by Emily Kane for Concrete Wave Magazine
How Your Genes Affect Your Skate Decisions
Ever wonder why some of your friends can’t get into longboarding? Or any thrill seeking at all? There must be something that sets us apart from one another to define how we react to more-risky situations. Whether its bombing a hill on your longboard or taking a dicey gamble in Vegas, you may rise to the challenge while some of your friends back down from uncertainty. Well, now you can tell them to blame their parents. Recent research links the personality trait for “thrill seeking,” also known as “sensation seeking” to your genes.
Cynthia Thomson, a Ph.D student at the University of British Columbia, is at the helm of this research. In one study, she compared people’s genetics with their scores on a series of personality tests related to thrill seeking and found a significant association between a particular gene and thrill-seeking behaviour.
Thomson’s study focused on skiers and snowboarders, but it may relate to other forms of risk taking as well, and thus may also help others; the same genetic link that applies to thrill seeking also has a relationship with drug usage. While some people take up longboarding and other sports to satisfy their sensation-seeking cravings, others may turn to drugs to attain the same gratification.
