Clinic for Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy, Johannes Gutenberg University of Mainz, Mainz, Germany.
Neuropsychobiology. 2011;63(1):52-8. doi: 10.1159/000322291. Epub 2010 Nov 9.
Personality and temperament embrace a wide area of both psychological and behavioral processes which are also based on disposition. A functional polymorphism in exon III of the dopamine D4 receptor gene (DRD4) has been a highly suspect genetic marker for personality in spite of ambiguous results. The present study aimed to further elucidate the relationship between DRD4, negative life events and personality in a representative nonclinical sample. Hundred sixty-seven Germans completed the NEO Five-Factor Inventory, the Tridimensional Personality Questionnaire and the California Adult Q-Sort. A factor analysis revealed 3 factors: emotional stability, social orientation and impulsivity. DNA from buccal cells was genotyped for the DRD4 variable-number tandem-repeat exon III polymorphism with respect to presence versus absence of the DRD4 7-repeat allele. Adverse life events were assessed by means of the Adverse Life Events Scale. Men carrying the DRD4 7-repeat allele were more impulsive than those without. Male 7-repeat carriers were more emotionally instable than others, but only when they experienced a large amount of negative life events. No genotype-personality relationships were found for women. The results indicate gender-specific influences of the DRD4 gene on human behavior and invite researchers to further investigate gene-environment correlations on personality traits.
人格和气质涵盖了广泛的心理和行为过程，这些过程也基于性格。多巴胺 D4 受体基因（DRD4）外显子 III 的功能多态性一直是人格的一个高度可疑的遗传标志物，尽管结果并不明确。本研究旨在进一步阐明在代表性非临床样本中，DRD4、负性生活事件与人格之间的关系。167 名德国人完成了 NEO 五因素人格问卷、三维人格问卷和加利福尼亚成人 Q 分类。因子分析显示有 3 个因素：情绪稳定性、社会取向和冲动性。根据是否存在 DRD4 7 重复等位基因，从颊细胞中提取 DNA，对 DRD4 可变数量串联重复外显子 III 多态性进行基因分型。通过生活事件量表评估负性生活事件。携带 DRD4 7 重复等位基因的男性比不携带的男性更冲动。男性 7 重复携带者比其他人更不稳定，但只有当他们经历大量的负面生活事件时才会如此。没有发现女性的基因型-人格关系。研究结果表明，DRD4 基因对人类行为有性别特异性影响，并邀请研究人员进一步研究人格特质的基因-环境相关性。
