No Association Between Novelty Seeking and the Type 4 Dopamine Receptor Gene (DRD4) in Two New Zealand Samples

OBJECTIVE: In 1986 and 1987, Cloninger postulated the existence of the heritable behavioral trait of novelty seeking and its putative underpinnings in the dopaminergic systems of the ventral midbrain. Two widely reported studies found significant associations between novelty seeking and the type 4 d...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:The American journal of psychiatry 1998-01, Vol.155 (1), p.98-101
Main Authors: Sullivan, Patrick F., Fifield, Wendy J., Kennedy, Martin A., Mulder, Roger T., Sellman, J. Douglas, Joyce, Peter R.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adult
Alcoholism - diagnosis
Alcoholism - genetics
Alcoholism - psychology
Alleles
Behavior
Biological and medical sciences
Depressive Disorder - diagnosis
Depressive Disorder - genetics
Depressive Disorder - psychology
Exploratory Behavior - physiology
Female
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
Genes
Genetics
Humans
Male
Mesencephalon - physiology
New Zealand
Personality - genetics
Personality Inventory
Personality traits
Personality. Affectivity
Polymorphism, Genetic
Psychiatry
Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry
Psychology. Psychophysiology
Receptors, Dopamine D2 - genetics
Receptors, Dopamine D2 - physiology
Receptors, Dopamine D4
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Summary:OBJECTIVE: In 1986 and 1987, Cloninger postulated the existence of the heritable behavioral trait of novelty seeking and its putative underpinnings in the dopaminergic systems of the ventral midbrain. Two widely reported studies found significant associations between novelty seeking and the type 4 dopamine receptor gene (DRD4), although a more recent study did not. The authors' objective was to investigate this association in two New Zealand samples. METHOD: The authors studied two nonoverlapping samples: subjects in a depression treatment trial (N=86) and subjects from 14 pedigrees dense with alcoholism (N=181). DRD4 genotyping was based on a standard protocol. RESULTS: Novelty seeking and DRD4 were not statistically associated. CONCLUSIONS: In these samples, there was no suggestion that the DRD4 polymorphism contributed to individual differences in the behavioral trait of novelty seeking. (Am J Psychiatry 1998; 155:98-101)
ISSN:0002-953X
1535-7228
DOI:10.1176/ajp.155.1.98