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Neuroscience of Personality (Brain Structure (White Matter Integrity (600…
Neuroscience of Personality
Brain Structure
Cortical Thickness
Black = Cerebral fluids
Red = Cortec
MRI quantifies cortices
Surface area = more wrinkles (larger area)
White Matter Microstructure
For any person, we can measure the
integrity of the matter
Transmission = Pipes
From area -> area - can be measured
White matter = the highway of transfer in the brain
Neurotransmitter Function
NTs are transmitted across
synapses
and are received by another neutron -> can measure the
transmission
Bigger brains don't always mean more intelligent
E.g. other animals with larger brains
Each animal has evolved for a different purpose
Certain brain areas are linked to certain traits
P-FIT
Robust evidence for the involvement of
frontal & parietal regions in intelligence
The regions are the
connections between them
are critical to understanding intellectual thought
White Matter Integrity
600 pps -
Segmentation of tracts
Each pp got a number (defines how good the tract is)
Took average = G = the ability to transfer information around the brain quickly and efficiently
G reflects the processing speed
White matter is a plausible marker of processing ability -
information transfer is greater with higher integrity
Eyesenck
Ascending reticular activating system
Manages the amount of arousal or stimulation that the brain receives
Eyesenck argued: Extroverts are chronically
under-aroused
and introverts are
over-aroused
Over-aroused people (introverts) will want to seek out less stimulation and vice versa
Extraverts try to get on the same plane as introverts by being loud =
Homeostasis
Real World Implications
Geen:
PPs chose noise levels for performing a task
Extraverts chose more intense noise levels - need more arousal (agrees with Eyesenck)
E's & I's were equal in psychophysiological arousal when stimulated with noise of an intensity chosen by themselves
Personality & Grey Matter
DeYoung:
Looked at B-5 traits in grey matter context
Each trait has a corresponding brain region - extraversion region is larger in extraverts
Age is a factor that effects personality
Cross-cultural differences, sex?
Current Thinking
Grey matter links to personality
White Matter
Less well studied
Lewis:
Studied conscientiousness white matter tract in both hemispheres -> predictive of
meta-trait
stability
Combining Genes & Brain
Thompson:
Imaging genetics
Grey matter is very similar between MZs
Some similarities in DZs
Animal Personality
Amygdala -> subcortical brain structure (deep brain)
Extraversion & neuroticism - people who had a larger amygdala had greater levels of extraversion
Squid has a low level nervous system but still has personality
Animals have high dopamine hierarchies
Some overlaps with animal kingdom but also some divergences
Extraversion traits in humans and dogs -
Primitive Brain System