Addiction may be linked to a retrovirus

What is a retrovirus? A retrovirus is a virus that can inject their DNA into the genome of the host in order to replicate. One of the first known retroviruses was the human immunodeficiency virus or HIV.

A team of researchers from the universities of Oxford and Athens, found a virus named HK2, which is present in all humans, to be found in the RASGRF2 gene, which increases the activity of dopamine in the brain.

According to the findings, such retroviral presence happens in about 5% to 10% of people and have a predisposition to addictive behavior.