ABSTRACT
The continuation of old research—such as the scientific study of identical twins reared apart—and the discovery of striking genetic characteristics of certain neurological diseases—such as Huntington’s chorea, a disease affecting body movement—are creating a new interest in biological markers of personality. A personality disorder is the presence of inflexible or maladaptive personality traits that result in subjective distress or significant impairment of the afflicted individual in social or occupational functioning. A personality disorder is seen as a benign form of more serious mental disorders such as schizophrenia or paranoid disorders. A strict adherence to theories is not helpful in efforts to understand the effects of a large class of neurotoxic agents on moods and personality. Standardized and well-regarded personality inventories such as the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory or Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-R designed for use in the clinic are ill-suited for the documentation of personality disorders in an epidemiological/toxicological setting.
