Dopamine transporter density and novelty seeking Among alcoholics

The aim of this study was to investigate a putative association between the personality trait of novelty seeking (NS) and dopaminergic neuronal activity in the human brain. We studied the striatal dopamine transporter (DAT) density of 30 (18 early and 12 late-onset) alcoholics and 26 healthy control...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of addictive diseases 2001-01, Vol.20 (4), p.91-96
Main Authors: LAINE, T. Pekka J, AHONEN, Aapo, RÄSÄNEN, Pirkko, TIIHONEN, Jari
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adult
Aged
Alcoholism
Alcoholism - genetics
Alcoholism - metabolism
Alcoholism - psychology
Alcoholism and acute alcohol poisoning
Biological and medical sciences
Corpus Striatum - metabolism
Dopamine Plasma Membrane Transport Proteins
Exploratory Behavior - physiology
Female
Finland
Humans
Male
Medical sciences
Membrane Glycoproteins
Membrane Transport Proteins - analysis
Membrane Transport Proteins - genetics
Membrane Transport Proteins - metabolism
Middle Aged
Nerve Tissue Proteins
Neurology
Personality
Psychiatric Status Rating Scales
Tomography, Emission-Computed, Single-Photon
Toxicology
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Summary:The aim of this study was to investigate a putative association between the personality trait of novelty seeking (NS) and dopaminergic neuronal activity in the human brain. We studied the striatal dopamine transporter (DAT) density of 30 (18 early and 12 late-onset) alcoholics and 26 healthy controls with beta-CIT ([123I]-2-beta-carbomethoxy-3-beta-(4-iodophenyl)-tropane) and SPET (Single Photon Emission Tomography); personality traits were assessed with the Tridimensional Personality Questionnaire (TPQ). DAT density correlated significantly with both NS (r = 0.46, p = 0.011) and age (r = -0.50, p = 0.005) in the alcoholics, generally. NS scores were higher in alcoholics with antisocial personality disorder (p = 0.004) than among other alcoholics. Among alcoholics, NS correlated positively with DAT density, which is in line with Cloninger's theory concerning personality and character.
ISSN:1055-0887
1545-0848