This subproject is one of many research subprojects utilizing theresources provided by a Center grant funded by NIH/NCRR. The subproject andinvestigator (PI) may have received primary funding from another NIH source,and thus could be represented in other CRISP entries. The institution listed isfor the Center, which is not necessarily the institution for the investigator.'BackgroundFunctional and structural imaging allows researchers to examine the biological basis of personality. For example, studies on cerebral blood flow have supported Eysenck's and Gray's hypothesis that introverts have higher cortical activity than extraverts in the frontal lobe. Recent findings on magnetic resonance imaging shows that extraverts, besides reduced cerebral blood flow, also have smaller frontal grey matter volume, especially in the lateral prefrontal cortex.
Aim of this pilot study is to examine the relationship between grey matter volume and the personality dimension of extraversion/introversion in healthy persons.
Our second aim i s to detect cortical grey matter patterns of extraversion.MethodsA group of 86 persons (54F, 32M) were recruited in a study on normal brain structure with high resolution magnetic resonance imaging. The mean age of subjects was 44 (SD=6.4, range=24.2-53.7) and their mean level of education was 11.1 years (SD=3.9, range=1-18). All individuals were scanned on a Philips 1.0 T Gyroscan. The Big Five Inventory was administered to each participant and extraversion scores were obtained. Individuals was divided according to extraversion tertiles. Two subgroups of 10 persons, age and sex matched, were randomly selected in the highest and lowest extraversion tertile. We will use Cortical Pattern Matching algorithms to detect cortical grey matter differences between groups.Expected resultsOur expected results are to confirm a negative association of extraversion with frontal grey matter volume. Previous studies showed that in extraverts the following regions have lower cortical thickness: inferior and middle frontal cortex, fusiform gyrus.
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