TY - JOUR
T1 - Neuroticism and extraversion are associated with amygdala resting-state functional connectivity
AU - Aghajani, Moji
AU - Veer, Ilya M.
AU - Van Tol, Marie José
AU - Aleman, André
AU - Van Buchem, Mark A.
AU - Veltman, Dick J.
AU - Rombouts, Serge A.R.B.
AU - Van Der Wee, Nic J.
N1 - Funding Information: The authors gratefully acknowledge Ramona Demenescu and Anita Kuiper for the MRI data acquisition, and Henk Cremers and Tom Johnstone for their valuable discussions and input on the methods. The infrastructure for the NESDA study is funded through the Geestkracht program of the Netherlands Organization for Health Research and Development (ZonMw, Grant No. 10-000-1002) and is supported by the participating universities and mental health care organizations (VU University Medical Center, GGZ inGeest, Arkin, Leiden University Medical Center, GGZ Rivierduinen, University Medical Center Groningen, Lentis, GGZ Friesland, GGZ Drenthe, IQ Healthcare, the Netherlands Institute for Health Services Research [NIVEL], and the Netherlands Institute of Mental Health and Addiction [Trimbos Institute]). Part of this research was supported by a VIDI grant from the Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research (NWO) to S.A.R.B.R., and by the NWO National Initiative Brain and Cognition (NWO-NIHC, Project Nos. 056-25-010 and 056-23-011).
PY - 2014/6
Y1 - 2014/6
N2 - The personality traits neuroticism and extraversion are differentially related to socioemotional functioning and susceptibility to affective disorders. However, the neurobiology underlying this differential relationship is still poorly understood. This discrepancy could perhaps best be studied by adopting a brain connectivity approach. Whereas the amygdala has repeatedly been linked to neuroticism and extraversion, no study has yet focused on the intrinsic functional architecture of amygdala-centered networks in relation to both traits. To this end, seed-based correlation analysis was employed to reveal amygdala resting-state functional connectivity (RSFC) and its associations with neuroticism and extraversion in 50 healthy participants. Higher neuroticism scores were associated with increased amygdala RSFC with the precuneus, and decreased amygdala RSFC with the temporal poles, insula, and superior temporal gyrus (p <.05, cluster corrected). Conversely, higher extraversion scores were associated with increased amygdala RSFC with the putamen, temporal pole, insula, and several regions of the occipital cortex (p <.05, cluster corrected). The shifts in amygdala RSFC associated with neuroticism may relate to the less-adaptive perception and processing of self-relevant and socioemotional information that is frequently seen in neurotic individuals, whereas the amygdala RSFC pattern associated with extraversion may relate to the heightened reward sensitivity and enhanced socioemotional functioning in extraverts. We hypothesize that the variability in amygdala RSFC observed in the present study could potentially link neuroticism and extraversion to the neurobiology underlying increased susceptibility or resilience to affective disorders.
AB - The personality traits neuroticism and extraversion are differentially related to socioemotional functioning and susceptibility to affective disorders. However, the neurobiology underlying this differential relationship is still poorly understood. This discrepancy could perhaps best be studied by adopting a brain connectivity approach. Whereas the amygdala has repeatedly been linked to neuroticism and extraversion, no study has yet focused on the intrinsic functional architecture of amygdala-centered networks in relation to both traits. To this end, seed-based correlation analysis was employed to reveal amygdala resting-state functional connectivity (RSFC) and its associations with neuroticism and extraversion in 50 healthy participants. Higher neuroticism scores were associated with increased amygdala RSFC with the precuneus, and decreased amygdala RSFC with the temporal poles, insula, and superior temporal gyrus (p <.05, cluster corrected). Conversely, higher extraversion scores were associated with increased amygdala RSFC with the putamen, temporal pole, insula, and several regions of the occipital cortex (p <.05, cluster corrected). The shifts in amygdala RSFC associated with neuroticism may relate to the less-adaptive perception and processing of self-relevant and socioemotional information that is frequently seen in neurotic individuals, whereas the amygdala RSFC pattern associated with extraversion may relate to the heightened reward sensitivity and enhanced socioemotional functioning in extraverts. We hypothesize that the variability in amygdala RSFC observed in the present study could potentially link neuroticism and extraversion to the neurobiology underlying increased susceptibility or resilience to affective disorders.
KW - Adult
KW - Amygdala
KW - Amygdala/blood supply
KW - Anxiety Disorders/pathology
KW - Brain Mapping
KW - Extraversion
KW - Extraversion (Psychology)
KW - Female
KW - Functional Laterality
KW - Functional connectivity
KW - Humans
KW - Image Processing, Computer-Assisted
KW - Magnetic Resonance Imaging
KW - Male
KW - Middle Aged
KW - Neuroticism
KW - Oxygen/blood
KW - Personality Inventory
KW - Rest
KW - Resting-state fMRI
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84904340403&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - https://doi.org/10.3758/s13415-013-0224-0
DO - https://doi.org/10.3758/s13415-013-0224-0
M3 - Article
C2 - 24352685
SN - 1530-7026
VL - 14
SP - 836
EP - 848
JO - Cognitive, Affective and Behavioral Neuroscience
JF - Cognitive, Affective and Behavioral Neuroscience
IS - 2
ER -