Related Articles

Testosterone Exposure, Dopaminergic Reward, and Sensation-Seeking in Young Men.

Physiol Behav. 2009 Dec 16;

Authors: Campbell BC, Dreber A, Apicella CL, Eisenberg DT, Gray PB, Little AC, Garcia JR, Zamore RS, Lum JK

To test the relationship between androgen exposure, dopaminergic reward and sensation- seeking, we compared variation in salivary testosterone (T), 2D:4D digit ratio, facial masculinity, Zuckerman's sensation-seeking scale (SSS) and the D4 dopamine receptor (DRD4) genes from 98 young men, between the ages of 18 and 23years. In univariate analyses, both salivary T and facial masculinity were significantly correlated with the SSS boredom susceptibility subscale, while the presence of the 7-repeat allele (7R+) in the dopamine receptor D4 gene was associated with the SSS thrill & adventure-seeking and overall sensation-seeking. Neither left nor right 2D:4D digit ratio was associated with any sensation-seeking scale. In multivariate models, salivary T and facial masculinity were significant predictors of SSS boredom susceptibility, while 7R+ was a significant predictor of SSS thrill & adventure-seeking. For overall SSS, both 7R+ and salivary T were significant predictors. There was no significant interaction of 7R+ and androgen exposure for SSS or any of the SSS subscales. These results add to earlier reports of an association between T and sensation-seeking. In addition, our results also indicate that genetic variation in DRD4 is indenpendently associated with SSS sensation-seeking.

PMID: 20026092 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]