Are You Hardwired to Be Perpetually Single?

RELATED: Here’s Why the Less You Have Sex, the Less You Actually Want It

For the study, researchers took samples of the 121 study participants’ saliva to test for levels of methylation on the oxytocin gene. What they found was that folks who had a more methylated version of oxytocin were also more likely to report being less social. These people also had less activity and volume in the areas of their brain that are linked to sociability. Participants with a less methylated oxytocin gene reported being more social, and were better at “reading” other people. It was as if their brains seemed better primed for sociability.

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What does all this mean, exactly? Basically, it helps explain why some people crave companionship more than others. Not only that, it shows that there’s nothing wrong with you if you’re not a “relationship person.” It’s just the way your brain functions—due to a variety of hard-to-determine factors that influence your genes. And that’s totally OK.