Gray Matter Differentiation Between Two Subordinate Personality Traits of Extraversion: Enthusiasm and Assertiveness

Enthusiasm and assertiveness are two subordinate personality traits of extraversion. These traits reflect different aspects of extroversion and have distinct implications on mental health. Whereas enthusiasm predicts satisfaction in life and positive relationships, assertiveness predicts psychological distress and reduced social support. The neural basis of these subordinate traits is not well understood. To investigate brain regions where enthusiasm and assertiveness have diverging relationship with morphology, enthusiasm and assertiveness were regressed to gray matter volume (GMV) across the whole brain in a sample of 301 healthy individuals. A significant interaction was found between enthusiasm and assertiveness in the left angular gyrus (t(296) = 4.18, family wise error corrected, FWE p = .001 (cluster-level); Cluster size = 880 voxels). Larger GMV in this area was associated with more enthusiasm and less assertiveness. Our study emphasizes the value of separating extraversion into its subordinate traits when investigating associations to neuroanatomy.

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No evidence for morphometric associations of the amygdala and hippocampus with the five-factor model personality traits

10.31234/osf.io/amktp ◽

2018 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Joshua Gray ◽

Max Michael Owens ◽

Courtland Hyatt ◽

Josh Miller

Keyword(s):

Personality Traits ◽

Gray Matter ◽

Factor Model ◽

Five Factor Model ◽

Gray Matter Volume ◽

Brain Regions ◽

Matter Volume ◽

Human Connectome Project ◽

Hippocampus Segmentation ◽

Ffm Personality Traits

Despite the important functional role of the amygdala and hippocampus in socioemotional functioning, there have been limited adequately powered studies testing how the structure of these regions relates to putatively relevant personality traits such as neuroticism. Additionally, recent advances in MRI analysis methods provide unprecedented accuracy in measuring these structures and enable segmentation into their substructures. Using the new FreeSurfer amygdala and hippocampus segmentation pipelines with the full Human Connectome Project sample (N = 1105), the current study investigated whether the morphometry of these structures is associated with the five-factor model (FFM) personality traits in a sample of relatively healthy young adults. Drawing from prior findings, the following hypotheses were tested: 1) amygdala and hippocampus gray matter volume would be associated with neuroticism, 2) CA2/3 and dentate gyrus would account for the relationship of the hippocampus with neuroticism, and 3) amygdala gray matter volume would be inversely associated with extraversion. Exploratory analyses were conducted investigating potential associations between all of the FFM traits and the structure of the hippocampus and amygdala and their subregions. Despite some previous positive findings of whole amygdala and hippocampus with personality traits and related psychopathology (e.g., depression), the current results indicated no relationships between the any of the brain regions and the FFM personality traits. Given the large sample and utilization of sophisticated analytic methodology, the current study suggests no association of amygdala and hippocampus morphometry with major domains of personality.

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Gray-Matter Expansion of Social Brain Networks in Individuals High in Public Self-Consciousness

Brain Sciences ◽

10.3390/brainsci11030374 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (3) ◽

pp. 374

Author(s):

Tomoyo Morita ◽

Minoru Asada ◽

Eiichi Naito

Keyword(s):

Gray Matter ◽

Structural Changes ◽

Gray Matter Volume ◽

Brain Networks ◽

Japanese Version ◽

Brain Regions ◽

The Self ◽

Social Brain ◽

Default Mode ◽

Public Self Consciousness

Self-consciousness is a personality trait associated with an individual’s concern regarding observable (public) and unobservable (private) aspects of self. Prompted by previous functional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) studies, we examined possible gray-matter expansions in emotion-related and default mode networks in individuals with higher public or private self-consciousness. One hundred healthy young adults answered the Japanese version of the Self-Consciousness Scale (SCS) questionnaire and underwent structural MRI. A voxel-based morphometry analysis revealed that individuals scoring higher on the public SCS showed expansions of gray matter in the emotion-related regions of the cingulate and insular cortices and in the default mode network of the precuneus and medial prefrontal cortex. In addition, these gray-matter expansions were particularly related to the trait of “concern about being evaluated by others”, which was one of the subfactors constituting public self-consciousness. Conversely, no relationship was observed between gray-matter volume in any brain regions and the private SCS scores. This is the first study showing that the personal trait of concern regarding public aspects of the self may cause long-term substantial structural changes in social brain networks.

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Sleep Duration, Sleep Apnea, and Gray Matter Volume

Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry and Neurology ◽

10.1177/0891988720988918 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 089198872098891

Author(s):

Regina Eun Young Kim ◽

Robert Douglas Abbott ◽

Soriul Kim ◽

Robert Joseph Thomas ◽

Chang-Ho Yun ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Sleep Apnea ◽

Sleep Duration ◽

Gray Matter ◽

Gray Matter Volume ◽

Brain Structures ◽

Brain Regions ◽

Population Based ◽

Older Individuals ◽

Bootstrap Sampling ◽

Matter Volume

This study aimed to evaluate the effect of sleep duration on brain structures in the presence versus absence of sleep apnea in middle-aged and older individuals. The study investigated a population-based sample of 2,560 individuals, aged 49-80 years. The presence of sleep apnea and self-reported sleep duration were examined in relation to gray matter volume (GMV) in total and lobar brain regions. We identified ranges of sleep duration associated with maximal GMV using quadratic regression and bootstrap sampling. A significant quadratic association between sleep duration and GMV was observed in total and lobar brain regions of men with sleep apnea. In the fully adjusted model, optimal sleep durations associated with peak GMV between brain regions ranged from 6.7 to 7.0 hours. Shorter and longer sleep durations were associated with lower GMV in total and 4 sub-regions of the brain in men with sleep apnea.

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A preliminary study of gray matter volume differences related to context-dependent and independent decision-making

10.31234/osf.io/k6jpx ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Zhang Jinbo

Keyword(s):

Decision Making ◽

Decision Maker ◽

Gray Matter ◽

Cognitive Bias ◽

Gray Matter Volume ◽

Neural Basis ◽

Matter Volume ◽

Decision Styles ◽

Context Dependent ◽

Independent Decision

Facing the high degree of uncertainty of the environment, we have evolved two kinds of decision-making styles: context-dependent and context-independent decision. However, the underlying neural basis of these two kinds of decision styles was mostly unknown. Here, the cognitive bias task was applied to split participants into the context-independent decision-maker and context-dependent decision-maker based on the cognitive bias task scores. Then, we used voxel-based morphometry to directly investigate its underlying differences in gray matter volume. We found that the gray matter volume of the prefrontal cortex and parietal regions, such as inferior parietal lobule, was larger in context-dependent decision-makers than that of the context-independent decision-maker.

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SLC25A24 gene methylation and gray matter volume in females with and without conduct disorder: an exploratory epigenetic neuroimaging study

Translational Psychiatry ◽

10.1038/s41398-021-01609-y ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Elizabeth Farrow ◽

Andreas G. Chiocchetti ◽

Jack C. Rogers ◽

Ruth Pauli ◽

Nora M. Raschle ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Environmental Factors ◽

Conduct Disorder ◽

Gray Matter ◽

Gray Matter Volume ◽

Brain Regions ◽

Posterior Cingulate Cortex ◽

Chromosome 1 ◽

Matter Volume ◽

Cu Traits ◽

Genetic And Environmental Factors

AbstractConduct disorder (CD), a psychiatric disorder characterized by a repetitive pattern of antisocial behaviors, results from a complex interplay between genetic and environmental factors. The clinical presentation of CD varies both according to the individual’s sex and level of callous-unemotional (CU) traits, but it remains unclear how genetic and environmental factors interact at the molecular level to produce these differences. Emerging evidence in males implicates methylation of genes associated with socio-affective processes. Here, we combined an epigenome-wide association study with structural neuroimaging in 51 females with CD and 59 typically developing (TD) females to examine DNA methylation in relation to CD, CU traits, and gray matter volume (GMV). We demonstrate an inverse pattern of correlation between CU traits and methylation of a chromosome 1 region in CD females (positive) as compared to TD females (negative). The identified region spans exon 1 of the SLC25A24 gene, central to energy metabolism due to its role in mitochondrial function. Increased SLC25A24 methylation was also related to lower GMV in multiple brain regions in the overall cohort. These included the superior frontal gyrus, prefrontal cortex, and supramarginal gyrus, secondary visual cortex and ventral posterior cingulate cortex, which are regions that have previously been implicated in CD and CU traits. While our findings are preliminary and need to be replicated in larger samples, they provide novel evidence that CU traits in females are associated with methylation levels in a fundamentally different way in CD and TD, which in turn may relate to observable variations in GMV across the brain.

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SYNAPTIC MARKERS IN LIQUOR INVERSELY CORRELATE WITH GRAY MATTER VOLUME IN COGNITIVELY HEALTHY INDIVIDUALS

Alzheimer s & Dementia ◽

10.1016/j.jalz.2017.07.091 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 13 (7) ◽

pp. P215-P216

Author(s):

Benjamin Gille ◽

Jolien Schaeverbeke ◽

Hugo Marcel Vanderstichele ◽

Katarzyna Adamczuk ◽

Leentje Demeyer ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Gray Matter ◽

Gray Matter Volume ◽

Healthy Individuals ◽

Matter Volume ◽

Synaptic Markers

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Higher Social Rejection Sensitivity in Opioid-Dependent Patients Is Related to Smaller Insula Gray Matter Volume: A Voxel-Based Morphometric Study

Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience ◽

10.1093/scan/nsz094 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 14 (11) ◽

pp. 1187-1195

Author(s):

Patrick Bach ◽

Ulrich Frischknecht ◽

Svenja Klinkowski ◽

Melanie Bungert ◽

Damian Karl ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Social Anxiety ◽

Social Phobia ◽

Gray Matter ◽

Gray Matter Volume ◽

Rejection Sensitivity ◽

Brain Regions ◽

Social Rejection ◽

Morphometric Study ◽

Social Feedback ◽

Social Ostracism

Abstract Opioid-dependent patients are highly sensitized to negative social feedback, and increased social rejection sensitivity was linked to adverse treatment outcome, but its neurobiological underpinnings have not been understood yet. The present study investigated gray matter (GM) volume differences between 19 opioid maintenance treatment (OMT) patients and 20 healthy controls using magnetic resonance imaging and voxel-based morphometry. Associations of GM volumes with subjective feelings of exclusion and inclusion during a social ostracism (Cyberball) paradigm, with rejection sensitivity, social interaction anxiety and social phobia were explored. OMT patients displayed smaller GM volume in the bilateral insula and inferior frontal gyri. Psychometric and task data showed that patients reported significantly higher rejection sensitivity, social anxiety and social phobia scores and felt more excluded and less included during the social ostracism paradigm. Smaller GM volume in the insula was associated with higher subjective exclusion, lower subjective inclusion and higher rejection sensitivity, social anxiety and social phobia scores. Findings indicate that structural deficits in emotion- and anxiety-processing brain regions in OMT patients are associated with increased social rejection sensitivity. As social rejection is a potential trigger for relapse, patients might benefit from therapeutic strategies that promote social integration.

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Association between cytomegalovirus infection, reduced gray matter volume, and resting-state functional hypoconnectivity in major depressive disorder: a replication and extension

Translational Psychiatry ◽

10.1038/s41398-021-01558-6 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Haixia Zheng ◽

Bart N. Ford ◽

Rayus Kuplicki ◽

Kaiping Burrows ◽

Peter W. Hunt ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Major Depressive Disorder ◽

Depressive Disorder ◽

Gray Matter ◽

Resting State ◽

Gray Matter Volume ◽

Brain Regions ◽

Affective Processing ◽

Resting State Functional Connectivity ◽

Major Depressive ◽

Matter Volume

AbstractHuman cytomegalovirus (HCMV) is a neurotropic herpes virus known to cause neuropathology in patients with impaired immunity. Previously, we reported a reduction in the gray matter volume (GMV) of several brain regions in two independent samples of participants who were seropositive for HCMV (HCMV+) compared to matched participants who were seronegative for HCMV (HCMV−). In addition to an independent replication of the GMV findings, this study aimed to examine whether HCMV+ was associated with differences in resting-state functional connectivity (rsfMRI-FC). After balancing on 11 clinical/demographic variables using inverse probability of treatment weighting (IPTW), GMV and rsfMRI-FC were obtained from 99 participants with major depressive disorder (MDD) who were classified into 42 HCMV+ and 57 HCMV− individuals. Relative to the HCMV− group, the HCMV+ group showed a significant reduction of GMV in nine cortical regions. Volume reduction in the right lateral orbitofrontal cortex (standardized beta coefficient (SBC) = −0.32, [95%CI, −0.62 to −0.02]) and the left pars orbitalis (SBC = −0.34, [95%CI, −0.63 to −0.05]) in the HCMV+ group was also observed in the previous study. Regardless of the parcellation method or analytical approach, relative to the HCMV− group, the HCMV+ group showed hypoconnectivity between the hubs of the sensorimotor network (bilateral postcentral gyrus) and the hubs of the salience network (bilateral insula) with effect sizes ranging from SBC = −0.57 to −0.99. These findings support the hypothesis that a positive HCMV serostatus is associated with altered connectivity of regions that are important for stress and affective processing and further supports a possible etiological role of HCMV in depression.

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Brain structural correlates of functional capacity in first-episode psychosis

Scientific Reports ◽

10.1038/s41598-020-73553-8 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 10 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Erkan Alkan ◽

Geoff Davies ◽

Kathy Greenwood ◽

Simon L. Evans

Keyword(s):

Functional Capacity ◽

Gray Matter Volume ◽

Brain Regions ◽

First Episode Psychosis ◽

First Episode ◽

Control Group ◽

Neural Basis ◽

Antipsychotic Therapy ◽

Brain Volumes ◽

Episode Psychosis

Abstract Impaired functional capacity is a core feature of schizophrenia and presents even in first-episode psychosis (FEP) patients. Impairments in daily functioning tend to persist despite antipsychotic therapy but their neural basis is less clear. Previous studies suggest that volume loss in frontal cortex might be an important contributor, but findings are inconsistent. We aimed to comprehensively investigate the brain structural correlates of functional capacity in FEP using MRI and a reliable objective measure of functioning [University of California, San Diego Performance-Based Skills Assessment (UPSA)]. In a sample of FEP (n = 39) and a well-matched control group (n = 21), we measured cortical thickness, gray matter volume, and white matter tract integrity (fractional anisotropy, FA) within brain regions implicated by previous work. The FEP group had thinner cortex in various frontal regions and fusiform, and reduced FA in inferior longitudinal fasciculus (ILF). In FEP, poorer functional capacity correlated with reduced superior frontal volume and lower FA in left ILF. Importantly, frontal brain volumes and integrity of the ILF were identified as the structural correlates of functional capacity in FEP, controlling for other relevant factors. These findings enhance mechanistic understanding of functional capacity deficits in schizophrenia by specifying the underlying neural correlates. In future, this could help inform intervention strategies.

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