Drug Induced Sympathetic Arousal and Neuroticism

The present study investigated the hypothesis that subjects would show increased scores on tests of neuroticism in response to a sympathomimetic drug. Twelve subjects were given six tests of neuroticism under both drug and placebo conditions. Despite the fact that a marked sympathetic response to the drug was observed, there was little evidence from the test results to indicate any accompanying increase in neuroticism. The results suggest, however, that introverts may be sympathetically more responsive than extroverts.