travels because travelling is already in our blood ! ::smug::


You are absolutely right, truly.

I'm one of those drunken masters waaaaa... that likes to read to much then make the best sense of things in a non-expert way.

I hope I can activate some of that travel blood I have from days past... just this time it's gonna be way different. Like riding some monster rapids.
 

About us

  • Squat the Planet is the world's largest social network for misfit travelers. Join our community of do-it-yourself nomads and learn how to explore the world by any means necessary.

    More Info

Help us pay the bills!

Total amount
$10.00
Goal
$100.00

Latest Library Uploads