title: Agentic extraversion modulates the cardiovascular effects of the dopamine D2 agonist bromocriptine.
abstract: A recent psychobiological theory postulates a dopaminergic basis for the agency facet of extraversion, leading to the prediction that this personality trait modulates the psychophysiological effects of dopaminergic drugs. A single dose of the dopamine D2 receptor agonist bromocriptine reduces blood pressure in healthy volunteers. However, it is currently unknown whether this hypotensive effect of bromocriptine is modulated by agentic extraversion. Therefore, we measured resting cardiovascular activation in groups of healthy male volunteers either high or low in agentic extraversion, either under bromocriptine (1.25 mg) or placebo. Focusing the analyses on activation components derived from 18 cardiovascular variables, we found that bromocriptine reduces alpha-adrenergic activation in the sample as a whole, whereas the effects on beta-adrenergic and cholinergic activation are modulated by agentic extraversion.
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Psychology, Philipps-Universität Marburg, Marburg, Germany. wackerj@staff.uni-marburg.de
authors.forename: Jan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Wacker
authors.forename: Gerhard
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Stemmler
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001971:Bromocriptine / Q000494:pharmacology*; D018491:Dopamine Agonists / Q000494:pharmacology*; D005120:Extraversion, Psychological; D006439:Hemodynamics / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010551:Personality / Q000502:physiology*; D017448:Receptors, Dopamine D2 / Q000819:agonists*
chemical_list: D018491:Dopamine Agonists; D017448:Receptors, Dopamine D2; D001971:Bromocriptine