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

Author(s):  
Joshua Gray ◽  
Max Michael Owens ◽  
Courtland Hyatt ◽  
Josh Miller

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.

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Max Michael Owens ◽  
Courtland Hyatt ◽  
Joshua Gray ◽  
James MacKillop ◽  
Lawrence Sweet ◽  
...  

This study is a conceptual replication of an existing large study (N = 507) on the surface-based morphometric correlates of Five-Factor Model (FFM) personality traits. Using another large sample drawn from the same population (N = 597), results were aggregated from both samples (N = 1104), providing the largest investigation into the neuroanatomical correlates of FFM personality traits to date. Multiple clusters of significant brain by personality associations were found in the aggregate sample, including one for Openness with cortical thickness in the left and right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC), one for Agreeableness with thickness in the left DLPFC, and one for Agreeableness with area and volume in the right DLPFC. Clusters were also found for Neuroticism with cortical surface area in the right DLPFC, for Neuroticism with cortical thickness in the DLPFC and medial prefrontal cortex, and for Neuroticism with area and volume in the cuneus. While many regions found in the prior study were confirmed in the new and full samples, others were not, highlighting the challenges in replicating even high-quality, well-powered studies. As a whole, the current results provide the strongest evidence to date on the neuroanatomical correlates of personality.


2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Max Michael Owens ◽  
Courtland Hyatt ◽  
Joshua Gray ◽  
NATHAN T CARTER ◽  
James MacKillop ◽  
...  

This study is a replication of an existing large study (N = 507) on the surface-based morphometric correlates of Five-Factor Model (FFM) personality traits. The same methods were used as the original study in another large sample drawn from the same population (N = 597) with results then being aggregated from both samples (N = 1104), providing the largest investigation into the neuroanatomical correlates of FFM personality traits to date. Clusters of association between brain morphometry and each FFM trait are reported. For Neuroticism, Agreeableness, Openness, and Conscientiousness clusters of association were found in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex for at least one morphometric index. Morphometry in various other regions was also associated with each personality trait. While some regions found in the original study were confirmed in the replication and full samples, others were not, highlighting the importance of replicating even high-quality, well-powered studies. Effect sizes were very similar in the replication and whole samples as those found in the original study. As a whole, the current results provide the strongest evidence to date on the neuroanatomical correlates of personality and highlights challenges in using this approach to understanding the neural correlates of personality.


2020 ◽  
Vol 3 ◽  
Author(s):  
Courtland S. Hyatt ◽  
Emily S. Hallowell ◽  
Max M. Owens ◽  
Brandon M. Weiss ◽  
Lawrence H. Sweet ◽  
...  

Abstract Quantitative models of psychopathology (i.e., HiTOP) propose that personality and psychopathology are intertwined, such that the various processes that characterize personality traits may be useful in describing and predicting manifestations of psychopathology. In the current study, we used data from the Human Connectome Project (N = 1050) to investigate neural activation following receipt of a reward during an fMRI task as one shared mechanism that may be related to the personality trait Extraversion (specifically its sub-component Agentic Extraversion) and internalizing psychopathology. We also conducted exploratory analyses on the links between neural activation following reward receipt and the other Five-Factor Model personality traits, as well as separate analyses by gender. No significant relations (p < .005) were observed between any personality trait or index of psychopathology and neural activation following reward receipt, and most effect sizes were null to very small in nature (i.e., r < |.05|). We conclude by discussing the appropriate interpretation of these null findings, and provide suggestions for future research that spans psychological and neurobiological levels of analysis.


2021 ◽  
pp. 089198872098891
Author(s):  
Regina Eun Young Kim ◽  
Robert Douglas Abbott ◽  
Soriul Kim ◽  
Robert Joseph Thomas ◽  
Chang-Ho Yun ◽  
...  

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.


2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Elizabeth Farrow ◽  
Andreas G. Chiocchetti ◽  
Jack C. Rogers ◽  
Ruth Pauli ◽  
Nora M. Raschle ◽  
...  

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.


2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Haixia Zheng ◽  
Bart N. Ford ◽  
Rayus Kuplicki ◽  
Kaiping Burrows ◽  
Peter W. Hunt ◽  
...  

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.


2016 ◽  
Vol 248 ◽  
pp. 64-72 ◽  
Author(s):  
Judith Charpentier ◽  
Mario Dzemidzic ◽  
John West ◽  
Brandon G. Oberlin ◽  
William J.A. Eiler ◽  
...  

2016 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
pp. 337-348 ◽  
Author(s):  
Junyi Yang ◽  
Ping Yin ◽  
Dongtao Wei ◽  
Kangcheng Wang ◽  
Yongmei Li ◽  
...  

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Magnus Frisk ◽  
Fredrik Åhs ◽  
Kristoffer Månsson ◽  
Jörgen Rosén ◽  
Granit Kastrati

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.


2020 ◽  
pp. 089826432096908
Author(s):  
Jason E. Strickhouser ◽  
Angelina R. Sutin

Objectives: Five-factor model (FFM) personality traits, including higher conscientiousness and lower neuroticism, are associated with lower risk of dementia and cognitive impairment. In this research, we test whether retirement status moderates and/or mediates the relation between personality and cognitive impairment. Method: We used data from the Health and Retirement Study ( N = 9899), a longitudinal study of Americans over the age of 50 years, to examine moderating and mediating associations between personality traits and retirement status on risk of dementia and cognitive impairment not dementia (CIND) over an 8–10 year follow-up. Results: Personality and retirement each had strong, independent associations with risk of dementia and CIND. There were not, however, strong or consistent, moderating or mediating associations between personality and retirement predicting impairment risk. Discussion: Overall, these results indicate that personality and retirement are independent risk factors for incident cognitive impairment. Mechanisms other than retirement are likely to explain this association.


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