title: Sources of Cognitive Exploration: Genetic Variation in the Prefrontal Dopamine System Predicts Openness/Intellect.
abstract: The personality trait Openness/Intellect reflects the tendency to be imaginative, curious, perceptive, artistic, and intellectual-all characteristics that involve cognitive exploration. Little is known about the biological basis of Openness/Intellect, but the trait has been linked to cognitive functions of prefrontal cortex, and the neurotransmitter dopamine plays a key role in motivation to explore. The hypothesis that dopamine is involved in Openness/Intellect was supported by examining its association with two genes that are central components of the prefrontal dopaminergic system. In two demographically different samples (children: N = 608; adults: N = 214), variation in the dopamine D4 receptor gene (DRD4) and the catechol-O-methyltransferase gene (COMT) predicted Openness/Intellect, as main effects in the child sample and in interaction in adults.
authors.affiliation: University of Minnesota.
authors.forename: Colin G
authors.initials: CG
authors.lastname: Deyoung
authors.forename: Dante
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Cicchetti
authors.forename: Fred A
authors.initials: FA
authors.lastname: Rogosch
authors.forename: Jeremy R
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: Gray
authors.forename: Maria
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Eastman
authors.forename: Elena L
authors.initials: EL
authors.lastname: Grigorenko