Affect-related personality traits and contextual interference processing during perception of facial affect.
We investigated the influence of different personality dimensions on neural emotional conflict processing. A cluster analysis separated two different subsamples of subjects. One sample scored high on neuroticism, anxiety, depressivity and low on extraversion and was found to be highly sensitive to emotional conflicts during processing of negative and positive expressions. This sample revealed increased conflict induced activation in the amygdala during processing of negative expressions which was associated with higher levels of anxiety and depressivity. This amygdala activity was positively coupled with activity in dACC during processing of neutral expressions and negatively coupled in the sample with opposite personality scores. Depressivity was also associated with activation in subgenual ACC. Increased activation in subgenual ACC was also found during processing of positive expressions. This activation as well as activation in rostral ACC was higher in lower extraversion scores. In summary, individuals with higher neuroticism, anxiety, depressivity scores and low extraversion scores are sensitive to emotional conflicts during the processing of emotional expressions. Furthermore, emotional conflict resolution might challenge emotional regulative mechanisms in these subjects which became evident by increased activations in different subregions of the ACC.
Frühholz
Sascha
S
Department of Neuropsychology and Behavioral Neurobiology, Center for Cognitive Sciences (ZKW), University Bremen, Hochschulring 18, 28359 Bremen, Germany. fruehholz@uni-bremen.de
Prinz
Maren
M
Herrmann
Manfred
M
D000328:Adult; D000339:Affect; D000679:Amygdala / Q000502:physiology; D001921:Brain / Q000502:physiology*; D001931:Brain Mapping; D016000:Cluster Analysis; D005149:Facial Expression; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D010551:Personality; D014796:Visual Perception / Q000502:physiology*; D055815:Young Adult