Novelty seeking and reward: Implications for the study of high-risk behaviors

Novelty seeking and sensation seeking are constructs useful in predicting h uman risk-taking behaviors. This predictive relation purportedly reflects s ome rewarding aspect of experiencing novelty. Research has confirmed this a ssumption. Rats display an increase in preference for an environment that h as been differentially paired with novel stimuli. The physiological mechani sms mediating this rewarding effect of novelty involve the neurotransmitter dopamine, whereas those controlling novelty seeking do not. The mechanisms involved in drug seeking and reward show parallel dissociations. This conc ordance between novelty and drug-abuse research suggests that novelty and d rug stimuli may interact in biologically and behaviorally meaningful ways. Indeed, preliminary research examining cocaine and novelty and published wo rk with amphetamines support this suggestion. There is clear need for furth er systematic research on novelty reward and related processes at all level s of analysis: genetic, biological, behavioral, and social.