Further evidence on the relationship between dopamine and novelty seeking: a neuroendocrine study

Abstract

In the biosocial model of Cloninger, three major personality dimensions, novelty seeking (NS), harm avoidance (HA), and reward dependence (RD) are dependent on central monoaminergic systems, respectively dopaminergic, serotonergic, and noradrenergic. This study investigated the relationships between these major personality dimensions and growth hormone (GH) responses to both apomorphine and clo-nidine challenge tests in healthy subjects. GH responses to apomorphine were significantly correlated with NS when peak relative values were considered (r = 0.47, P = 0.03). HA and RD did not show any relationships with the endocrine responses. In contrast, no significant relationship existed between GH responses to clonidine and any of the three temperament dimensions. These results gave another support of the hypothesized link between NS and dopaminergic central neurotransmission. In contrast, the results did not confirm the association between RD and noradrenergic central neurotransmission, probably because RD is poorly validated. This partial confirmation might suggest that the link between personality traits and neurotransmission systems is probably indirect.

Discriminating Depression, Physical and Social Anhedonia by Neurotransmitter Related Challenge Tests

“…The results obtained for Global Depression confirm previous findings that low DA responses are characteristic of depressed patients (Pitchot et al, 1992;Hansenne et al, 2002;Dailly et al, 2004), but beyond this, the combined effect of low and late responses also emphasises the finding published by Depue et al (1994) that the time of the prolactin response to a bromocriptine challenge test may be as essential as its size. While a low size of response could be due to low production of DA, the late decrease of prolactin could also be due to pharmacokinetic factors in the periphery, like absorption and metabolism, but late or early responding to noradrenergic or serotonergic stimulation did not match the early versus late dopaminergic responses in our sample, so that kinetic causes in the periphery are unlikely.…”

Relationships between Cloninger’s biosocial model of personality and the behavioral inhibition/approach systems (BIS/BAS)

“…Thus, they explicitly refer to BAS and BIS in their theoretical foundations. The neurobiological bases of NS and HA also reflect the proximity with BAS and BIS respectively, and were largely validated (e.g., Ebstein, Benjamin, & Belmaker, 2003;Gerra et al, 2000;Hansenne et al, 2002). Cloninger's dimensions are assessed by the 240-item self-questionnaire Temperament and Character Inventory, revised (TCI-R, Cloninger, 1999).…”

Associations between Cloninger's temperament dimensions and acute tobacco withdrawal

“…NS tends to be associated with low basal dopaminergic activity and is related to neural systems involved in behavioral activation and appetitive responses. NS is characterized by a tendency toward exploratory behavior in search of novel and rewarding stimuli, active avoidance and escape of aversive stimuli, impulsive responding, and extravagance in approach to cues of reward (Cloninger et al, 1993;Hansenne et al, 2002). High-NS individuals are characterized as quick tempered, curious, easily bored, impulsive, extravagant, and disorderly.…”