title: Anxious personality and functional efficiency of the insular-opercular network: A graph-analytic approach to resting-state fMRI.
abstract: The brain is an intricate network, not only structurally but also functionally. On the functional level, connectivity in the brain is organized in separable yet interacting networks that support information processing by maintaining a ready state, even in the absence of external stimulation. It has been hypothesized that an insular-opercular network underlies the processing of emotionally salient information and that individual differences in functional connectivity within this network correspond to individual differences in trait anxiety. Here, we tested this relationship by applying graph analysis to multiple regions of interests delineating the insular-opercular network to estimate the characteristic path length that quantifies the overall information exchange efficiency within a given network. We found that people scoring high on the anxiety-related temperament-dimension harm avoidance had decreased insular-opercular network efficiency in the resting state, as indicated by a higher characteristic path length. Furthermore, people scoring high on harm avoidance showed generally reduced functional connectivity between brain regions; the relationship between harm avoidance and insular-opercular network efficiency remained significant when controlling for mean connectivity within this network. No such results were found for other resting-state networks. The results provide insights into how personality is organized in the human brain and point toward clinically relevant endophenotypes for affective and mood disorders.
authors: Department of Psychology, University of Bonn, Kaiser-Karl-Ring 9, 53111, Bonn, Germany. sebastian.markett@uni-bonn-diff.de.|Center for Economics and Neuroscience, University of Bonn, Bonn, Germany. sebastian.markett@uni-bonn-diff.de.
authors: Sebastian
authors: S
authors: Markett
authors: Institute of Psychology and Education, Ulm University, Ulm, Germany.|Key Laboratory for NeuroInformation / Center for Information in Medicine, School of Life Science and Technology, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, China.
authors: Christian
authors: C
authors: Montag
authors: Department of Psychology, University of Bonn, Kaiser-Karl-Ring 9, 53111, Bonn, Germany.
authors: Martin
authors: M
authors: Melchers
authors: Center for Economics and Neuroscience, University of Bonn, Bonn, Germany.|Department of Epileptology, University of Bonn, Bonn, Germany.|Neuroimaging Section, Life and Brain Center, Bonn, Germany.
authors: Bernd
authors: B
authors: Weber
authors: Department of Psychology, University of Bonn, Kaiser-Karl-Ring 9, 53111, Bonn, Germany.|Center for Economics and Neuroscience, University of Bonn, Bonn, Germany.
authors: Martin
authors: M
authors: Reuter
mesh_terms: D001007:Anxiety / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000503:physiopathology*; D001921:Brain / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000503:physiopathology*; D001931:Brain Mapping / Q000379:methods; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000379:methods; D009434:Neural Pathways / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000503:physiopathology; D010551:Personality / Q000502:physiology*; D010556:Personality Tests; D012146:Rest; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Anxiety; Harm avoidance; Insular-opercular network; Personality; Resting-state fMRI; Salience network