title: Structural and functional associations of the rostral anterior cingulate cortex with subjective happiness.
abstract: Happiness is one of the most fundamental human goals, which has led researchers to examine the source of individual happiness. Happiness has usually been discussed regarding two aspects (a temporary positive emotion and a trait-like long-term sense of being happy) that are interrelated; for example, individuals with a high level of trait-like subjective happiness tend to rate events as more pleasant. In this study, we hypothesized that the interaction between the two aspects of happiness could be explained by the interaction between structure and function in certain brain regions. Thus, we first assessed the association between gray matter density (GMD) of healthy participants and trait-like subjective happiness using voxel-based morphometry (VBM). Further, to assess the association between the GMD and brain function, we conducted functional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) using the task of positive emotion induction (imagination of several emotional life events). VBM indicated that the subjective happiness was positively correlated with the GMD of the rostral anterior cingulate cortex (rACC). Functional MRI demonstrated that experimentally induced temporal happy feelings were positively correlated with subjective happiness level and rACC activity. The rACC response to positive events was also positively correlated with its GMD. These results provide convergent structural and functional evidence that the rACC is related to happiness and suggest that the interaction between structure and function in the rACC may explain the trait-state interaction in happiness.
authors.affiliation: Department of Health and Psychosocial Medicine, Aichi Medical University School of Medicine, Nagakute, Aichi 480-1195, Japan. Electronic address: matsunag@aichi-med-u.ac.jp.
authors.forename: Masahiro
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Matsunaga
authors.affiliation: Division of Cerebral Integration, Department of Cerebral Research, National Institute for Physiological Sciences, Okazaki, Aichi 444-8585, Japan.
authors.forename: Hiroaki
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Kawamichi
authors.affiliation: Division of Cerebral Integration, Department of Cerebral Research, National Institute for Physiological Sciences, Okazaki, Aichi 444-8585, Japan.
authors.forename: Takahiko
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Koike
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychosomatic Medicine, Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Kyushu University, Higashiku, Fukuoka 812-8582, Japan.
authors.forename: Kazufumi
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Yoshihara
authors.affiliation: Division of Cerebral Integration, Department of Cerebral Research, National Institute for Physiological Sciences, Okazaki, Aichi 444-8585, Japan.
authors.forename: Yumiko
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Yoshida
authors.affiliation: Division of Cerebral Integration, Department of Cerebral Research, National Institute for Physiological Sciences, Okazaki, Aichi 444-8585, Japan; Department of Physiological Sciences, School of Life Sciences, SOKENDAI (The Graduate University for Advanced Studies), Kanagawa 240-0193, Japan.
authors.forename: Haruka K
authors.initials: HK
authors.lastname: Takahashi
authors.affiliation: Division of Cerebral Integration, Department of Cerebral Research, National Institute for Physiological Sciences, Okazaki, Aichi 444-8585, Japan.
authors.forename: Eri
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Nakagawa
authors.affiliation: Division of Cerebral Integration, Department of Cerebral Research, National Institute for Physiological Sciences, Okazaki, Aichi 444-8585, Japan; Department of Physiological Sciences, School of Life Sciences, SOKENDAI (The Graduate University for Advanced Studies), Kanagawa 240-0193, Japan.
authors.forename: Norihiro
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Sadato
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001931:Brain Mapping / Q000379:methods; D056324:Diffusion Tensor Imaging / Q000379:methods; D004644:Emotions / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D066128:Gray Matter / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000502:physiology; D006179:Gyrus Cinguli / Q000033:anatomy & histology* / Q000502:physiology*; D006240:Happiness; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009415:Nerve Net / Q000502:physiology*; D010549:Personal Satisfaction; D057181:Pleasure / Q000502:physiology*; D066127:White Matter / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000502:physiology; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI); Gray matter density; Happiness; Rostral anterior cingulate cortex (rACC)