GONADAL HORMONE CORRELATES OF SENSATION SEEKING AND ANXIETY IN HEALTHY-HUMAN FEMALES

The present study focused on exploring the relationship between a number of personality measures (Sensation Seeking Scale, SSS; State-Trait Anxiety Inventory, STAI; and Susceptibility to Punishment Scale, SP) and some parameters of the pituitary-gonadal axis (FSH, LH and 17beta-estradiol). The study was carried out with a group of 37 female volunteers. The subjects were physically and mentally fit. None of them had a personal history of psychiatric or endocrine illness. All subjects were studied at the beginning of the follicular phase. The most relevant results showed an 'inverted U shape' relationship between sensation seeking and plasma FSH levels. Lower Thrill and Adventure Seeking (TAS) scores were also found in subjects with higher levels of 17beta-estradiol.