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Updated: Aug 15, 2026

Three Laboratory Procedures for Assessing Different Manifestations of Impulsivity in Rats
Published on: March 17, 2019
Genetic influences on impulsivity, risk taking, stress responsivity and vulnerability to drug abuse and addiction
Mary Jeanne Kreek1, David A Nielsen, Eduardo R Butelman
1Laboratory of the Biology of Addictive Diseases, The Rockefeller University, New York, New York, USA. kreek@rockefeller.edu
Abstract:
Genetic variation may partially underlie complex personality and physiological traits--such as impulsivity, risk taking and stress responsivity--as well as a substantial proportion of vulnerability to addictive diseases. Furthermore, personality and physiological traits themselves may differentially affect the various stages of addiction, defined chronologically as initiation of drug use, regular drug use, addiction/dependence and potentially relapse. Here we focus on recent approaches to the study of genetic variation in these personality and physiological traits, and their influence on and interaction with addictive diseases.
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