Abstract

This chapter reviews recent studies that have examined the relationship between personality and the quality and magnitude of mood changes after acute administration of stimulant drugs, with a view to investigating the existence of common underlying brain processes. There is some evidence that the trait of extraversion/sensation seeking may be related to activating and positive affective responses to stimulant drugs, whereas the trait of neuroticism/negative emotionality may be related to dysphoric responses to these drugs. Further, there is some evidence that both extraversion and positive responses to drugs may be related to dopamine function. However, the neurochemical basis of either the trait of neuroticism or the dysphoric responses to stimulant drugs remains unknown, although they may involve either of the other two primary neurotransmitters involved in stimulant effects, norepinephrine or serotonin. Little remains known about how personality or its neurobiological underpinnings affect acute subjective responses to drugs.