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“Nothing to see here”: No structural brain differences as a function of the Big Five personality traits from a systematic review and meta-analysis. PERSONALITY NEUROSCIENCE 2022; 5:e8. [PMID: 35991756 PMCID: PMC9379932 DOI: 10.1017/pen.2021.5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/01/2021] [Revised: 10/03/2021] [Accepted: 10/20/2021] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
Abstract
Personality reflects social, affective, and cognitive predispositions that emerge from genetic and environmental influences. Contemporary personality theories conceptualize a Big Five Model of personality based on the traits of neuroticism, extraversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness, and openness to experience. Starting around the turn of the millennium, neuroimaging studies began to investigate functional and structural brain features associated with these traits. Here, we present the first study to systematically evaluate the entire published literature of the association between the Big Five traits and three different measures of brain structure. Qualitative results were highly heterogeneous, and a quantitative meta-analysis did not produce any replicable results. The present study provides a comprehensive evaluation of the literature and its limitations, including sample heterogeneity, Big Five personality instruments, structural image data acquisition, processing, and analytic strategies, and the heterogeneous nature of personality and brain structures. We propose to rethink the biological basis of personality traits and identify ways in which the field of personality neuroscience can be strengthened in its methodological rigor and replicability.
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McCann SJH. Relation of state Alzheimer’s prevalence to state resident Big Five personality in the USA. CURRENT PSYCHOLOGY 2021. [DOI: 10.1007/s12144-019-00181-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/01/2022]
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3
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Liu X, Lai H, Li J, Becker B, Zhao Y, Cheng B, Wang S. Gray matter structures associated with neuroticism: A meta-analysis of whole-brain voxel-based morphometry studies. Hum Brain Mapp 2021; 42:2706-2721. [PMID: 33704850 PMCID: PMC8127153 DOI: 10.1002/hbm.25395] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/10/2020] [Revised: 01/28/2021] [Accepted: 02/22/2021] [Indexed: 02/05/2023] Open
Abstract
Neuroticism is major higher-order personality trait and has been robustly associated with mental and physical health outcomes. Although a growing body of studies have identified neurostructural markers of neuroticism, the results remained highly inconsistent. To characterize robust associations between neuroticism and variations in gray matter (GM) structures, the present meta-analysis investigated the concurrence across voxel-based morphometry (VBM) studies using the anisotropic effect size signed differential mapping (AES-SDM). A total of 13 studies comprising 2,278 healthy subjects (1,275 females, 29.20 ± 14.17 years old) were included. Our analysis revealed that neuroticism was consistently associated with the GM structure of a cluster spanning the bilateral dorsal anterior cingulate cortex and extending to the adjacent medial prefrontal cortex (dACC/mPFC). Meta-regression analyses indicated that the neuroticism-GM associations were not confounded by age and gender. Overall, our study is the first whole-brain meta-analysis exploring the brain structural correlates of neuroticism, and the findings may have implications for the intervention of high-neuroticism individuals, who are at risk of mental disorders, by targeting the dACC/mPFC.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiqin Liu
- The Clinical Hospital of Chengdu Brain Science Institute, MOE Key Lab for Neuroinformation, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, China.,State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning & IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China
| | - Han Lai
- Huaxi MR Research Center (HMRRC), Department of Radiology, West China Hospital of Sichuan University, Chengdu, China
| | - Jingguang Li
- College of Teacher Education, Dali University, Dali, China
| | - Benjamin Becker
- The Clinical Hospital of Chengdu Brain Science Institute, MOE Key Lab for Neuroinformation, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, China
| | - Yajun Zhao
- School of Education and Psychology, Southwest Minzu University, Chengdu, China
| | - Bochao Cheng
- Department of Radiology, West China Second University Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China
| | - Song Wang
- The Clinical Hospital of Chengdu Brain Science Institute, MOE Key Lab for Neuroinformation, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, China.,Huaxi MR Research Center (HMRRC), Department of Radiology, West China Hospital of Sichuan University, Chengdu, China
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Kulkarni P, Grant S, Morrison TR, Cai X, Iriah S, Kristal BS, Honeycutt J, Brenhouse H, Hartner JC, Madularu D, Ferris CF. Characterizing the human APOE epsilon 4 knock-in transgene in female and male rats with multimodal magnetic resonance imaging. Brain Res 2020; 1747:147030. [PMID: 32745658 DOI: 10.1016/j.brainres.2020.147030] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/24/2020] [Revised: 06/23/2020] [Accepted: 07/22/2020] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
The APOE Ɛ4 genotype is the most prevalent genetic risk for Alzheimer's disease (AD). Women carriers of Ɛ4 have higher risk for an early onset of AD than men. Human imaging studies suggest apolipoprotein Ɛ4 may affect brain structures associated with cognitive decline in AD many years before disease onset. It was hypothesized that female APOE Ɛ4 carriers would present with decreased cognitive function and neuroradiological evidence of early changes in brain structure and function as compared to male carriers. Six-month old wild-type (WT) and human APOE Ɛ4 knock-in (TGRA8960), male and female Sprague Dawley rats were studied for changes in brain structure using voxel-based morphometry, alteration in white and gray matter microarchitecture using diffusion weighted imaging with indices of anisotropy, and functional coupling using resting state BOLD functional connectivity. Images from each modality were registered to, and analyzed, using a 3D MRI rat atlas providing site-specific data on over 168 different brain areas. Quantitative volumetric analysis revealed areas involved in memory and arousal were significantly different between Ɛ4 and wild-type (WT) females, with few differences between male genotypes. Diffusion weighted imaging showed few differences between WT and Ɛ4 females, while male genotypes showed significant different measures in fractional anisotropy and apparent diffusion coefficient. Resting state functional connectivity showed Ɛ4 females had greater connectivity between areas involved in cognition, emotion, and arousal compared to WT females, with male Ɛ4 showing few differences from controls. Interestingly, male Ɛ4 showed increased anxiety and decreased performance in spatial and episodic memory tasks compared to WT males, with female genotypes showing little difference across behavioral tests. The sex differences in behavior and diffusion weighted imaging suggest male carriers of the Ɛ4 allele may be more vulnerable to cognitive and emotional complications compared to female carriers early in life. Conversely, the data may also suggest that female carriers are more resilient to cognitive/emotional problems at this stage of life perhaps due to altered brain volumes and enhanced connectivity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Praveen Kulkarni
- Northeastern Univ, Center for Translational NeuroImaging, Boston, MA, United States
| | - Simone Grant
- Dept of Psychiatry and Neurosciences, Univ California at Davis, United States
| | - Thomas R Morrison
- Northeastern Univ, Center for Translational NeuroImaging, Boston, MA, United States
| | - Xuezhu Cai
- Northeastern Univ, Center for Translational NeuroImaging, Boston, MA, United States
| | - Sade Iriah
- Northeastern Univ, Center for Translational NeuroImaging, Boston, MA, United States
| | - Bruce S Kristal
- Dept Neurosurgery, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, United States
| | | | | | | | - Dan Madularu
- Northeastern Univ, Center for Translational NeuroImaging, Boston, MA, United States
| | - Craig F Ferris
- Northeastern Univ, Center for Translational NeuroImaging, Boston, MA, United States; Northeastern Univ, Dept. Pharmaceutical Sciences, Boston, MA, United States.
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Iacono D, Feltis GC. Impact of Apolipoprotein E gene polymorphism during normal and pathological conditions of the brain across the lifespan. Aging (Albany NY) 2020; 11:787-816. [PMID: 30677746 PMCID: PMC6366964 DOI: 10.18632/aging.101757] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/15/2018] [Accepted: 01/05/2019] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
The central nervous system (CNS) is the cellular substrate for the integration of complex, dynamic, constant, and simultaneous interactions among endogenous and exogenous stimuli across the entire human lifespan. Numerous studies on aging-related brain diseases show that some genes identified as risk factors for some of the most common neurodegenerative diseases - such as the allele 4 of APOE gene (APOE4) for Alzheimer's disease (AD) - have a much earlier neuro-anatomical and neuro-physiological impact. The impact of APOE polymorphism appears in fact to start as early as youth and early-adult life. Intriguingly, though, those same genes associated with aging-related brain diseases seem to influence different aspects of the brain functioning much earlier actually, that is, even from the neonatal periods and earlier. The APOE4, an allele classically associated with later-life neurodegenerative disorders as AD, seems in fact to exert a series of very early effects on phenomena of neuroplasticity and synaptogenesis that begin from the earliest periods of life such as the fetal ones.We reviewed some of the findings supporting the hypothesis that APOE polymorphism is an early modifier of various neurobiological aspects across the entire human lifespan - from the in-utero to the centenarian life - during both normal and pathological conditions of the brain.
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Affiliation(s)
- Diego Iacono
- Neuropathology Research, Biomedical Research Institute of New Jersey (BRInj), Cedar Knolls, NJ 07927, USA.,MidAtlantic Neonatology Associates (MANA), Morristown, NJ 07960, USA.,Atlantic Neuroscience Institute, Atlantic Health System (AHS), Overlook Medical Center, Summit, NJ 07901, USA
| | - Gloria C Feltis
- Neuropathology Research, Biomedical Research Institute of New Jersey (BRInj), Cedar Knolls, NJ 07927, USA
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Lai H, Wang S, Zhao Y, Qiu C, Gong Q. Neurostructural correlates of optimism: Gray matter density in the putamen predicts dispositional optimism in late adolescence. Hum Brain Mapp 2019; 41:1459-1471. [PMID: 31816149 PMCID: PMC7267983 DOI: 10.1002/hbm.24888] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/10/2019] [Revised: 11/04/2019] [Accepted: 11/26/2019] [Indexed: 02/05/2023] Open
Abstract
Dispositional optimism reflects one's generalized positive expectancies for future outcomes and plays a crucial role in personal developmental outcomes and health (e.g., counteracting related mental disorders such as depression and anxiety). Increasing evidence has suggested that extraversion is an important personality factor contributing to dispositional optimism. However, less is known about the association between dispositional optimism and brain structure and the role of extraversion in this association. Here, we examined these issues in 231 healthy high school students aged 16 to 20 years (110 males, mean age = 18.48 years, SD = 0.54) by estimating regional gray matter density (rGMD) using a voxel‐based morphometry method via structural magnetic resonance imaging. Whole‐brain regression analyses revealed a significant positive correlation between dispositional optimism and the rGMD of the bilateral putamen after adjusting for age, sex, family socioeconomic status (SES), general intelligence, and total gray matter volume (TGMV). Moreover, prediction analyses using fourfold balanced cross‐validation combined with linear regression confirmed a significant connection between dispositional optimism and putamen density after adjusting for age, sex, and family SES. More importantly, subsequent mediation analysis showed that extraversion may account for the association between putamen density and dispositional optimism after adjusting for age, sex, family SES, general intelligence, TGMV, and the other four Big Five personality traits. Taken together, the current study provides new evidence regarding the neurostructural basis underlying dispositional optimism in adolescents and underscores the importance of extraversion as an essential personality factor for dispositional optimism acquisition.
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Affiliation(s)
- Han Lai
- Huaxi MR Research Center (HMRRC), Department of Radiology, West China Hospital of Sichuan University, Chengdu, China.,Department of Radiology, Shengjing Hospital of China Medical University, Shenyang, Liaoning, China.,Psychoradiology Research Unit of Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences (2018RU011), West China Hospital of Sichuan University, Chengdu, China
| | - Song Wang
- Huaxi MR Research Center (HMRRC), Department of Radiology, West China Hospital of Sichuan University, Chengdu, China.,Department of Radiology, Shengjing Hospital of China Medical University, Shenyang, Liaoning, China.,Psychoradiology Research Unit of Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences (2018RU011), West China Hospital of Sichuan University, Chengdu, China
| | - Yajun Zhao
- School of Sociology and Psychology, Southwest Minzu University, Chengdu, China
| | - Chen Qiu
- Department of Psychology, The Faculty of Social Science, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam, Hong Kong
| | - Qiyong Gong
- Huaxi MR Research Center (HMRRC), Department of Radiology, West China Hospital of Sichuan University, Chengdu, China.,Department of Radiology, Shengjing Hospital of China Medical University, Shenyang, Liaoning, China.,Psychoradiology Research Unit of Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences (2018RU011), West China Hospital of Sichuan University, Chengdu, China
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Lai H, Wang S, Zhao Y, Zhang L, Yang C, Gong Q. Brain gray matter correlates of extraversion: A systematic review and meta-analysis of voxel-based morphometry studies. Hum Brain Mapp 2019; 40:4038-4057. [PMID: 31169966 DOI: 10.1002/hbm.24684] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/03/2019] [Revised: 04/11/2019] [Accepted: 04/23/2019] [Indexed: 02/05/2023] Open
Abstract
Extraversion is a fundamental personality dimension closely related to an individual's life outcomes and mental health. Although an increasing number of studies have attempted to identify the neurostructural markers of extraversion, the results have been highly inconsistent. The current study aimed to achieve a comprehensive understanding of brain gray matter (GM) correlates of extraversion with a systematic review and meta-analysis approach. Our review showed relatively high interstudy heterogeneity among previous findings. Our meta-analysis of whole-brain voxel-based morphometry studies revealed that extraversion was stably associated with six core brain regions. Additionally, meta-regression analyses identified brain regions where the associations of extraversion with GM volume were modulated by gender and age. The relationships between extraversion and GM structures were discussed based on three extraversion-related functional systems. Furthermore, we explained the gender and age effects. Overall, our study is the first to reveal a comprehensive picture of brain GM correlates of extraversion, and the findings may be useful for the selection of targeted brain areas for extraversion interventions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Han Lai
- Huaxi MR Research Center (HMRRC), Department of Radiology, West China Hospital of Sichuan University, Chengdu, China.,Psychoradiology Research Unit of Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, West China Hospital of Sichuan University, Chengdu, China
| | - Song Wang
- Huaxi MR Research Center (HMRRC), Department of Radiology, West China Hospital of Sichuan University, Chengdu, China.,Psychoradiology Research Unit of Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, West China Hospital of Sichuan University, Chengdu, China.,Department of Psychoradiology, Chengdu Mental Health Center, Chengdu, China
| | - Yajun Zhao
- School of Sociology and Psychology, Southwest Minzu University, Chengdu, China
| | - Lei Zhang
- Psychoradiology Research Unit of Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, West China Hospital of Sichuan University, Chengdu, China
| | - Cheng Yang
- Huaxi MR Research Center (HMRRC), Department of Radiology, West China Hospital of Sichuan University, Chengdu, China
| | - Qiyong Gong
- Huaxi MR Research Center (HMRRC), Department of Radiology, West China Hospital of Sichuan University, Chengdu, China.,Psychoradiology Research Unit of Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, West China Hospital of Sichuan University, Chengdu, China.,Department of Psychoradiology, Chengdu Mental Health Center, Chengdu, China
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Zhou F, Montag C, Sariyska R, Lachmann B, Reuter M, Weber B, Trautner P, Kendrick KM, Markett S, Becker B. Orbitofrontal gray matter deficits as marker of Internet gaming disorder: converging evidence from a cross-sectional and prospective longitudinal design. Addict Biol 2019; 24:100-109. [PMID: 29057579 DOI: 10.1111/adb.12570] [Citation(s) in RCA: 35] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/28/2017] [Revised: 07/28/2017] [Accepted: 09/11/2017] [Indexed: 01/16/2023]
Abstract
Internet gaming disorder represents a growing health issue. Core symptoms include unsuccessful attempts to control the addictive patterns of behavior and continued use despite negative consequences indicating a loss of regulatory control. Previous studies revealed brain structural deficits in prefrontal regions subserving regulatory control in individuals with excessive Internet use. However, because of the cross-sectional nature of these studies, it remains unknown whether the observed brain structural deficits preceded the onset of excessive Internet use. Against this background, the present study combined a cross-sectional and longitudinal design to determine the consequences of excessive online video gaming. Forty-one subjects with a history of excessive Internet gaming and 78 gaming-naive subjects were enrolled in the present study. To determine effects of Internet gaming on brain structure, gaming-naive subjects were randomly assigned to 6 weeks of daily Internet gaming (training group) or a non-gaming condition (training control group). At study inclusion, excessive Internet gamers demonstrated lower right orbitofrontal gray matter volume compared with Internet gaming-naive subjects. Within the Internet gamers, a lower gray matter volume in this region was associated with higher online video gaming addiction severity. Longitudinal analysis revealed initial evidence that left orbitofrontal gray matter volume decreased during the training period in the training group as well as in the group of excessive gamers. Together, the present findings suggest an important role of the orbitofrontal cortex in the development of Internet addiction with a direct association between excessive engagement in online gaming and structural deficits in this brain region.
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Affiliation(s)
- Feng Zhou
- Key Laboratory for NeuroInformation, Center for Information in Medicine, School of Life Science and Technology; University of Electronic Science and Technology of China; China
| | - Christian Montag
- Key Laboratory for NeuroInformation, Center for Information in Medicine, School of Life Science and Technology; University of Electronic Science and Technology of China; China
- Institute of Psychology and Education; Ulm University; Germany
| | - Rayna Sariyska
- Institute of Psychology and Education; Ulm University; Germany
| | - Bernd Lachmann
- Institute of Psychology and Education; Ulm University; Germany
| | - Martin Reuter
- Department of Psychology; University of Bonn; Germany
- Center for Economics and Neuroscience; University of Bonn; Germany
| | - Bernd Weber
- Center for Economics and Neuroscience; University of Bonn; Germany
- Department for NeuroCognition; Life & Brain Center; Germany
- Department of Epileptology; University Hospital of Bonn; Germany
| | - Peter Trautner
- Department for NeuroCognition; Life & Brain Center; Germany
| | - Keith M. Kendrick
- Key Laboratory for NeuroInformation, Center for Information in Medicine, School of Life Science and Technology; University of Electronic Science and Technology of China; China
| | - Sebastian Markett
- Department of Psychology; University of Bonn; Germany
- Center for Economics and Neuroscience; University of Bonn; Germany
| | - Benjamin Becker
- Key Laboratory for NeuroInformation, Center for Information in Medicine, School of Life Science and Technology; University of Electronic Science and Technology of China; China
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