title: A voxel-based morphometry study of gray and white matter correlates of a need for uniqueness.
abstract: People appear to derive intrinsic satisfaction from the perception that they are unique, special, and separable from the masses, which is referred to as a need for uniqueness (NFU). NFU is a universal human trait, along with a tendency to conform to the beliefs and attitudes of others and social norms. We used voxel-based morphometry and a questionnaire to determine individual NFU and its association with brain structures in healthy men (94) and women (91; age, 21.3 ± 1.9 years). Individual NFU was associated with smaller gray matter volume of a cluster that included areas in (a) the left middle temporal gyrus, left superior temporal gyrus, and left superior temporal sulcus (STS); (b) the dorsal part of the anterior cingulate gyrus and the anterior part of the middle cingulate gyrus; and (c) the right inferior frontal gyrus and the ventral part of the precentral gyrus. Individual NFU was also associated with larger white matter concentration of a cluster that mainly included the body of the corpus callosum. These findings demonstrated that variations in NFU reflect the gray and white matter structures of focal regions. These findings suggest a biological basis for individual NFU, distributed across different gray and white matter areas of the brain.
authors.affiliation: Smart Ageing International Research Center, Institute of Development, Aging and Cancer, Tohoku University, Sendai, Japan. takehi@idac.tohoku.ac.jp
authors.forename: Hikaru
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Takeuchi
authors.forename: Yasuyuki
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Taki
authors.forename: Rui
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Nouchi
authors.forename: Atsushi
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Sekiguchi
authors.forename: Yuka
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Kotozaki
authors.forename: Carlos Makoto
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Miyauchi
authors.forename: Ryoichi
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Yokoyama
authors.forename: Kunio
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Iizuka
authors.forename: Hiroshi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Hashizume
authors.forename: Seishu
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Nakagawa
authors.forename: Keiko
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Kunitoki
authors.forename: Yuko
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Sassa
authors.forename: Ryuta
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Kawashima
mesh_terms: D001921:Brain / Q000502:physiology*; D001931:Brain Mapping; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007090:Image Interpretation, Computer-Assisted; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D012649:Self Concept; D055815:Young Adult