Prediction of Detached Personality in Healthy Subjects by Low Dopamine Transporter Binding

OBJECTIVE: Low striatal dopamine D₂ receptor binding in healthy human subjects has been associated with detached personality in studies using positron emission tomography (PET) and the Karolinska Scales of Personality questionnaire. The authors investigated whether a similar correlation exists between striatal dopamine transporter binding and detached personality. METHOD: Eighteen healthy volunteers participated in a PET study with the specific dopamine transporter ligand [¹⁸F]CFT ([¹⁸F]WIN 35,428) and completed the Karolinska Scales of Personality questionnaire form. RESULTS: Age-corrected dopamine transporter binding in the putamen, but not in the caudate, correlated negatively with detachment personality scores, especially in the right hemisphere. CONCLUSIONS: This finding supports the hypothesis that low dopaminergic neurotransmission is associated with detached personality. Furthermore, since [¹⁸F]CFT binding is thought to reflect the density of dopaminergic nerve terminals in the brain, the authors suggest that the neurodevelopmental formation of the brain dopaminergic system may influence adult personality traits.