Relationship between personality trait and regional cerebral glucose metabolism assessed with positron emission tomography

• Published in: Biological psychology Vol. 60; no. 2; pp. 109 - 120
• Main Authors: Youn, Tak, Lyoo, In Kyoon, Kim, Jae-Jin, Park, Hae-Jeong, Ha, Kyoo-Seob, Lee, Dong Soo, Abrams, Kelley Yost, Lee, Myung Chul, Kwon, Jun Soo
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Shannon Elsevier B.V 01.09.2002; Elsevier Science
• Subjects: Adolescent; Adult; Biological and medical sciences; Blood Glucose - metabolism; Brain - diagnostic imaging; Brain Mapping; Female; Fluorodeoxyglucose F18; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Glucose metabolism; Humans; Male; Personality - physiology; Personality Inventory; Personality traits; Personality. Affectivity; Positron emission tomography (PET); Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry; Psychology. Psychophysiology; Temperament; Temperament - physiology; Temperament and character inventory (TCI); Tomography, Emission-Computed; Glucose metabolism; Positron emission tomography (PET); Temperament; Temperament and character inventory (TCI); Human; Energy metabolism; Investigation method; Central nervous system; Neuropsychological test; Tomography; Personality; Experimental study; Brain (vertebrata)
• ISSN: 0301-0511; 1873-6246
• DOI: 10.1016/S0301-0511(02)00047-9

There have been no studies systematically investigating relationships between biogenetic temperament dimensions and patterns of brain glucose metabolism. Nineteen healthy subjects were evaluated regarding the biogenetic temperament using Cloninger's Temperament and Character Inventory (TCI). In addition, [ 18F] fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) positron emission tomography (PET) was used to measure regional brain glucose metabolism. Voxel-based correlation analysis was used to test correlations between regional brain glucose metabolism and scores on the TCI. We identified that each temperament dimension, such as Novelty Seeking, Harm Avoidance, and Reward Dependence, was significantly correlated with specific brain regions. The majority of correlations were observed in the areas of paralimbic regions and temporal lobes. The current study provides evidence linking each biogenetic temperament dimension with specific brain areas and provides a promising base for future personality research.