2010 July — The Psych Files Podcast

Everyone can picture one of those phrenology heads with personality traits drawn into different sections of the cranium. Was there anything to that? Well, not exactly. However, with the use of MRI scans researchers today may have located where certain personality traits lie in your brain. Travel with me into a 3D brain and let’s find out where your personality may lie.

Openness – dorsolateral PFC, anterior PFC, anterior parietal cortex (research was inconclusive on this personality factor)
Conscientiousness – Lateral Profrontal Cortex
Extraversion – Orbitofrontal Cortex, Nucleus Accumbens, Amygdala
Agreeableness – superior temporal sulcus, posterior cingulate cortex
Neuroticism – Medial prefrontal cortex, Amygdala, Hippocampus

Resources

DeYoung, C. G., Hirsh, J. B., Shane, M. S., Papademetris, X., Rajeevan, N., & Gray, J. R. (2010). Testing predictions from personality neuroscience: Brain structure and the Big Five. Psychological Science, 21, 820–828.
DeYoung, C.G., & Gray, J.R. (2009). Personality neuroscience: Explaining individual differences in affect, behavior, and cognition. In P.J. Corr & G. Matthews (Eds.), The Cambridge handbook of personality psychology (pp. 323–346). New York: Cambridge University Press.
Here’s the website of the lead researcher, Colin DeYoung
Check out the wonderful 3D brain program called Brain Tutor by Brain Voyager
Here’s the concept map on Personality Neuroscience I used during this episode.
A summary and brief interview with Dr. Deyoung can be found in this article, Shape of Brain Tied to Personality, Says Scientist.