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Surface-based morphometry reveals the neuroanatomical basis of the five-factor model of personality.

Published version
Peer-reviewed

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Authors

Riccelli, Roberta 
Toschi, Nicola 
Nigro, Salvatore 
Terracciano, Antonio 

Abstract

The five-factor model (FFM) is a widely used taxonomy of human personality; yet its neuro anatomical basis remains unclear. This is partly because past associations between gray-matter volume and FFM were driven by different surface-based morphometry (SBM) indices (i.e. cortical thickness, surface area, cortical folding or any combination of them). To overcome this limitation, we used Free-Surfer to study how variability in SBM measures was related to the FFM in n = 507 participants from the Human Connectome Project.Neuroticism was associated with thicker cortex and smaller area and folding in prefrontal-temporal regions. Extraversion was linked to thicker pre-cuneus and smaller superior temporal cortex area. Openness was linked to thinner cortex and greater area and folding in prefrontal-parietal regions. Agreeableness was correlated to thinner prefrontal cortex and smaller fusiform gyrus area. Conscientiousness was associated with thicker cortex and smaller area and folding in prefrontal regions. These findings demonstrate that anatomical variability in prefrontal cortices is linked to individual differences in the socio-cognitive dispositions described by the FFM. Cortical thickness and surface area/folding were inversely related each others as a function of different FFM traits (neuroticism, extraversion and consciousness vs openness), which may reflect brain maturational effects that predispose or protect against psychiatric disorders.

Description

Keywords

big five, cortical folding, cortical thickness, individual differences, surface area, Adult, Brain Mapping, Cerebral Cortex, Factor V, Female, Humans, Image Interpretation, Computer-Assisted, Individuality, Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Male, Neuroticism, Organ Size, Personality, Prefrontal Cortex, Statistics as Topic, Temporal Lobe, Young Adult

Journal Title

Soc Cogn Affect Neurosci

Conference Name

Journal ISSN

1749-5016
1749-5024

Volume Title

12

Publisher

Oxford University Press (OUP)
Sponsorship
R.R. was funded by the University ‘Magna Graecia’ of Catanzaro, while L.P. was funded by the Italian National Research Council and the University of Cambridge. AT was funded by the National Institute on Aging (NIA), National Institutes of Health (NIH; 1R03AG051960-01) and by the Florida Department of Health ‘Ed and Ethel Moore Alzheimer’s Disease Research Program’ (6AZ09). Data were provided by the Human Connectome Project, WU-Minn Consortium (Principal Investigators: David Van Essen and Kamil Ugurbil; 1U54MH091657) funded by the 16 NIH Institutes and Centers that support the NIH Blueprint for Neuroscience Research; and by the McDonnell Center for Systems Neuroscience at Washington University. Data collection and sharing for this project was provided by the MGHUSC Human Connectome Project (HCP; Principal Investigators: Bruce Rosen, M.D., Ph.D., Arthur W. Toga, Ph.D., Van J. Weeden, MD). The HCP project is supported by the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research (NIDCR), the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), and the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) (Principal Investigators: Bruce Rosen, M.D., Ph.D., Martinos Center at Massachusetts General Hospital; Arthur W. Toga, Ph.D., University of Southern California, Van J. Weeden, MD, Martinos Center at Massachusetts General Hospital). HCP is also the result of efforts of co-investigators from the University of Southern California, Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH), Washington University, and the University of Minnesota.