Although it can have a significantly negative impact on a person’sย quality of life, whether compulsive sexual behavior qualifies as a medical condition is still aย matter of debate.
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But does compulsive sexual behavior have any underlying biological factors, and if so, which? Researchers have recently tried to find an answer to this question.
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The goal was to find out whether any epigenetic modifications were specific to the participants with compulsive sexual behavior.
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The team found two specific DNA regions with particular modifications that were only present in individuals with compulsive sexual behavior. These were associated withย MIR708ย andย MIR4456, the genes that encode the microRNA molecules of the same names.
One of these forms of microRNA, miRNA4456, normally helps regulate the expression of genes that are involved in the regulation ofย oxytocin, also called the “love hormone” because it is involved in sexual behavior and pair bonding.
Because theย MIR4456ย gene is affected in people with compulsive sexual behavior, this could mean that they produce unusually high levels of oxytocin, which may lead to unwanted symptoms. However, the researchers emphasize that, so far, this is only a hypothesis โ they have not yet been able to confirm it.
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