title: An interaction between the norepinephrine transporter and monoamine oxidase A polymorphisms, and novelty-seeking personality traits in Korean females.
abstract: The personality traits associated with the noradrenergic system have not yet been clearly established. In the present study, we investigated the variable number of tandem repeats (VNTR) polymorphism of the norepinephrine transporter (NET) and monoamine oxidase A (MAOA), which are major components of the adrenergic system, to elucidate their relationship with personality. A total of 245 normal female Koreans (age 23.05+/-3.07 years, mean+/-SD) volunteered to take part in this study. They filled out a Korean version of the Temperament and Character Inventory (TCI) and were genotyped for the NET and MAOA-VNTR; the NET T-182C and MAOA-uVNTR polymorphisms were checked. We found significant main effect of NET genotype on novelty seeking (NS) score (F=5.43, p=0.021) and significant interaction between the NET and MAOA-uVNTR polymorphisms on NS score (F=11.06, p=0.001). However, there were no relationship between MAOA-uVNTR polymorphisms and NS score, and no association with other temperamental dimensions and these two polymorphisms. Our findings suggest that this functional polymorphism in the noradrenergic gene is associated with novelty seeking in Korean females.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Hangang Sacred Heart Hospital, Hallym University Medical Center, Seoul, South Korea.
authors.forename: Boung-Chul
authors.initials: BC
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Jae-Won
authors.initials: JW
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.forename: So-Hee
authors.initials: SH
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Seung-Hyun
authors.initials: SH
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Sook-Haeng
authors.initials: SH
authors.lastname: Joe
authors.forename: In-Kwa
authors.initials: IK
authors.lastname: Jung
authors.forename: Ihn-Geun
authors.initials: IG
authors.lastname: Choi
authors.forename: Byung-Joo
authors.initials: BJ
authors.lastname: Ham
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D005106:Exploratory Behavior / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D005787:Gene Frequency; D005838:Genotype; D006801:Humans; D007723:Korea / Q000208:ethnology; D018598:Minisatellite Repeats / Q000235:genetics; D008995:Monoamine Oxidase / Q000235:genetics*; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D050484:Norepinephrine Plasma Membrane Transport Proteins / Q000235:genetics*; D010551:Personality / Q000235:genetics*; D010555:Personality Inventory; D011110:Polymorphism, Genetic
chemical_list: D050484:Norepinephrine Plasma Membrane Transport Proteins; D008995:Monoamine Oxidase