Trends in Cognitive Sciences
ReviewPersonality traits and vulnerability or resilience to substance use disorders
Section snippets
Genes and substance use disorders
Although most people in the general population are exposed to drugs and/or alcohol at some point during their lives, only a small fraction of these individuals develops an unremitting SUD [1]. Informed estimates place lifetime risk of transitioning from drug use to dependence from 8.9% to 67.5% [2] depending on the drug used. Strong evidence suggests an important genetic contribution to the vulnerability to SUD. Epidemiological family and twin studies provide heritability estimates of
Positive emotionality/extraversion and SUD
The positive emotionality/extraversion (PEM/E) personality trait represents an underlying dimension of sensitivity to reward (Box 2). PEM/E is characterized by a state of positive affect, strong motivation, desire, wanting, as well as feelings of being excited, enthusiastic, active, and optimistic. The strongest candidate brain system involved in these affective states is the central dopaminergic system, which originates in the mesencephalon (substantia nigra and ventral tegmental area) and
Negative emotionality/neuroticism and SUD
The negative emotionality/neuroticism (NEM/N) personality trait represents an underlying dimension of sensitivity to signals of punishment (Box 2). Individuals with high NEM/N are more likely to experience feelings such as anxiety, anger, envy, guilt, and depressed mood. They respond more poorly to stressors, being more likely to interpret ordinary situations as threatening and minor frustrations as hopelessly difficult. The bidirectional connections between prefrontal cortex (PFC),
Constraint and SUD
The higher order dimension of constraint (CON) encompasses tendencies toward behavioral restraint versus impulsiveness (Box 2) or, more properly, impulsive action, to distinguish it from impulsive choice (Box 3). CON implies intentional volitional motor control, which can be operationally measured by laboratory tests of response inhibition and task switching [46]. Neuropsychological studies after brain lesions and imaging studies are providing a clear picture of the prefrontal-basal ganglia
Concluding remarks: a new frame to study resilience and vulnerability to SUD
We now appreciate that specific brain circuits modulate well-defined higher-order personality traits, and that these circuits have been inextricably linked to specific gene associations. This heuristic model is based on a continuum of three independent variables (constituted by three main orthogonal personality traits) that interact dynamically and with the environment to determine the degree of vulnerability to the development of SUD. Individuals with low PEM/E, high NEM/N, and low CON would
Acknowledgments
Supported by the NIDA Intramural Research Program.
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