Polymorphisms of DRD4 and DRD3 and risk of avoidant and obsessive personality traits and disorders

• Published in: Psychiatry research Vol. 119; no. 1; pp. 1 - 10
• Main Authors: Joyce, Peter R., Rogers, Geraldine R., Miller, Allison L., Mulder, Roger T., Luty, Suzanne E., Kennedy, Martin A.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Shannon Elsevier Ireland Ltd 15.07.2003; Elsevier
• Subjects: Adult; Adult and adolescent clinical studies; Alleles; Avoidant personality; Biological and medical sciences; Character; Depression; Dopamine 3 receptor; Dopamine 4 receptor; Exons - genetics; Exploratory Behavior - physiology; Female; Fluoxetine - administration & dosage; Fluoxetine - therapeutic use; Genotype; Humans; Male; Medical sciences; Mood disorders; Nortriptyline - administration & dosage; Nortriptyline - therapeutic use; Novelty seeking; Obsessive personality; Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder - drug therapy; Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder - genetics; Personality disorders; Personality Disorders - drug therapy; Personality Disorders - genetics; Polymerase Chain Reaction; Polymorphism, Genetic - genetics; Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry; Psychopathology. Psychiatry; Receptors, Dopamine D2 - genetics; Receptors, Dopamine D3; Receptors, Dopamine D4; Risk Factors; Serotonin Uptake Inhibitors - administration & dosage; Serotonin Uptake Inhibitors - therapeutic use; Temperament; Trinucleotide Repeats - genetics; Novelty seeking; Avoidant personality; Obsessive personality; Dopamine 4 receptor; Dopamine 3 receptor; Mood disorder; Human; D4 Dopamine receptor; Obsessional personality; Depression; Personality; Genetic determinism; Temperament; Personality disorder; D3 Dopamine receptor; Sensation seeking; Symptomatology; Concomitant disease; Follow up study; Risk factor; Genetics; Comparative study; Novelty; Polymorphism
• ISSN: 0165-1781; 1872-7123
• DOI: 10.1016/S0165-1781(03)00124-0

We investigated whether polymorphisms of the dopamine D4 receptor ( DRD4) and polymorphisms of the dopamine D3 receptor ( DRD3) were associated with personality disorder symptomatology rather than with personality traits such as novelty seeking. DNA was obtained from 145 depressed patients in a clinical trial. These patients were assessed for the presence of personality disorder symptoms and disorders. The 2-repeat allele of the DRD4 exon III polymorphism was associated with increased rates of avoidant and obsessive personality disorder symptomatology. The T,T genotype of the DRD4 −521 C>T polymorphism was also associated with increased rates of avoidant and obsessive personality disorder symptomatology. The Gly9,Gly9 genotype of the DRD3 Ser9Gly polymorphism was associated with increased rates of obsessive personality disorder symptomatology. None of these three polymorphisms were associated with novelty seeking or other temperament traits on the Temperament and Character Inventory. Our results suggest that genetic polymorphisms of DRD4 and DRD3 may well be associated with personality traits, and that conflicting findings to date may arise from the problem of phenotype definition.