Changes in SWB following injury to different brain lobes.
A neurological substrate for subjective well-being (SWB) has received little research attention.


OBJECTIVE
This study was designed to conduct exploratory investigation into the neuroanatomical correlates of SWB, by monitoring the SWB of a head-injured population over a six-month period.


METHODS
Seventy people with head injury (HI), aged 10-65, were studied. The SWB of each participant was measured, and computed tomography (CT) scans were analysed to obtain regional brain injury location (BIL).


RESULTS
SWB was associated with BIL. However, the hypothesis that individuals with left frontal injury would report lower SWB was not supported. Instead, it was observed that participants with injury to their right frontal lobe reported higher SWB than individuals with injury to other regions of the brain.


CONCLUSIONS
This study provides initial exploration into the neuroanatomical correlates of SWB.
School of Psychology, Deakin University, 221 Burwood Hwy., Burwood, Victoria 3125, Australia.
Carrie S
CS
Hayward
Mark A
MA
Stokes
David
D
Taylor
Simon
S
Young
Vicki
V
Anderson
D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001315:Australia; D001930:Brain Injuries / Q000150:complications / Q000473:pathology* / Q000523:psychology; D001931:Brain Mapping / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods*; D002648:Child; D003071:Cognition; D004644:Emotions; D005260:Female; D006240:Happiness; D006801:Humans; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D009445:Neuroanatomy / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods; D011594:Psychometrics; D013223:Statistics as Topic; D013315:Stress, Psychological; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013995:Time; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed; D015599:Trauma Severity Indices; D055815:Young Adult