Weak brain function and anxiety-related loop in harm-avoidance personality: A resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging study

Abstract

Background: Personality is a unique and relatively stable psychological concept that defines individual human beings. It strongly influences long-term behavioral styles such as emotional expression. This study aims to elucidate the brain functional underpinning behind personality. Methods: A total of 97 young subjects were included. All subjects completed personality, emotion, and cognition scales, and resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging scan. All subjects were divided into subtypes of harm avoidance (HA) and reward dependence (RD) by clustering analysis. Graph theory analysis and network-based analysis were used to explore the brain functional configurations of personalities. Results: HA subjects showed lower network metrics (P = 0.018) and node metrics (P < 0.009). A negative component network was observed in HA subjects (P < 0.001). Functional topology metrics were negatively correlated with the HA score. The amygdala-IPG functional connectivity mediated the positive correlation between personality HA and state anxiety. Conclusion: Personality HA is associated with decreased functional configuration, which could influence emotion by downregulating amygdala-IPG coupling. These findings provide insight into how the brain shapes personality and related emotions.

Keywords

• Personality
• Anxiety
• Functional magnetic resonance imaging
• Clustering analysis
• Mediating analysis