Extrapunitive and intropunitive individuals activate different parts of the prefrontal cortex under an ego-blocking frustration.
Different people make different responses when they face a frustrating situation: some punish others (extrapunitive), while others punish themselves (intropunitive). Few studies have investigated the neural structures that differentiate extrapunitive and intropunitive individuals. The present fMRI study explored these neural structures using two different frustrating situations: an ego-blocking situation which blocks a desire or goal, and a superego-blocking situation which blocks self-esteem. In the ego-blocking condition, the extrapunitive group (n = 9) showed greater activation in the bilateral ventrolateral prefrontal cortex, indicating that these individuals prefer emotional processing. On the other hand, the intropunitive group (n = 9) showed greater activation in the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, possibly reflecting an effortful control for anger reduction. Such patterns were not observed in the superego-blocking condition. These results indicate that the prefrontal cortex is the source of individual differences in aggression direction in the ego-blocking situation.
Graduate School of Human Sciences, Osaka University, Suita, Osaka, Japan.
Takehiro
T
Minamoto
Graduate School of Human Sciences, Osaka University, Suita, Osaka, Japan.
Mariko
M
Osaka
Graduate School of Letters, Kyoto University, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto, Japan.
Ken
K
Yaoi
Graduate School of Letters, Kyoto University, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto, Japan.
Naoyuki
N
Osaka
D000786:Anger; D001931:Brain Mapping; D004532:Ego; D005260:Female; D005639:Frustration; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D010775:Photic Stimulation; D017397:Prefrontal Cortex / Q000502:physiology*; D011678:Punishment / Q000523:psychology*; D012649:Self Concept; D055815:Young Adult