THURSDAY, June 24 (HealthDay News) -- An individual's
personality appears to be linked partly to the size of different
parts of the brain, new research from the University of Minnesota
reveals.
The observation is based on correlations made between
personality questionnaires completed by 116 men and women and brain
imaging scans that measured the size of various brain regions.
A team led by Colin DeYoung of the University of Minnesota found
that four out of the five principle personality "factors" as
typically characterized by psychologists -- conscientiousness,
extraversion, neuroticism, agreeableness and openness/intellect --
were associated with differences in regional brain mass.
DeYoung and his colleagues report their findings online June 22
in
Psychological Science.
Extroverts, for example, are generally more involved in the
quest for rewards. Using a computer program to compare the relative
sizes of different structures in each brain image, the authors
noted that participants who described themselves as extroverted had
a significantly larger medial orbitofrontol cortex -- a part of the
brain active in considering rewards. Perhaps not surprisingly,
those self-described as conscientious had a bigger lateral
prefrontal cortex -- a section of the brain involved in planning
and controlling behavior.
Being neurotic and agreeable, respectively, also corresponded to
differences in regional brain mass, the authors noted.
In fact, the only personality factor seemingly not associated
with the size of a specific brain part was openness/intellect, the
research team noted.
"This starts to indicate that we can actually find the biological systems that are responsible for these patterns of complex behavior and experience that make people individuals," DeYoung said in a news release.
Nevertheless, DeYoung noted that the personality is not an
immutable force, given that the brain grows and changes in reaction
to experience. Such changes in the brain can ultimately change
personality.
More information
For more on the concept of personality, see the
American Psychological Association.