Gender difference in relationship between anxiety-related personality traits and cerebral brain glucose metabolism

Hakamata, Yuko; Iwase, Mikio; Iwata, Hiroshi; Kobayashi, Toshiki; Tamaki, Tsuneo; Nishio, Masami; Matsuda, Hiroshi; Ozaki, Norio; Inada, Toshiya

doi:10.1016/j.pscychresns.2008.10.002

« Previous Next »Psychiatry Research: Neuroimaging
Volume 173, Issue 3 , Pages 206-211, 30 September 2009

Gender difference in relationship between anxiety-related personality traits and cerebral brain glucose metabolism

Yuko Hakamata
- Department of Clinical Psychology, The University of Tokyo, Graduate School of Education, Tokyo, Japan
- Department of Adult Mental Health, National Institute of Mental Health, National Center for Neurology and Psychiatry, Japan.
Mikio Iwase
- Nagoya Kyoritsu Hospital and Nagoya PET Imaging Center, Nagoya, Japan
- Diagnostic Imaging Center, Koseikai Hospital, Toyohashi, Japan.
Hiroshi Iwata
- Nagoya Kyoritsu Hospital and Nagoya PET Imaging Center, Nagoya, Japan
Toshiki Kobayashi
- Nagoya Kyoritsu Hospital and Nagoya PET Imaging Center, Nagoya, Japan
Tsuneo Tamaki
- Nagoya Kyoritsu Hospital and Nagoya PET Imaging Center, Nagoya, Japan
Masami Nishio
- Nagoya Kyoritsu Hospital and Nagoya PET Imaging Center, Nagoya, Japan
Hiroshi Matsuda
- Department of Nuclear Medicine, Saitama Medical School, Iruma, Japan
Norio Ozaki
- Department of Psychiatry, Nagoya University, Graduate School of Medicine, Nagoya, Japan
Toshiya Inada
- Seiwa Hospital, Institute of Neuropsychiatry, Tokyo, Japan
- Corresponding author. Seiwa Hospital, Institute of Neuropsychiatry, 91 Benten-cho, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo 162-0851, Japan. Tel.: +81 3 3260 9171; fax: +81 3 3235 0961.

Received 8 October 2007; received in revised form 23 July 2008; accepted 2 October 2008.

Abstract

Recent functional neuroimaging studies have suggested that specific brain regions might be associated with the formation of anxiety-related personality traits, which are well known to be influenced by gender. Such anxiety-related personality traits are one of the representative predisposing factors for mood and anxiety disorders, whose incidence is also known to be much influenced by gender. However, little is known about the gender differences in brain function related to anxiety-related personality traits. The aim of the present study was to examine gender-related differences in the pattern of the relationships between an anxiety-related personality trait and cerebral brain glucose metabolism. Regional brain glucose metabolism was measured using [¹⁸F]fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography in 102 healthy subjects (65 males and 37 females). An anxiety-related trait was assessed using the Temperament and Character Inventory dimension Harm Avoidance (HA). HA was negatively correlated with glucose metabolism in the anterior portion of the ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC) in females but not in males. The anterior vmPFC may be a possible neural target for the prevention or therapy of emotional disorders, especially in females.

Keywords: TCI, Temperament, Anxiety, FDG-PET, Healthy subjects, Sex specificity