Personality traits are physically encoded in brain structure and function
Multiple neuroimaging studies demonstrate that human and animal personality traits consistently correlate with specific variations in brain structure, gray matter volume, and neural circuitry.
The retrieved papers consistently provide empirical support for the claim that personality traits have measurable neuroanatomical correlates in brain structure and function, spanning both human and animal models across multiple methodologies (structural MRI, fMRI, and volumetry).
Rivera Bonet CN, Hermann B, Cook CJ, Hwang G, Dabbs K, Nair V, Forseth C, Mathis J, Allen L, Almane DN, Arkush K, Birn R, Conant LL, DeYoe EA, Felton E, Humphries CJ, Kraegel P, Maganti R, Nencka A, Nwoke O, Raghavan M, Rozman M, Shah U, Sosa VN, Struck AF, Tellapragada N, Ustine C, Ward BD, Prabhakaran V, Binder JR, Meyerand ME. Neuroanatomical correlates of personality traits in temporal lobe epilepsy: Findings from the Epilepsy Connectome Project.. 2019. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.yebeh.2019.07.025
Demonstrates that core Big Five personality traits, particularly neuroticism, correlate with specific structural variations in cortical gray matter and limbic volumes.
See more details
Robert D. Latzman, Sarah T. Boysen, Steven J. Schapiro. Neuroanatomical Correlates of Hierarchical Personality Traits in Chimpanzees: Associations with Limbic Structures. 2018. https://doi.org/10.1017/pen.2018.1
Shows that hierarchical personality traits in chimpanzees are systematically associated with volumetric variations in the hippocampus.
Courtland Hyatt, Max Michael Owens, Joshua Gray, NATHAN T CARTER, James MacKillop, Lawrence Sweet, Josh Miller. Personality traits share overlapping neuroanatomical correlates with internalizing and externalizing psychopathology. 2018. https://doi.org/10.31234/osf.io/he738
Finds that personality traits share overlapping neuroanatomical profiles and gray matter structures with psychopathology indices.
Li R, Xia LX. The Serial Effects of Callous-Unemotional Traits and Gray Matter Density in the Right Dorsomedial Prefrontal Cortex on Social Desirability.. 2025. https://doi.org/10.1002/pchj.70005
Identifies regional gray matter density in the right dorsomedial prefrontal cortex as a neural substrate underlying individual differences in personality-related traits.
Fang J, Li J, Liu D, Liu C, Li Y, Zhu W, Tian T. Investigating the correlation between cortical lateralization and personality traits in young Chinese adults through structural magnetic resonance imaging.. 2025. https://doi.org/10.21037/qims-2025-271
Provides evidence that tridimensional personality traits are underpinned by corresponding anatomical structural bases and cortical asymmetry.
The paper trail · every fact has a biography
Challenge the receipt
Citation formatting by citeproc-js (Frank Bennett) and the Citation Style Language project. Source and licenses.
Terms · Privacy · How verdicts work · Dispute this receipt