Food for thought. Like all things genetic though, one should remember that genes are only one piece of an amazingly complex cocktail of factors that determine outcomes.

Monoamine oxidase A (MAOA) is an enzyme that breaks down neurotransmitters (signal­ing chemicals) in the brain. Previous studies have linked the low-efficiency versions of the MAOA gene—the variants that cause less MAOA to be produced by brain cells—to impulsiveness.

In the new study, people with one “low” MAOA gene and one “high” MAOA gene reported having credit-card debt 7.8 percent more often than did people with two “high” versions, the researchers found, even when they controlled for factors such as education and socio­economic status. For people with two “low” versions of the gene, that number jumped to 15.9 percent.

Read The Full Article Here (via Scientific American)

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