Abstract
For several years, theory and research in Personality Neuroscience has linked dopamine function with various aspects of personality and individual differences. This literature builds on research in basic neuroscience concerning the role of dopamine in behavior and experience, with the aim of understanding the ways in which this neurotransmitter system influences regularities in behavior and experience. We organized this special issue on “Dopaminergic Foundations of Personality and Individual Differences” with the goal of illuminating the diversity of roles that dopamine plays in personality and individual differences. To introduce this topic, we provide a brief sketch of the current understanding of the functions of the dopamine system. In doing so, we place the diverse contributions to this research topic in the context of this rich, evolving literature.
Highlights
THEORETICAL INTEGRATION How can we make coherent sense of the variety of individual differences phenomena in which dopamine appears to be involved? In the final article in our special issue, DeYoung proposes that the over-arching function of the dopamine system is to promote exploration, which he divides into cognitive exploration and behavioral exploration
His model provides an elegant framework for integrating the various contributions to this special issue, as well as the broader literature concerning the dopaminergic foundations of personality and individual differences
SUMMARY AND OUTLOOK The sixteen articles in this special issue are a testament to the significant advances that have been made in personality neuroscience and related fields in recent years
Summary
Theory and research in Personality Neuroscience has linked dopamine function with various aspects of personality and individual differences. The mesocortical dopamine pathway (projecting from the ventral tegmental area to the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex and the anterior cingulate cortex) is implicated in higher cognitive functions such as working memory and decision-making (Robbins et al, 1996; Arnsten, 1998; Floresco and Magyar, 2006). These appear strikingly different to the motivational functions of the mesolimbic dopamine system, mental representations and operations seem likely to facilitate motivated action. A later iteration of this theory has related mesocortical dopamine to cognitive deficits (e.g., executive dysfunction) and negative symptoms (e.g., anhedonia), and mesolimbic dopamine to positive symptoms (e.g., hallucinations and delusions) (Lindenmayer et al, 2013)
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