Association between novelty seeking and dopamine receptor D4 (DRD4) exon III polymorphism in Japanese subjects

In this study, we investigated the association between dopamine receptor D4 (DRD4) exon III polymorphism and novelty seeking in 69 Japanese women. The group of subjects with long allele (greater than or equal to 5 repeats) ex hibited significantly elevated novelty seeking scores in comparison with su bjects lacking the long allele, By contrast, the scores for harm avoidance, reward dependence, and persistence were statistically indistinguishable in the two group of subjects. With regard to the subscales of novelty seeking , the scores for exploratory excitability and extravagance were significant ly higher in subjects with the long allele than in subjects lacking the lon g allele, However, no significant associations with impulsiveness or disord erliness were recognized. Our results suggest that although long alleles of the polymorphic exon III repeats are low in the Japanese population, there is an association between long alleles of DRD4 exon III polymorphism and n ovelty seeking. (C) 1999 Wiley-Liss, Inc.