Garret LoPorto’s DaVinci Method Blog

How do 10% of people have the DaVinci personality?

April 18th, 2006

Can you source the stat saying that 10% of people have the DaVinci personality?
Thanks,
Stacy

The 10% of people have the DaVinci personality is a conservative estimate based on the entire world population. This estimate is much higher in the U.S., probably closer to 25%.

In a recent Mayo Clinic study, the lowest and most conservative estimate was that ADHD had an occurrence rate of 7.5%. There is a well established connection between the gene DRD4 7R and ADHD. The DRD4 7R has a global occurrence rate of about 20%. We presume this gene is not active in all of its carriers and thus put forth a conservative estimate that 10% of the world population has an activated DRD4 R7 gene which leads to an impulsive (creative), risk-taking, sensation seeking (distractible), disposition. We call this disposition the “DaVinci” temperament.

What is also interesting to note is that the U.S. population has been shown to have a much higher rate of the genetic DRD4 7R occurrence at 48.3%! That means that in America, 25% of the population is likely to have some form of the DaVinci temperament trait. Meanwhile there can be places in the U.S. with abnormally high concentrations of this DaVinci trait. USA Today reported a certain school district in Virginias had 63% of its students diagnosed ADHD.

Source: Mayo Clinic
Posted: March 20, 2002
A 2002 Mayo Clinic study found that the lowest and most conservative estimate of AD/HD occurrence among the study subjects was 7.5 percent by age 19, based on research criteria for AD/HD.

“Association of the 7-repeat allele of the D4 dopamine receptor (DRD4) exon 3 polymorphism with attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder is well-established.” Neuropsychopharmacol Hung. 2005 Sep;7(3):125-31.

“DRD4 [is] significantly associated to ADHD according to the present meta-analysis, confirming previous ones.”

Encephale. 2005 Jul-Aug;31(4 Pt 1):437-47.
Meta-analysis of candidate genes in attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder
CHU Robert-Debre (AP-HP, Paris VII), 75019 Paris.

The gene DRD4 7R allele has been shown to lead to impulsiveness, sensation seeking (distractibility), and risk-taking behavior. This gene’s frequency has been said to “differ considerably among … different populations.” The 7-repeat allele had a global mean = 20.6%, appearing quite frequently in the Americas (mean frequency = 48.3%) but only occasionally in East and South Asia (mean frequency = 1.9%).

1996 Jul;98(1):91-101. Department of Genetics, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT 06520-8005, USA

Entry Filed under: ADD & ADHD, Adult ADD, For DaVincis