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Dopamine D4 receptor gene (DRD4) is associated with Novelty Seeking (NS) and substance abuse: the saga continues . . .

Molecular Psychiatry volume 6, pages 497–499 (2001)Cite this article

Ebstein1 first highlighted the saga of an ‘adventure gene’: the dopamine D4 receptor gene (DRD4) and its association with substance abuse and personality. This was followed with a report by Baron2 who suggested that this saga is sagging due to conflicting reports emerging. It now appears that the saga continues with ‘severity of dependence’ to substance abuse, another variable that may be pertinent to the DRD4 association.3

In 1996, Ebstein and colleagues4 examined DRD4 and its association with the human personality trait Novelty Seeking (NS) in a sample of healthy volunteers recruited from an unrelated. Israeli staff/student population. Using Cloninger's Tridimensional Personality Questionnaire (TPQ)5 to measure NS (high novelty seekers are characterized by their impulsive and exploratory behaviour), they reported an association between the DRD4 gene and normal human personality. They analyzed TPQ scores and frequency of DRD4 exon III repeat polymorphisms in 124 samples and found that subjects with the seven-repeat allele exhibited significantly higher NS scores when compared to subjects lacking the seven-repeat allele. This association did not appear to be due to population stratification as it was independent of ethnicity, age or sex of the subjects (69 men, 55 women, mean age 29.8 years).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, London Guildhall University, Calcutta House, Old Castle Street, London, E1 7NT, UK

    J M Lusher & C Chandler

  2. Social, Genetic and Developmental, Psychiatry Research Centre, Institute of Psychiatry, Denmark Hill, London, SE5 8AF, UK

    D Ball

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  1. J M Lusher
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  2. C Chandler
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  3. D Ball
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Correspondence to J M Lusher.

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Lusher, J., Chandler, C. & Ball, D. Dopamine D4 receptor gene (DRD4) is associated with Novelty Seeking (NS) and substance abuse: the saga continues . . .. Mol Psychiatry 6, 497–499 (2001). https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.mp.4000918

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