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A neurobiological learning model of personality
BIOL PSYCHIATRY 1989;25:67A-69A
Genetics of Personality
67A
mechanisms underlying the psychiatric disturbance and implications for psychiatry in this recently described disorder.
137 SEXUAL FUNCTION Alan R. Hirsch
IN PARKINSONISM
Chicago, IL The existence of sexual dysfunction in Parkinsonism has been known for almost 180 years. It is commonly said that Parkinsonism induces impotence in the male and impaired libido in both sexes. Pharmacologic management with L-dopa has been reported to reverse these and to actually cause the occurrence of hypersexuality in some patients. Neuroanatomically, sexual function is thought to require balance of serotonergic and dopaminergic neuron systems within the mesolimbic system. When a serotonergic predominance exists, sexual drive is inhibited. In Parkinson’s Disease, there is degeneration of dopaminergic neurons and pigmented nuclei, which have extensive interconnections with the limbic system. The loss of dopaminergic neurons could induce a relative serotonergic excess in the mesolimbic system, causing inhibition in libido in Parkinsonian patients. Mesencephalic dysfunction may also be the origin for impaired sexual function in Parkinson’s Disease. Finally, the afferent limb of the sexual response cycle may be qualitatively impaired due to perceived reduction in the amount of ejaculate in the posterior urethra during the emission phase of orgasm.
SYMPOSIUM GENETICS OF PERSONALITY Friday, May 5, 890 to 1190 Hilton Ballroom A
138 A NEUROBIOLOGICAL C. Robert Cloninger
LEARNING
MODEL OF PERSONALITY
St. Louis, A40 Personality can be defined in terms of individual differences in the activation, maintenance, and inhibition of behavior in response to specific patterns of stimulation or experience. This approach has led to the description of personality in terms of three higher-order dimensions of personality called novelty seeking, reward dependence, and harm avoidance. This is a developmental approach that distinguishes between the genetic and phenotypic structure of personality. Factor analytic studies will be presented that confirm the theoretically predicted structure in which twelve lower order factors arise from the interaction of three independent genetic factors and specific types of environmental stimuli. The stability of measures of these traits average .75 over six months. Neurobehavioral studies support a model of three interacting sets of chemically-coded neuromodulatory systems underlying personality. This approach can guide clinical assessment and studies of the functional organization of brain systems that modulate motivated behavior.
Genetics of Personality
67A
mechanisms underlying the psychiatric disturbance and implications for psychiatry in this recently described disorder.
137 SEXUAL FUNCTION Alan R. Hirsch
IN PARKINSONISM
Chicago, IL The existence of sexual dysfunction in Parkinsonism has been known for almost 180 years. It is commonly said that Parkinsonism induces impotence in the male and impaired libido in both sexes. Pharmacologic management with L-dopa has been reported to reverse these and to actually cause the occurrence of hypersexuality in some patients. Neuroanatomically, sexual function is thought to require balance of serotonergic and dopaminergic neuron systems within the mesolimbic system. When a serotonergic predominance exists, sexual drive is inhibited. In Parkinson’s Disease, there is degeneration of dopaminergic neurons and pigmented nuclei, which have extensive interconnections with the limbic system. The loss of dopaminergic neurons could induce a relative serotonergic excess in the mesolimbic system, causing inhibition in libido in Parkinsonian patients. Mesencephalic dysfunction may also be the origin for impaired sexual function in Parkinson’s Disease. Finally, the afferent limb of the sexual response cycle may be qualitatively impaired due to perceived reduction in the amount of ejaculate in the posterior urethra during the emission phase of orgasm.
SYMPOSIUM GENETICS OF PERSONALITY Friday, May 5, 890 to 1190 Hilton Ballroom A
138 A NEUROBIOLOGICAL C. Robert Cloninger
LEARNING
MODEL OF PERSONALITY
St. Louis, A40 Personality can be defined in terms of individual differences in the activation, maintenance, and inhibition of behavior in response to specific patterns of stimulation or experience. This approach has led to the description of personality in terms of three higher-order dimensions of personality called novelty seeking, reward dependence, and harm avoidance. This is a developmental approach that distinguishes between the genetic and phenotypic structure of personality. Factor analytic studies will be presented that confirm the theoretically predicted structure in which twelve lower order factors arise from the interaction of three independent genetic factors and specific types of environmental stimuli. The stability of measures of these traits average .75 over six months. Neurobehavioral studies support a model of three interacting sets of chemically-coded neuromodulatory systems underlying personality. This approach can guide clinical assessment and studies of the functional organization of brain systems that modulate motivated behavior.