The dopamine D4 receptor gene contains a polymorphic sequence consisting of a variable number of 48-base-pair (bp) repeats, and there have been a number of reports that this polymorphism is associated with variation in novelty seeking or in substance abuse and addictive behaviors. In this study we have assessed the linkage and association of DRD4 genotype with novelty seeking, alcohol use, and ...

Purpose: Suicidal behavior can be regarded as the consequence of the co-occurence of a personality characteristic underlying vulnerability and of state-dependent psychiatric problems. Further research has shown that personality characteristics including impulsivity and a disturbed regulation of anxiety or aggression may represent risk factors for suicidal behavior. The purpose of this study was...

BACKGROUND Exploration and novelty seeking are cross-species adaptive behaviors that are dysregulated in bipolar disorder (BD) and are critical features of the illness. While these behaviors have been extensively quantified in animals, multivariate human paradigms of exploration are lacking. The human Behavioral Pattern Monitor (hBPM), a human version of the animal open field, identified a sign...

The desire to seek new and unfamiliar experiences is a fundamental behavioral tendency in humans and other species. In economic decision making, novelty seeking is often rational, insofar as uncertain options may prove valuable and advantageous in the long run. Here, we show that, even when the degree of perceptual familiarity of an option is unrelated to choice outcome, novelty nevertheless dr...

CONTEXT Brain neurochemistry can partially account for personality traits as a variance of normal human behavior, as has been demonstrated for monoamine neurotransmission. Positron emission tomography using fluorine 18-labeled MK-9470 now enables quantification of type 1 cannabinoid receptors (CB1R) in the brain. OBJECTIVE To investigate whether there is a relationship between human temperame...

The Tridimensional Personality Questionnaire (TPQ) was developed by Cloninger (1986) to measure heritable variation in three patterns of response to environmental stimuli: novelty seeking, harm avoidance, and reward dependence. Cloninger (1987) used the TPQ to identify two types of alcoholism: Type 1 (low novelty seeking, high harm avoidance and reward dependence; both male and female) and Type...

Novelty seeking as a behavioral phenomenon emerges as a compromise between approach and avoidance behavior. Although novelty seeking is thought to play a role in drug abuse and in cognition, the biological basis for this construct is poorly understood. At a genetic level, dopamine D4 receptors (D4R) appear to be critical for the behavioral expression of novelty seeking. In humans, polymorphisms...