The Addictive Personality: Does Temperament Predict Addiction?

Amy Taylor December 07, 2012

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For years, addiction has been a focus of numerous studies. Many scientists tried to investigate why some people are vulnerable to addiction while others are not, and why some of those who quit experience debilitating symptoms while others can let go of the habit anytime they want to. While there are no clean-cut strategies to find out if an individual is susceptible to addiction, there are some personality traits that serve as risk factors.

Neuroscientist Huda Akil from the University of Michigan conducted a study to test why only a fraction of people who try drugs such as heroin and cocaine get addicted to them. In a lab test, he bred two types of rats. The first type was composed of the high responders who are equivalent to the risk takers in humans. The second type of rats was consists of the low responders. They are comparable to individuals who are anxious or depressed.

When put in a new environment, the high responders tend to turn around and explore while the normal rats would remain in their place, checking the area for the unknown before roaming around. According to Dr Akil, the high responders have a number of traits that are similar to people who are prone to addiction. He noticed that when the rats were given cues similar to food and cocaine, they tend to become impulsive and their dopamine reward systems become super sensitive. And once the feel-good effects of the drug disappear, they tend to feed on cocaine again.

The second group of rats, composed of the anxious and depressed, reacts differently to the cues. Unlike the risk-takers, they don’t get easily addicted to cocaine, and are able to resist it after a break from regular use.

Every time the rats will be given shot of cocaine, Dr Akil makes use of light as a cue. When the rats learned about it, the brains of the risk-takers release more dopamine in response of the cue than the actual reward (which is the drug). On the other hand, the low responders produce the same levels of dopamine for the cue and the actual reward.

According to Dr Akil, the sudden burst in dopamine levels might explain why relapse happens.

However, even the rats that were not prone to addiction can succumb to drug abuse in the presence of an environmental stressor. When they are exposed to social stress, the low responders become more at risk of drug abuse.

His study suggests that there are specific factors that affect an individual’s risk of drug abuse which means "there cannot be one size fits all in terms of treatment.”.

As with most of emotional disorders, temperament has an influence on addiction. People who exhibit aggression and temperament, and those who lack self-control, and are socially troublesome are more likely to develop addictions.

 

 

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Source of this article:

Does Temperament Predict Addiction?