Being able to listen well, making time for each other, a satisfying sex life ... Are these the ingredients for a good marriage? If yes, it is that simple.
How is it that one partner feels the emotions associated with a wedding seem to attract so hard, and the other partner remains as good as unmoved? The answer lies in the genes. They determine how important emotions are for different people.
A team of scientists from the University of California as cited by, beta.nydailynews.com discovered a link between the satisfaction of a relationship and a variant of a gene, or allele, called 5-HTTLPR. All people inherit a copy of this gene variant from each parent.
What is 5-HHTTLPR?
5-HTTLPR (serotonin-transporter-linked polymorphic region) is a degenerate repeat polymorphic region in SLC6A4, the gene that codes for the serotonin transporter. Since the polymorphism was identified in the middle of the 1990s, it has been extensively investigated, e.g., in connection with neuropsychiatric disorders. A 2006 scientific article stated that "over 300 behavioral, psychiatric, pharmacogenetic and other medical genetics papers" had analyzed the polymorphism. While often discussed as an example of gene-environment interaction, this contention is contestedWIKIPEDIA
A 13-year study by the University of California at Berkeley of 100 married individuals and their genes showed that people with two short 5-HTTLPR variants were the most unhappy in their marriages when there was a negative emotional climate and happiest when positive emotions, such as humor and affection, took the upper hand. Those with one or two long gene variants were less involved in the emotional tenor of their marriages.
The findings do not mean that flocks with different variants of 5-HTTLPR are not compatible. It is true that people with two short variants feel better in a good relationship and renounce more into a bad marriage.
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