title: The relationships between androgens and novelty seeking in healthy Japanese men.
abstract: Androgens are associated with behavioral traits, such as sensation seeking, extraversion, and novelty seeking in humans and other animals. This study investigated whether the levels of total testosterone, free testosterone, and dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate (DHEA-S) in serum were associated with personality traits related to novelty seeking (NS) and its subscales in healthy Japanese male subjects (n=178). Novelty seeking was assessed using Cloninger׳s Temperament and Character Inventory (TCI). The values of the three hormones were log transformed to normalize the data and to allow the use of parametric statistics. Statistical analysis was performed using multiple stepwise regression analysis. There were no associations between the total scores of NS and total testosterone, free testosterone, or DHEA-S. However, free testosterone was slightly but significantly associated with extravagance (NS3), a subscale of novelty seeking. These results indicate the possibility that free testosterone has a small influence on novelty seeking in healthy Japanese male subjects, whereas total testosterone and DHEA-S have no influence. Additional TCI-based studies of the association between novelty seeking and androgens are needed to confirm our findings.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neuropsychiatry, Graduate School of Medicine, Hirosaki University, Hirosaki, Japan.
authors.forename: Shoko
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Tsuchimine
authors.affiliation: Department of Neuropsychiatry, Graduate School of Medicine, Hirosaki University, Hirosaki, Japan.
authors.forename: Ayako
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Kaneda
authors.affiliation: Department of Neuropsychiatry, Graduate School of Medicine, Hirosaki University, Hirosaki, Japan.
authors.forename: Kazuhiko
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Nakamura
authors.affiliation: Department of Neuropsychiatry, Graduate School of Medicine, Hirosaki University, Hirosaki, Japan. Electronic address: yasufuru@cc.hirosaki-u.ac.jp.
authors.forename: Norio
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Yasui-Furukori
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D019314:Dehydroepiandrosterone Sulfate / Q000097:blood*; D005106:Exploratory Behavior / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D007564:Japan; D008297:Male; D010555:Personality Inventory / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D011594:Psychometrics; D012016:Reference Values; D013223:Statistics as Topic; D013694:Temperament; D013739:Testosterone / Q000097:blood*; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D013739:Testosterone; D019314:Dehydroepiandrosterone Sulfate
keywords: DHEA-S; Free testosterone; Men; Novelty seeking; TCI; Testosterone