SOS: Save our Science - Last minute Christmas

Now that Christmas is drawing to a close our thoughts turn exuberantly towards the January sales. Blowing all of our new gift vouchers and our remaining money on last minute impulse buys. The good news for all of us is that we may be able to blame these rash choices on our genes.

Impulsivity is described as doing something without foresight, and understanding it has major implications for a range of psychiatric disorders as well as explaining what will be going on in the high street over the next few weeks. Impulsive behaviour is very complex and under the control of many genes. It has many aspects, most especially reduced inhibitions, but also including reduced attention span, limited awareness of consequences and inappropriate responses to rewards. Impulsive behaviour is also known to be inherited in some cases. This new study shows that it is possible to identify the genes involved in this behaviour.