Biomedical subjects

Eric Feczko

Publications and source records attributed to Eric Feczko.

4 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2007

Neuroanatomical correlates of personality in the elderly.

Extraversion and neuroticism are two important and frequently studied dimensions of human personality. They describe individual differences in emotional responding that are quite stable across the adult lifespan. Neuroimaging research has begun to provide evidence that neuroticism and extraversion have specific neuroanatomical correlates within the cerebral cortex and amygdala of young adults. However, these brain areas undergo alterations in size with aging, which may influence the nature of these personality factor-brain structure associations in the elderly. One study in the elderly demonstrated associations between perisylvian cortex structure and measures of self transcendence [Kaasinen, V., Maguire, R.P., Kurki, T., Bruck, A., Rinne, J.O., 2005. Mapping brain structure and personality in late adulthood. NeuroImage 24, 315-322], but the neuroanatomical correlates of extraversion and neuroticism, or other measures of the Five Factor Model of personality have not been explored. The purpose of the present study was to investigate the structural correlates of neuroticism and extraversion in healthy elderly subjects (n=29) using neuroanatomic measures of the cerebral cortex and amygdala. We observed that the thickness of specific lateral prefrontal cortex (PFC) regions, but not amygdala volume, correlates with measures of extraversion and neuroticism. The results suggest differences in the regional neuroanatomic correlates of specific personality traits with aging. We speculate that this relates to the influences of age-related structural changes in the PFC.

Aged↗

PubMed2006

Neuroanatomical correlates of extraversion and neuroticism.

Introversion/extraversion and neuroticism are 2 important and frequently studied dimensions of human personality. These dimensions describe individual differences in emotional responding across a range of situations and may contribute to a predisposition for psychiatric disorders. Recent neuroimaging research has begun to provide evidence that neuroticism and introversion/extraversion have specific functional and structural neural correlates. Previous studies in healthy adults have reported an association between neuroticism, introversion/extraversion, and the activity of the prefrontal cortex and amygdala. Studies of individuals with psychopathological states have also indicated that anatomic variations in these brain areas may relate to extraversion and neuroticism. The purpose of the present study was to examine selected structural correlates of neuroticism and extraversion in healthy subjects (n = 28) using neuroanatomic measures of the cerebral cortex and amygdala. We observed that the thickness of specific prefrontal cortex regions correlates with measures of extraversion and neuroticism. In contrast, no such correlations were observed for the volume of the amygdala. The results suggest that specific aspects of regional prefrontal anatomy are associated with specific personality traits.

Adult↗

PubMed2004

Early visual cortex organization in autism: an fMRI study.

Autism is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by preserved visual abilities as well as a special profile for visual cognition. We examined the visual cortex of high-ability individuals with autism in order to assess whether the presence of abnormalities at the primary sensory level in autism could be the basis of their unusual pattern of visual cognitive abilities. We found that the early sensory visual areas are normally organized in individuals with autism, with a normal ratio between central versus peripheral visual field representation. We conclude that the differences observed in the visual capacities of individuals with autism are likely to arise from higher-level cognitive areas and functions, and are the result of top-down processes.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2004

Activation of the fusiform gyrus when individuals with autism spectrum disorder view faces.

Prior imaging studies have failed to show activation of the fusiform gyrus in response to emotionally neutral faces in individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) [Critchley et al., Brain 124 (2001) 2059; Schultz et al., Arch. Gen. Psychiatry 57 (2000) 331]. However, individuals with ASD do not typically exhibit the striking behavioral deficits that might be expected to result from fusiform gyrus damage, such as those seen in prosopagnosia, and their deficits appear to extend well beyond face identification to include a wide range of impairments in social perceptual processing. In this study, our goal was to further assess the question of whether individuals with ASD have abnormal fusiform gyrus activation to faces. We used high-field (3 T) functional magnetic resonance imaging to study face perception in 11 adult individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and 10 normal controls. We used face stimuli, object stimuli, and sensory control stimuli (Fourier scrambled versions of the face and object stimuli) containing a fixation point in the center to ensure that participants were looking at and attending to the images as they were presented. We found that individuals with ASD activated the fusiform face area and other brain areas normally involved in face processing when they viewed faces as compared to non-face stimuli. These data indicate that the face-processing deficits encountered in ASD are not due to a simple dysfunction of the fusiform area, but to more complex anomalies in the distributed network of brain areas involved in social perception and cognition.

Adult↗