title: Examining gray matter structures associated with individual differences in global life satisfaction in a large sample of young adults.
abstract: Although much attention has been directed towards life satisfaction that refers to an individual's general cognitive evaluations of his or her life as a whole, little is known about the neural basis underlying global life satisfaction. In this study, we used voxel-based morphometry to investigate the structural neural correlates of life satisfaction in a large sample of young healthy adults (n = 299). We showed that individuals' life satisfaction was positively correlated with the regional gray matter volume (rGMV) in the right parahippocampal gyrus (PHG), and negatively correlated with the rGMV in the left precuneus and left ventromedial prefrontal cortex. This pattern of results remained significant even after controlling for the effect of general positive and negative affect, suggesting a unique structural correlates of life satisfaction. Furthermore, we found that self-esteem partially mediated the association between the PHG volume and life satisfaction as well as that between the precuneus volume and global life satisfaction. Taken together, we provide the first evidence for the structural neural basis of life satisfaction, and highlight that self-esteem might play a crucial role in cultivating an individual's life satisfaction.
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning & IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Center for Collaboration and Innovation in Brain and Learning Sciences, and School of Psychology, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning & IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Center for Collaboration and Innovation in Brain and Learning Sciences, and School of Psychology, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Feng
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Kong
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning & IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Center for Collaboration and Innovation in Brain and Learning Sciences, and School of Psychology, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning & IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Center for Collaboration and Innovation in Brain and Learning Sciences, and School of Psychology, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Ke
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Ding
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning & IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Center for Collaboration and Innovation in Brain and Learning Sciences, and School of Psychology, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning & IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Center for Collaboration and Innovation in Brain and Learning Sciences, and School of Psychology, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Zetian
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning & IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Center for Collaboration and Innovation in Brain and Learning Sciences, and School of Psychology, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning & IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Center for Collaboration and Innovation in Brain and Learning Sciences, and School of Psychology, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Xiaobin
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Dang
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning & IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Center for Collaboration and Innovation in Brain and Learning Sciences, and School of Psychology, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Siyuan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Hu
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning & IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Center for Collaboration and Innovation in Brain and Learning Sciences, and School of Psychology, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning & IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Center for Collaboration and Innovation in Brain and Learning Sciences, and School of Psychology, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Yiying
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Song
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning & IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Center for Collaboration and Innovation in Brain and Learning Sciences, and School of Psychology, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China liujia@bnu.edu.cn.
authors.forename: Jia
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Liu
mesh_terms: D000339:Affect; D005260:Female; D066128:Gray Matter / Q000033:anatomy & histology* / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D007091:Image Processing, Computer-Assisted; D007206:Individuality; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D020534:Parahippocampal Gyrus / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000502:physiology; D010296:Parietal Lobe; D010549:Personal Satisfaction; D017397:Prefrontal Cortex / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000502:physiology; D012649:Self Concept; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: life satisfaction; parahippocampal gyrus; precuneus; self-esteem; voxel-based morphometry