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. 2024 Dec;40(4):2189-2200.
doi: 10.1007/s10899-024-10311-9. Epub 2024 May 16.

Linking Striatal Dopaminergic Asymmetry with Personality Traits: Insights from Gambling Disorder

Francesco Di Carlo  1 , Mauro Pettorruso  2 , Mario Santorelli  3 , Fabrizio Cocciolillo  4 , Giacomo d'Andrea  1 , Marco Di Nicola  5 , Stefano S Sensi  1   6 , Giovanni Martinotti  1   7 , Jon E Grant  8 , Giovanni Camardese  5 , Daniela Di Giuda  4
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Linking Striatal Dopaminergic Asymmetry with Personality Traits: Insights from Gambling Disorder

Francesco Di Carlo et al. J Gambl Stud. 2024 Dec.

Abstract

The role of dopamine in the pathophysiology of gambling disorder (GD) remains incompletely understood, with disparate research findings concerning presynaptic and postsynaptic structures and dopaminergic synthesis. The aim of this study was to investigate potential correlations between striatal dopamine transporter (DAT) lateralization and asymmetry index, as assessed by 123I-FP-CIT SPECT, and temperamental traits, as measured by Cloninger's Temperament and Character Inventory (TCI), in GD subjects. Significant associations were found between DAT binding asymmetries in the caudate and putamen and the temperamental dimensions of harm avoidance and novelty seeking. Specifically, high novelty seeking scores correlated with increased DAT binding in the left caudate relative to the right, whereas higher harm avoidance scores corresponded to increased DAT binding in the right putamen relative to the left. These observations potentially imply that the asymmetry in DAT expression in the basal ganglia could be an outcome of hemispheric asymmetry in emotional processing and behavioural guidance. In summary, our study provides evidence supporting the relationship between DAT asymmetries, temperamental dimensions and GD. Future investigations could be directed towards examining postsynaptic receptors to gain a more comprehensive understanding of dopamine's influence within the basal ganglia circuit in disordered gambling. If confirmed in larger cohorts, these findings could have substantial implications for the tailoring of individualized neuromodulation therapies in the treatment of behavioural addictions.

Keywords: Basal ganglia; Behavioural addiction; Dopamine transporter; Gambling disorder; Neuroimaging; Temperament.

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Conflict of interest statement

Declarations G.M. has been a consultant and a speaker and has received research grants from Angelini, Doc Generici, Janssen-Cilag, Lundbeck, Otsuka, Pfizer, Servier, and Recordati. J. E. G. has received research grants from Janssen, Boehringer Ingelheim, and Biohaven Pharmaceuticals. He receives yearly compensation from Springer Publishing for acting as Editor-in Chief of the Journal of Gambling Studies and has received royalties from Oxford University Press, American Psychiatric Publishing, Inc., Norton Press, and McGraw Hill. The other Authors have nothing to declare.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Spearman’s correlation coefficients quantifying the relationship between DAT asymmetry index in striatal regions (caudate and putamen) and Temperament and Character Inventory (TCI) traits (novelty seeking and harm avoidance)
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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