‘Happiness gene’ in brain determines basic levels of contentment

People tend to be more or less satisfied with their lives depending on what form of the gene they have. The 5-HTT gene helps nerve cells recycle the signalling chemical serotonin, which is known to be linked to mood and depression.

It comes in “long” and “short” versions. Individuals who inherit two copies of the “long” variant, one from each parent, tend to be more content than those with other combinations.

The least happy were people born with two versions of the “short” gene, and recent research had already suggested those with short variants were vulnerable to depression when stressed.

Behavioural economist Jan-Emmanuel De Neve, from the London School of Economics and Political Science, said: “It has long been suspected that this gene plays a role in mental health but this is the first study to show that it is instrumental in shaping our individual happiness levels.”

The research was reported in the Journal of Human Genetics.