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Connectivity-based segregation of the human striatum predicts personality characteristics

Nature Neuroscience volume 12, pages 32–34 (2009)Cite this article

Abstract

We found that personality characteristics are linked to dissociable connectivity streams in the human brain. Whereas fiber tracts between a subcortical network, including the hippocampus and amygdala, and the ventral striatum predicted individual differences in novelty seeking, tracts between prefrontal cortex and the striatum predicted individual differences in reward dependence. These findings suggest that the strength of limbic-striatal connectivity may, in part, underlie human personality traits.

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Figure 1: Overview of tractography results and correlations with personality.
Figure 2: Dissociation of white-matter fiber inputs into the striatum predicting individual differences in novelty seeking and reward dependence.

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Acknowledgements

We thank J.F. Cavanagh, M. Tittgemeyer and B. Knutson for helpful comments on the manuscript. J.S. and B.W. conducted the experiment, and M.X.C. analyzed the data and wrote the paper. All authors approved the analyses and manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Epileptology and Life & Brain Center, Department of NeuroCognition, University of Bonn, Sigmund Freud Street 25, Bonn, 53105, Germany

    Michael X Cohen, Jan-Christoph Schoene-Bake, Christian E Elger & Bernd Weber

  2. Department of Psychology, University of Arizona, 1503 E University Boulevard, PO Box 210068, Psychology Bldg., Tucson, 85721, Arizona, USA

    Michael X Cohen

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  1. Michael X Cohen
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  2. Jan-Christoph Schoene-Bake
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  3. Christian E Elger
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Correspondence to Michael X Cohen.

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Supplementary Figures 1–6, Supplementary Tables 1 and 2, and Supplementary Methods (PDF 2873 kb)

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Cohen, M., Schoene-Bake, JC., Elger, C. et al. Connectivity-based segregation of the human striatum predicts personality characteristics. Nat Neurosci 12, 32–34 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1038/nn.2228

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