Sensation seeking is the tendency to seek out new and thrilling experiences and to take risks for the sake of such experiences. A single-nucleotide polymorphism, -521 C/T (rs1800955) in the promoter region of the dopamine-4-receptor gene (DRD4), is associated with approach-related traits including novelty seeking and extraversion, in some, but not all studies. To our knowledge, no studies have been conducted on the genetics of risk-taking behavior in sports. Using a joint-analysis approach, we measured sensation seeking in two cohorts of experienced male and female skiers and snowboarders (n=503) using a sports-specific tool developed for this study, the Contextual Sensation Seeking Questionnaire for Skiing and Snowboarding (CSSQ-S), and a more general trait measure, the Zuckerman-Kuhlman Personality Questionnaire impulsive sensation-seeking subscale. We detected, and then replicated a significant association between the DRD4 -521CC genotype and sports-specific sensation seeking as measured using the CSSQ-S (P<0.001). These data suggest that the DRD4 -521 C/T polymorphism contributes to a "risk-taking phenotype" in skiers and snowboarders, but the variant was not associated with impulsive sensation seeking (P=0.9). © 2012 John Wiley & Sons A/S. Published by Blackwell Publishing Ltd.
CITATION STYLE
Thomson, C. J., Hanna, C. W., Carlson, S. R., & Rupert, J. L. (2013). The -521 C/T variant in the dopamine-4-receptor gene (DRD4) is associated with skiing and snowboarding behavior. Scandinavian Journal of Medicine and Science in Sports, 23(2). https://doi.org/10.1111/sms.12031
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