title: Externalizing personality traits, empathy, and gray matter volume in healthy young drinkers.
abstract: Externalizing psychopathology has been linked to prefrontal abnormalities. While clinically diagnosed subjects show altered frontal gray matter, it is unknown if similar deficits relate to externalizing traits in non-clinical populations. We used voxel-based morphometry (VBM) to retrospectively analyze the cerebral gray matter volume of 176 young adult social to heavy drinkers (mean age=24.0±2.9, male=83.5%) from studies of alcoholism risk. We hypothesized that prefrontal gray matter volume and externalizing traits would be correlated. Externalizing personality trait components-Boredom Susceptibility-Impulsivity (BS/IMP) and Empathy/Low Antisocial Behaviors (EMP/LASB)-were tested for correlations with gray matter partial volume estimates (gmPVE). Significantly large clusters (pFWE<0.05, family-wise whole-brain corrected) of gmPVE correlated with EMP/LASB in dorsolateral and medial prefrontal regions, and in occipital cortex. BS/IMP did not correlate with gmPVE, but one scale of impulsivity (Eysenck I7) correlated positively with bilateral inferior frontal/orbitofrontal, and anterior insula gmPVE. In this large sample of community-dwelling young adults, antisocial behavior/low empathy corresponded with reduced prefrontal and occipital gray matter, while impulsivity correlated with increased inferior frontal and anterior insula cortical volume. These findings add to a literature indicating that externalizing personality features involve altered frontal architecture.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, IN 46202, USA.
authors.forename: Judith
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Charpentier
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, IN 46202, USA; Department of Radiology & Imaging Sciences, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, IN 46202, USA.
authors.forename: Mario
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Dzemidzic
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology & Imaging Sciences, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, IN 46202, USA.
authors.forename: John
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: West
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, IN 46202, USA.
authors.forename: Brandon G
authors.initials: BG
authors.lastname: Oberlin
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, IN 46202, USA.
authors.forename: William J A
authors.initials: WJ
authors.lastname: Eiler
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology & Imaging Sciences, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, IN 46202, USA.
authors.forename: Andrew J
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: Saykin
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, IN 46202, USA; Department of Radiology & Imaging Sciences, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, IN 46202, USA; Department of Psychiatry, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, IN 46202, USA. Electronic address: dkareken@iu.edu.
authors.forename: David A
authors.initials: DA
authors.lastname: Kareken
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000437:Alcoholism / Q000473:pathology* / Q000503:physiopathology*; D004645:Empathy / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D005625:Frontal Lobe / Q000473:pathology*; D066128:Gray Matter / Q000473:pathology*; D006801:Humans; D007175:Impulsive Behavior / Q000502:physiology*; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D010551:Personality / Q000502:physiology*; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Alcohol; Frontal lobes; Impulsivity; MRI; Personality; VBM