Higher Levels Of Novelty Seeking Research Articles

Novel-object place conditioning in adolescent and adult male and female rats: effects of social isolation

Elevated levels of novelty seeking are often seen during adolescence. Recent studies using a conditioned place preference (CPP) paradigm have shown that novelty may be rewarding for adult rats. The present study explored the impact of age, sex, and isolation stress on novelty seeking and novelty reward by assessing novel object-induced CPP in adolescent and adult male and female Sprague–Dawley rats housed either socially or in isolation. Responding to the novel objects during conditioning was higher in adolescent animals than adults, and was suppressed by social isolation only in adulthood, particularly among males. Novel object CPP was strong among adolescent males, whereas only socially isolated adult males demonstrated preference for the compartment paired with the novel objects. This age difference was not evident in females, with both adolescent and adult group-housed females, but not their isolated counterparts, showing novel-object place conditioning. These dissociations between novelty-directed behaviors during conditioning and novelty reward in the CPP paradigm support the suggestion that mechanisms underlying novelty seeking are separable from those involved in the rewarding effects of novelty. High levels of novelty seeking demonstrated by adolescents do not necessarily predict high rewarding properties of novelty, with the latter also being influenced by environmental and gender-related factors.

Satisfaction with quality of life varies with temperament types of patients with schizophrenia.

We sought to explore the relationships of three temperament factors with domain-specific subjective quality of life (QOL) of patients with schizophrenia. Ninety patients with schizophrenia were evaluated using the Quality of Life Enjoyment and Life Satisfaction Questionnaire, the Tridimensional Personality Questionnaire, the Positive and Negative Syndromes Scale, the Distress Scale for Adverse Symptoms, the Insight and Treatment Attitudes Questionnaire, the Insight Self-Report Scale, and standardized questionnaires for self-reported emotional distress and stress process-related variables. Predictors of domain-specific QOL were identified using multiple regression techniques. Temperament factors explain 6% to 16% of variability in QOL domain scores among patients with schizophrenia after controlling for the remaining variables (emotional distress, social support, self-esteem, avoidance coping, age, side effects, and depression). We found that higher levels of novelty seeking are associated with better general QOL, physical health, and more positive subjective feelings, whereas higher levels of reward dependence are related to better satisfaction from social relationships. Higher levels of harm avoidance are associated with poorer satisfaction with general activities, and medication. Thus, temperament factors, as assessed by the Tridimensional Personality Questionnaire, substantially influence satisfaction with life quality in schizophrenia. Novelty seeking, reward dependence, and harm avoidance are associated with different domains of QOL.

Novelty seeking in periadolescent mice: sex differences and influence of intrauterine position

In rodents, beside basic sex differences, a certain degree of within-gender phenotypic variation can also be provided in utero by hormones from adjacent fetuses. We investigated novelty-seeking behavior in two groups of male and female mice from know intrauterine position: 2M (between males) and 0M (between females). Subjects were assessed during periadolescence (postnatal days 33–43), an ontogenetic phase, which is characterized by an elevated expression of this novelty-seeking behavior. Periadolescent mice underwent a familiarization session for 3 consecutive training days with one side of a two-chamber apparatus. On testing day 4, the opening of a partition, which allowed mice to freely move from the familiar compartment to a novel one, produced an increased behavioral arousal in all animals. Marked sex differences were found, with females being in general more active than males, whereas the latter showed significantly higher levels of novelty seeking than females. Uterine position failed to affect the profile of novelty preference in females, whereas within the male group 2M subjects expressed a marked profile of novelty seeking. The differential titers of sex hormones reported to characterize the 0M and 2M condition early in fetal development are suggested to account for the individual variability in the seeking for novelty within the male group during puberty.

Neuroendocrine correlates of temperamental traits in humans.

Studies investigating temperament traits in humans and their biological correlates have found high levels of novelty seeking (NS) linked with dopaminergic system changes, and particularly a deficit of dopamine transporter. Harm avoidance and reward dependence, on the other hand, appeared to be associated, respectively with serotonin and noradrenaline changes. In the present study, we have investigated the dopaminergic (DA), serotonergic (5-HT), and noradrenergic (NE) functions in healthy volunteers by challenging the monoamine systems with the DA agonist bromocriptine, the 5-HT agonist D-fenfluramine, and the NE agonist clonidine, respectively. Parallel to this investigation, we examined the temperament traits of our subjects by measuring NS, harm avoidance (HA) and reward dependence (RD) using the 'Three-dimensional Personality Questionnaire' (TPQ). The aims of the study were to see whether or not the monoamine functions were correlated with temperament traits. Bromocriptine challenge induced a significant GH increase and a significant suppression of PRL. D-fenfluramine test significantly increased PRL and cortisol plasma levels and Clonidine test induced a significant rise in GH values. NS scores showed a significant direct correlation with brom-stimulated GH values (r=0.426, P<0.05) and a significant inverse correlation with brom-inhibited PRL values (r=-0.498, P<0.01). HA scores correlated significantly with D-fen-stimulated PRL and CORT AUCs, (PRL: r=0.424, P<0.05; CORT: r=0. 595, P<0.005). RD scores correlated positively with clon-stimulated GH values (r=0.55; F=8.6; P<0.01) and negatively with brom-inhibited-PRL AUCs (r=-0.439, P<0.05). Our data support Cloninger theory concerning the biological correlates of temperamental traits, and evidence the link between the neuroendocrine responses to dynamic challenges and stable temperament features.

Relationship of temperament and perceptions of nonshared environment in bulimia nervosa.

Examine the relationship between temperament variables and perceptions of nonshared environment as they relate to bulimia nervosa. Fifty-seven adult women completed the Tridimensional Personality Questionnaire and the Sibling Inventory of Differential Experience. These measures provided assessments of frequently studied temperament traits as well as nonshared environmental factors believed to be associated with psychopathology and temperament. Bulimic subjects showed higher levels of harm avoidance than did control subjects. Also, bulimic subjects perceived their fathers as less affectionate and more controlling than control subjects. Among bulimics, high levels of harm avoidance were associated with high levels of maternal affection and low levels of maternal control. Similarly, among bulimics, high levels of novelty seeking were more likely to be associated with decreased paternal control than was true for control subjects. These findings highlight the possible relationship between particular temperamental variables and associated family responses in bulimia nervosa.

Dopamine D4 receptor exon III alleles and variation of novelty seeking in alcoholics.

A dysfunction of dopaminergic neurotansmission has been implicated in alcohol-seeking behavior. Recently, a significant association between the seven-repeat allele (DRD4*7R) of a 16 amino acid motif in the third exon of the dopamine D4 receptor gene (DRD4) and the personality trait of novelty seeking has been reported. Our population-based association study tested the hypothesis that the DRD4*7R variant predisposes to high levels of novelty seeking, which may underlie alcohol-seeking behavior. The genotypes of the expressed DRD4 exon III polymorphism were determined in 197 German controls and 252 German alcohol-dependent males, of whom 92 alcoholics completed the tridimensional personality questionnaire. We found no significant differences in the DRD4*7R frequencies between controls and alcoholics, including two subgroups (56 alcoholics with dissocial personality disorder according to ICD-10 and 89 alcoholics with severe withdrawal symptoms) with a high level of novelty seeking. The novelty-seeking scores did not differ significantly between alcoholics (including both subgroups) carrying long alleles with six or more repeats compared with those lacking long alleles. The present results do not provide evidence that the DRD4*7R allele contributes a common and relevant effect to alcohol-seeking behavior in our sample of alcoholics.

Psychopathology and personality of young women who experience food cravings

The objective of the present study was to investigate the psychopathology and personality characteristics of women who experience food cravings. A total of 101 young women selected at random from the community completed the Diagnostic Interview for Genetic Studies with a trained interviewer. The interview included a section about food-craving experiences and associated factors. Subjects also completed a self-report questionnaire booklet containing the Temperament and Character Inventory (TCI) and the Eating Disorder Inventory (EDI). Compared to noncravers, women who reported food cravings were significantly more likely to report a history of alcohol abuse/dependence ( p = .003), significant weight changes ( p = .003), and to have undertaken dieting ( p = .02), bingeing ( p = .05), vomiting ( p = .02), exercise ( p = .04), diet pill ( p = .03), and laxative use ( p = .01) to control weight. There was a trend for the cravers to have higher novelty-seeking scores on the TCI ( p = .06). Our findings suggest that women who experience food cravings are more likely to have met criteria for alcohol abuse/dependence and tend to have temperament characterized by higher levels of novelty seeking. In addition the high rates of eating-disorder symptomatology implies overconcern with body weight and shape in the women who experienced food cravings.