Sarah Whittle1, Murat Yücel2, Alex Fornito2, Anna Barrett2, Stephen J Wood2, Dan I Lubman2, Julian Simmons2, Christos Pantelis2, Nicholas B Allen2. 1. Drs. Whittle, Yücel, Lubman, and Allen and Mr. Simmons are with ORYGEN Research Centre, Department of Psychiatry, University of Melbourne; Drs. Fornito, Wood, and Pantelis are with the Melbourne Neuropsychiatry Centre, Department of Psychiatry, University of Melbourne; and Ms. Barrett is with the Department of Psychology, University of Melbourne.. Electronic address: nba@unimelb.edu.au. 2. Drs. Whittle, Yücel, Lubman, and Allen and Mr. Simmons are with ORYGEN Research Centre, Department of Psychiatry, University of Melbourne; Drs. Fornito, Wood, and Pantelis are with the Melbourne Neuropsychiatry Centre, Department of Psychiatry, University of Melbourne; and Ms. Barrett is with the Department of Psychology, University of Melbourne.
Abstract
OBJECTIVE: Temperament refers to enduring behavioral characteristics that underpin individual differences in human behavior, including risk for psychopathology. Research attempting to investigate the neurobiological basis of temperament represents an important step toward elucidating the biological mechanisms underlying these individual differences. In the present study, we examined the relation between four core temperament dimensions and anatomically defined regions of the limbic and prefrontal cortices. METHOD: We used a cross-sectional design to examine a large sample (N = 153; mean age 12.6 years, SD 0.4, range 11.4-13.7) of healthy early adolescents who were selected from a larger sample to maximize variation in temperament. The main outcome measures were psychometric measures of temperament (four factors: effortful control, negative affectivity, surgency, and affiliativeness) based on the Early Adolescent Temperament Questionnaire-Revised, and volumetric measures of a priori brain regions of interest (anterior cingulate cortex [ACC], orbitofrontal cortex, amygdala, and hippocampus). RESULTS: We found regional brain volumes to account for small but significant amounts of the variance in self-reported temperament scores. Specifically, higher effortful control was associated with larger volume of the left orbitofrontal cortex and hippocampus. Higher negative affectivity was associated with smaller volume of the left dorsal paralimbic relative to limbic portion of the ACC. Higher affiliativeness was associated with larger volume of the right rostral/ventral limbic portion of the ACC. Affiliativeness and surgency also showed a number of female-specific associations, primarily involving the rostral/ventral ACC. CONCLUSIONS: Our results provide support for a neuroanatomical basis for individual differences in temperament and have implications for understanding the neurobiological mechanisms underlying the development of a number of psychiatric disorders.
OBJECTIVE: Temperament refers to enduring behavioral characteristics that underpin individual differences in human behavior, including risk for psychopathology. Research attempting to investigate the neurobiological basis of temperament represents an important step toward elucidating the biological mechanisms underlying these individual differences. In the present study, we examined the relation between four core temperament dimensions and anatomically defined regions of the limbic and prefrontal cortices. METHOD: We used a cross-sectional design to examine a large sample (N = 153; mean age 12.6 years, SD 0.4, range 11.4-13.7) of healthy early adolescents who were selected from a larger sample to maximize variation in temperament. The main outcome measures were psychometric measures of temperament (four factors: effortful control, negative affectivity, surgency, and affiliativeness) based on the Early Adolescent Temperament Questionnaire-Revised, and volumetric measures of a priori brain regions of interest (anterior cingulate cortex [ACC], orbitofrontal cortex, amygdala, and hippocampus). RESULTS: We found regional brain volumes to account for small but significant amounts of the variance in self-reported temperament scores. Specifically, higher effortful control was associated with larger volume of the left orbitofrontal cortex and hippocampus. Higher negative affectivity was associated with smaller volume of the left dorsal paralimbic relative to limbic portion of the ACC. Higher affiliativeness was associated with larger volume of the right rostral/ventral limbic portion of the ACC. Affiliativeness and surgency also showed a number of female-specific associations, primarily involving the rostral/ventral ACC. CONCLUSIONS: Our results provide support for a neuroanatomical basis for individual differences in temperament and have implications for understanding the neurobiological mechanisms underlying the development of a number of psychiatric disorders.
Authors: Sarah Whittle; Cali Bartholomeusz; Murat Yücel; Meg Dennison; Nandita Vijayakumar; Nicholas B Allen Journal: Soc Cogn Affect Neurosci Date: 2012-11-18 Impact factor: 3.436
Authors: Sarah Whittle; Murat Yücel; Erika E Forbes; Christopher G Davey; Ian H Harding; Lisa Sheeber; Marie B H Yap; Nicholas B Allen Journal: Soc Cogn Affect Neurosci Date: 2011-09-14 Impact factor: 3.436
Authors: Zhe Wang; Brooke Soden; Kirby Deater-Deckard; Sarah L Lukowski; Victoria J Schenker; Erik G Willcutt; Lee A Thompson; Stephen A Petrill Journal: Dev Sci Date: 2015-12-21
Authors: Ali Cheetham; Nicholas B Allen; Sarah Whittle; Julian Simmons; Murat Yücel; Dan I Lubman Journal: Psychopharmacology (Berl) Date: 2014-02-20 Impact factor: 4.530
Authors: Sarah Whittle; Marie B H Yap; Murat Yücel; Lisa Sheeber; Julian G Simmons; Christos Pantelis; Nicholas B Allen Journal: Soc Cogn Affect Neurosci Date: 2009-04-27 Impact factor: 3.436
Authors: Amanda R Rueter; Samantha V Abram; Angus W MacDonald; Aldo Rustichini; Colin G DeYoung Journal: Hum Brain Mapp Date: 2018-04-24 Impact factor: 5.038