Resting-state functional connectivity of the default mode network associated with happiness.
Happiness refers to people's cognitive and affective evaluation of their life. Why are some people happier than others? One reason might be that unhappy people are prone to ruminate more than happy people. The default mode network (DMN) is normally active during rest and is implicated in rumination. We hypothesized that unhappiness may be associated with increased default-mode functional connectivity during rest, including the medial prefrontal cortex (MPFC), posterior cingulate cortex (PCC) and inferior parietal lobule (IPL). The hyperconnectivity of these areas may be associated with higher levels of rumination. One hundred forty-eight healthy participants underwent a resting-state fMRI scan. A group-independent component analysis identified the DMNs. Results indicated increased functional connectivity in the DMN was associated with lower levels of happiness. Specifically, relative to happy people, unhappy people exhibited greater functional connectivity in the anterior medial cortex (bilateral MPFC), posterior medial cortex regions (bilateral PCC) and posterior parietal cortex (left IPL). Moreover, the increased functional connectivity of the MPFC, PCC and IPL, correlated positively with the inclination to ruminate. These results highlight the important role of the DMN in the neural correlates of happiness, and suggest that rumination may play an important role in people's perceived happiness.
Key Laboratory of Behavior and Cognitive Psychology in Shaanxi Province, School of Psychology, Shaanxi Normal University, Xi'an 710062, China Key Laboratory of Cognition and Personality of Ministry of Education, School of Psychology, Southwest University, Chongqing 400715, China.
Yangmei
Y
Luo
State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China.
Feng
F
Kong
MOE Key Laboratory of Modern Teaching Technology, Shaanxi Normal University, Xi'an 710062, China.
Senqing
S
Qi
Key Laboratory of Behavior and Cognitive Psychology in Shaanxi Province, School of Psychology, Shaanxi Normal University, Xi'an 710062, China.
Xuqun
X
You
Key Laboratory of Cognition and Personality of Ministry of Education, School of Psychology, Southwest University, Chongqing 400715, China xthuang@swu.edu.cn.
Xiting
X
Huang
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001931:Brain Mapping; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D005260:Female; D006179:Gyrus Cinguli / Q000502:physiology; D006240:Happiness; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D009434:Neural Pathways / Q000502:physiology*; D010296:Parietal Lobe / Q000502:physiology; D017397:Prefrontal Cortex / Q000502:physiology; D012146:Rest; D055815:Young Adult
default mode network; functional connectivity; happiness; resting-state fMRI; rumination