Sensation seeking, alcoholism and dopamine activity

Sensation seeking scale (SSS) scores were determined in 15 alcohol dependent men with a positive family history for alcoholism (FHP), in 15 alcohol dependent men with a negative family history for alcoholism (FHN) and in 15 well-matched healthy male controls (CONTR). Both FHPs and FHNs suffered from longlasting alcohol dependence meeting ICD-IO and DSM-III-R diagnostic criteria. Dopamine activity was neuroendocrinologically assessed by measuring the amount of growth hormone released after stimulation with the dopamine receptor agonist apomorphine. Planned comparisons within a one-way ANOVA yielded significantly elevated levels of boredom susceptibility (BOS) in both FHPs and FHNs against CONTRs. SSS total scores, while approaching statistical significance, were elevated in FHPs only. Partial correlations (controlling for age, body weight, alcohol intake and duration of dependence) were calculated to examine the relationship between SSS and dopamine activity. Among the SSS subtraits, BOS revealed the highest correlation in each group. However, only in CONTRs did the relationship between BOS and dopamine activity reach statistical significance.