 |
 |
As Monty Python would say: "Now for something completely different." Well not completely. Thought you might like to here about Dopamine receptors for a change. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Cold Personality Linked to Cells Source: Associated Press NEW YORK - The Associated Press via Individual Inc. : Scientists have found a statistical link between a communication system in the brain and how cold and aloof a person is. - The work focused on what is known as a dopamine receptor. Many brain cells signal each other by sending out squirts of a substance called dopamine. The dopamine binds to a structure called a receptor on the receiving brain cell. - Scientists scanned the brains of 24 people and calculated the density of a type of receptor called D2 in one part of the brain. - They found that the lower the density of receptors a person had, the higher he or she tended to score in a measure of a personality trait called detachment. This trait includes a lack of closeness and warmth in relationships, and a tendency to avoid involvement with other people. - The receptor density itself probably doesn't influence the trait, said researcher Dr. Lars Farde. Instead, it probably reflects what's going on elsewhere in brain-cell circuitry that's related to the characteristic, he said. - Farde is a professor of psychiatry at the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, Sweden. He and colleagues reported the work in Thursday's issue of the journal Nature. - Scientists know very little about what determines the density of the D2 receptor, Farde said in a telephone interview. Apart from genes, a person's experiences and personality might influence it, he said. - He emphasized that the finding doesn't mean genes determine personality by themselves. But the finding may help scientists study how genes influence personality. - - [02-12-97 at 14:26 EST, Copyright 1997, The Associated Press]