LACK OF EVIDENCE FOR ALLELIC ASSOCIATION BETWEEN PERSONALITY-TRAITS AND THE DOPAMINE D-4 RECEPTOR GENE POLYMORPHISMS

Objective: Personality traits in human subjects have shown considerabl e heritable components. Recently, two research groups reported associa tions between dopamine D-4 receptor genotypes and the personality trai t known as novelty seeking. This study was an attempt to replicate the se findings. Method: Three different exonic dopamine D-4 receptor poly morphisms were genotyped in 126 healthy Swedish subjects. Personality traits of the subjects were assessed with the Karolinska Scales of Per sonality. Results: Although there was a tendency in the direction hypo thesized, no significant association between genotype constellations a nd personality traits was found. Conclusions: The previously reported association between dopamine D-4 receptor alleles and novelty seeking was not replicated. Possible reasons for this include differences in p ersonality inventories, ethnicity, and type I or type II errors.