title: Individual differences in brain structure and resting brain function underlie cognitive styles: evidence from the Embedded Figures Test.
abstract: Cognitive styles can be characterized as individual differences in the way people perceive, think, solve problems, learn, and relate to others. Field dependence/independence (FDI) is an important and widely studied dimension of cognitive styles. Although functional imaging studies have investigated the brain activation of FDI cognitive styles, the combined structural and functional correlates with individual differences in a large sample have never been investigated. In the present study, we investigated the neural correlates of individual differences in FDI cognitive styles by analyzing the correlations between Embedded Figures Test (EFT) score and structural neuroimaging data [regional gray matter volume (rGMV) was assessed using voxel-based morphometry (VBM)]/functional neuroimaging data [resting-brain functions were measured by amplitude of low-frequency fluctuation (ALFF)] throughout the whole brain. Results showed that the increased rGMV in the left inferior parietal lobule (IPL) was associated with the EFT score, which might be the structural basis of effective local processing. Additionally, a significant positive correlation between ALFF and EFT score was found in the fronto-parietal network, including the left inferior parietal lobule (IPL) and the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC). We speculated that the left IPL might be associated with superior feature identification, and mPFC might be related to cognitive inhibition of global processing bias. These results suggested that the underlying neuroanatomical and functional bases were linked to the individual differences in FDI cognitive styles and emphasized the important contribution of superior local processing ability and cognitive inhibition to field-independent style.
authors.affiliation: Key laboratory of cognition and personality (SWU), Ministry of Education, Chongqing, China ; Department of Psychology, Southwest University, Chongqing, China.
authors.forename: Xin
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Hao
authors.affiliation: Key laboratory of cognition and personality (SWU), Ministry of Education, Chongqing, China ; Department of Psychology, Southwest University, Chongqing, China.
authors.forename: Kangcheng
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Key laboratory of cognition and personality (SWU), Ministry of Education, Chongqing, China ; Department of Psychology, Southwest University, Chongqing, China.
authors.forename: Wenfu
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Key laboratory of cognition and personality (SWU), Ministry of Education, Chongqing, China ; Department of Psychology, Southwest University, Chongqing, China.
authors.forename: Wenjing
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.affiliation: Key laboratory of cognition and personality (SWU), Ministry of Education, Chongqing, China ; Department of Psychology, Southwest University, Chongqing, China.
authors.forename: Dongtao
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Wei
authors.affiliation: Key laboratory of cognition and personality (SWU), Ministry of Education, Chongqing, China ; Department of Psychology, Southwest University, Chongqing, China.
authors.forename: Jiang
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Qiu
authors.affiliation: Key laboratory of cognition and personality (SWU), Ministry of Education, Chongqing, China ; Department of Psychology, Southwest University, Chongqing, China.
authors.forename: Qinglin
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Zhang
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001921:Brain / Q000378:metabolism*; D001931:Brain Mapping / Q000379:methods; D003071:Cognition / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007361:Intelligence Tests; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D012146:Rest / Q000502:physiology*; D055815:Young Adult