Critical examination of a correlation between brain gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) concentrations and a personality trait of extroversion in healthy volunteers as measured by a 3 Tesla proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy study

Goto, Naoki; Yoshimura, Reiji; Moriya, Junji; Kakeda, Shingo; Hayashi, Kenji; Ueda, Nobuhisa; Ikenouchi-Sugita, Atsuko; Umene-Nakano, Wakako; Oonari, Norihiro; Korogi, Yukunori; Nakamura, Jun

doi:10.1016/j.pscychresns.2009.11.002

« Previous Next »Psychiatry Research: Neuroimaging
Volume 182, Issue 1 , Pages 53-57, 30 April 2010

Critical examination of a correlation between brain gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) concentrations and a personality trait of extroversion in healthy volunteers as measured by a 3 Tesla proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy study

Naoki Goto
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Occupational and Environmental Health, School of Medicine,1-1 Iseigaoka, Yahatanishi-ku, Kitakyushu, Fukuoka 8078555, Japan
Reiji Yoshimura
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Occupational and Environmental Health, School of Medicine,1-1 Iseigaoka, Yahatanishi-ku, Kitakyushu, Fukuoka 8078555, Japan
- Corresponding author. Department of Psychiatry, University of Occupational and Environmental Health, 1-1 Iseigaoka, Yahatanishi-ku, Kitakyushu, Fukuoka 8078555, Japan. Tel.: +81 936917253; fax: +81 936924894.
Junji Moriya
- Department of Radiology, University of Occupational and Environmental Health, School of Medicine,1-1 Iseigaoka, Yahatanishi-ku, Kitakyushu, Fukuoka 8078555, Japan
Shingo Kakeda
- Department of Radiology, University of Occupational and Environmental Health, School of Medicine,1-1 Iseigaoka, Yahatanishi-ku, Kitakyushu, Fukuoka 8078555, Japan
Kenji Hayashi
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Occupational and Environmental Health, School of Medicine,1-1 Iseigaoka, Yahatanishi-ku, Kitakyushu, Fukuoka 8078555, Japan
Nobuhisa Ueda
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Occupational and Environmental Health, School of Medicine,1-1 Iseigaoka, Yahatanishi-ku, Kitakyushu, Fukuoka 8078555, Japan
Atsuko Ikenouchi-Sugita
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Occupational and Environmental Health, School of Medicine,1-1 Iseigaoka, Yahatanishi-ku, Kitakyushu, Fukuoka 8078555, Japan
Wakako Umene-Nakano
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Occupational and Environmental Health, School of Medicine,1-1 Iseigaoka, Yahatanishi-ku, Kitakyushu, Fukuoka 8078555, Japan
Norihiro Oonari
- Department of Radiology, University of Occupational and Environmental Health, School of Medicine,1-1 Iseigaoka, Yahatanishi-ku, Kitakyushu, Fukuoka 8078555, Japan
Yukunori Korogi
- Department of Radiology, University of Occupational and Environmental Health, School of Medicine,1-1 Iseigaoka, Yahatanishi-ku, Kitakyushu, Fukuoka 8078555, Japan
Jun Nakamura
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Occupational and Environmental Health, School of Medicine,1-1 Iseigaoka, Yahatanishi-ku, Kitakyushu, Fukuoka 8078555, Japan

Received 5 April 2009; received in revised form 30 October 2009; accepted 2 November 2009.

Abstract

We hypothesized that brain gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) levels are associated with neuroticism, a trait associated with depression and anxiety disorders. We examined the correlation between brain GABA concentrations and the five factors included in the NEO Five-Factor Inventory (NEO-FFI) in healthy volunteers using magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) at 3 T. Forty-one healthy subjects (21 males, 20 females; age: 35±7 years) were enrolled in this study. Each subject underwent a 3T 1H-MRS study with a MEGA-PRESS sequence. Spectroscopy voxels (3cm×3cm×3cm) were placed in the frontal lobe and the parieto-occipital lobe. A negative correlation was found between the GABA/creatine ratios in the frontal lobe and scores of extroversion on the NEO-FFI. These results suggest that GABAergic neurons are related to personality traits of healthy subjects.