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Dopamine transporter density and novelty seeking among alcoholics
T P Laine1, A Ahonen, P Räsänen
1Department of Psychiatry, University of Oulu, Finland. plaine@sun3.oulu.fi
Objective:
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.
Method:
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).
Results:
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.
Conclusion:
Among alcoholics, NS correlated positively with DAT density, which is in line with Cloninger's theory concerning personality and character.