Impulsivity, gender, and the platelet serotonin transporter in healthy subjects

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Authors: Donatella Marazziti, Stefano Baroni, Irene Masala, et al

Published Date December 2009 , Volume 2010:6

Donatella Marazziti, Stefano Baroni, Irene Masala, Francesca Golia, Giorgio Consoli, Gabriele Massimetti, Michela Picchetti, Mario Catena Dell’Osso, Gino Giannaccini, Laura Betti, Antonio Lucacchini, Antonio Ciapparelli

Dipartimento di Psichiatria, Neurobiologia, Farmacologia e Biotecnologie, University of Pisa, Pisa, Italy

Abstract: The present study explored the possible relationships between impulsivity, gender, and a peripheral serotonergic marker, the platelet serotonin (5-HT) transporter (SERT), in a group of 32 healthy subjects. The impulsivity was measured by means of the Barratt Impulsivity Scale, version 11 (BIS-11), a widely used self-report questionnaire, and the platelet SERT was evaluated by means of the specific binding of ³H-paroxetine (³H-Par) to platelet membranes, according to standardized protocols. The results showed that women had a higher BIS-11 total score than men, and also higher scores of two factors of the same scale: the motor impulsivity and the cognitive complexity. The analysis of the correlations revealed that the density of the SERT proteins, as measured by the maximum binding capacity (B_max) of ³H-Par, was significantly and positively related to the cognitive complexity factor, but only in men. Men showed also a significant and negative correlation with the dissociation constant, Kd, of (³H-Par) binding, and the motor impulsivity factor. These findings suggest that women are generally more impulsive than men, but that the 5-HT system is more involved in the impulsivity of men than in that of women.

Keywords: impulsivity, gender, serotonin transporter, Barratt Impulsivity Scale, platelets, ³H-paroxetine

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