title: Salivary alpha-amylase levels and big five personality factors in adults.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Salivary alpha-amylase (sAA) has been utilized as a non-invasive measure of sympathoadrenal medullary (SAM) activation. Little is known regarding the relationship between personality inventories and baseline sAA. This study was designed to examine the relationships between the scores of big five inventory (BFI) factors, age, and sAA in adults (aged twenty to seventy years old).
  
  
  METHODS
  We assessed 97 participants' BFI scores and sAA. The correlations between the BFI factor scores and sAA were examined.
  
  
  RESULTS
  We observed (1) a positive correlation between Neuroticism and sAA, and a negative correlation between Agreeableness and sAA and (2) a positive correlation between age and sAA. These correlations between BFI scores and sAA remained significant after controlling for age. After controlling for age, all BFI factors except Conscientiousness were related to sAA.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Subjects with high Neuroticism and low Extraversion, Agreeableness and Openness may have high sAA. sAA has been demonstrated to be useful for examining the relationship between adrenergic activity and personality, in a non-invasive manner.
authors.affiliation: Department of Economics, Hokkaido University, Sapporo, Japan.
authors.forename: Keigo
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Inukai
authors.forename: Mizuho
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Shinada
authors.forename: Shigehito
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Tanida
authors.forename: Chisato
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Takahashi
authors.forename: Nobuhiro
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Mifune
authors.forename: Haruto
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Takagishi
authors.forename: Yutaka
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Horita
authors.forename: Hirofumi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Hashimoto
authors.forename: Kunihiro
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Yokota
authors.forename: Tatsuya
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kameda
authors.forename: Toshio
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Yamagishi
authors.forename: Taiki
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Takahashi
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010551:Personality; D010555:Personality Inventory; D012463:Saliva / Q000201:enzymology*; D055291:Salivary alpha-Amylases / Q000378:metabolism*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
chemical_list: D055291:Salivary alpha-Amylases