Korean J Biol Psychiatry.
2010 Nov;17(4):203-209.
The Relationship between Harm Avoidance Temperament and Right Frontal and Left Parietal Lobes in Young Adults: A Cortical Thickness Analysis
- Affiliations
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- 1Interdisciplinary Program in Neuroscience, Seoul National University College of Natural Sciences, Seoul, Korea.
- 2Seoul Science High School, Seoul, Korea.
- 3Department of Chemistry, New York University, New York, U.S.A.
- 4Department of Psychiatry, Catholic University of Korea College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea. bluenote@catholic.ac.kr
Abstract
OBJECTIVES
Increasing evidence suggests the presence of neurobiological bases for temperamental characteristics in humans. Brain correlates of harm avoidance(HA) have been most extensively studied using functional and structural brain imaging methods due to its potential link with anxiety and depressive disorders. To date, however, we are not aware of any reports that have examined the potential relationship between HA levels and regional cortical thickness. The aim of the current study is to examine the cortical thickness which is associated with HA temperament in healthy young subjects.
METHODS
Twenty-eight young, healthy individuals(13 men and 15 women, mean age, 29.4 +/- 6.3 years) were screened for eligibility and administered the Korean version of the Cloninger's Temperament and Character Inventory and underwent high-resolution structural magnetic resonance imaging scanning.
RESULTS
HA was associated with cortical thickness in the right superior frontal cortex and in the left parietal cortex, adjusted for age and sex and corrected for multiple comparisons using the permutation testing method.
CONCLUSION
Individual temperamental differences in HA are associated with structural variations in specific areas of the brain. The fact that these brain regions are involved in top-down modulations of subcortical fear reactions adds functional significance to current findings.
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