정상 성인에서 자극추구 기질에 따른 우측 편도체의 측기저 세부구조의 차이

• Published in: Journal of the Korean Society of Biological Psychiatry Vol. 19; no. 2; pp. 71 - 76
• Main Authors: 조한별, 김빈나, 최지혜, 전유진, 김지현, 정지영, 임주연, 이선혜, Cho, Han-Byul, Kim, Bin-Na, Choi, Ji-Hye, Jeon, Yu-Jin, Kim, Ji-Hyun H, Jung, Ji-Young J, Im, Joo-Yeon Jamie, Lee, Sun-Hea
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: Korean
• Published: 대한생물정신의학회 01.05.2012
• Subjects: 정신과학
• ISSN: 1225-8709; 2005-7571

Objectives : Novelty seeking (NS) represents a dopaminergically modulated tendency toward frequent exploratory activity. Considering the reports showing the relationship between exploratory activity and amygdalar function and structure, and the fact that amygdala is one of the key structures that constitute the dopaminergic pathway in the brain, amygdala might be closely related to NS tendencies. Amygdalar subregional analysis method, which has the enhanced sensitivity compared to the volumteric approach would be appropriate in investigating the subtle differences of amygdalar structures among healthy individuals. The aim of the current study was to examine whether amygdalar subregional morphometric characteristics are associated with the NS tendencies in healthy adults using the amygdalar subregional analysis method. Methods : Twenty-six healthy adults (12 males, 14 females ; mean age $29.8{\pm}6.2$ years) were screened for eligibility. All subjects completed the Korean version of the Temperament and Character Inventory (TCI) and underwent high-resolution brain magnetic resonance imaging. Individuals were divided into 2 groups according to NS scores of the TCI. Results : Individuals of the high NS group had significantly larger laterobasal subregions in right amygdala, after adjustment with the brain parenchymal volumes. Sensitivity analyses for each potential confounding factor such as age, education years and Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HDRS) scores demonstrated consistent results. Conclusions : This study suggests that NS differences are associated with the laterobasal subregion of the amygdala.