Personality Correlates of Motor Activity in a Novel Environment and Relationship to Rewarding Effects of Methamphetamine
Session Number
Project ID: BHVSO 05
Advisor(s)
Dr. Emma Childs, The HAPPY Lab, The University of Illinois at Chicago
Discipline
Behavioral and Social Sciences
Start Date
20-4-2022 10:05 AM
End Date
20-4-2022 10:20 AM
Abstract
In preclinical animal data, rodents that show a high locomotor activity response (HR) in a novel environment are more sensitive to rewarding drugs than those with a low locomotor response (LR). Thus, locomotor response to novelty is suggested to reflect trait sensation seeking in humans which is also positively related to drug reward. This study investigates whether the preclinical data translates to humans i.e., if high locomotor response in a novel environment is related to sensitivity to drug reward and if it is related to trait sensation seeking. Healthy men and women explored 2 novel rooms for 10-minute. Their movements were recorded by closed circuit cameras and activity was quantified by calculating the frame-to-frame change in pixels summed across the 10-min exploration test. They also completed personality questionnaires. At separate sessions, subjective responses to methamphetamine (MA 20mg) and placebo (PL) were measured. Participants were rank-ordered on motor activity and the top and bottom thirds (respectively HR and LR) were compared on responses to MA and PL. We found that, in comparison to LR, HR reported significantly greater positive rewarding experiences to MA. We also found a significant correlation between motor activity and personality traits reflecting impulsivity but not sensation seeking.
Personality Correlates of Motor Activity in a Novel Environment and Relationship to Rewarding Effects of Methamphetamine
In preclinical animal data, rodents that show a high locomotor activity response (HR) in a novel environment are more sensitive to rewarding drugs than those with a low locomotor response (LR). Thus, locomotor response to novelty is suggested to reflect trait sensation seeking in humans which is also positively related to drug reward. This study investigates whether the preclinical data translates to humans i.e., if high locomotor response in a novel environment is related to sensitivity to drug reward and if it is related to trait sensation seeking. Healthy men and women explored 2 novel rooms for 10-minute. Their movements were recorded by closed circuit cameras and activity was quantified by calculating the frame-to-frame change in pixels summed across the 10-min exploration test. They also completed personality questionnaires. At separate sessions, subjective responses to methamphetamine (MA 20mg) and placebo (PL) were measured. Participants were rank-ordered on motor activity and the top and bottom thirds (respectively HR and LR) were compared on responses to MA and PL. We found that, in comparison to LR, HR reported significantly greater positive rewarding experiences to MA. We also found a significant correlation between motor activity and personality traits reflecting impulsivity but not sensation seeking.