Kangcheng Wang

Individual differences in verbal creative thinking are reflected in the precuneus.

There have been many structural and functional imaging studies of creative thinking, but combining structural and functional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) investigations with respect to creative thinking is still lacking. Thus, the aim of the present study was to explore the associations among inter-individual verbal creative thinking and both regional homogeneity and cortical morphology of the brain surface. We related the local functional homogeneity of spontaneous brain activity to verbal creative thinking and its dimensions--fluency, originality, and flexibility--by examining these inter-individual differences in a large sample of 268 healthy college students. Results revealed that people with high verbal creative ability and high scores for the three dimensions of creativity exhibited lower regional functional homogeneity in the right precuneus. Both cortical volume and thickness of the right precuneus were positively associated with individual verbal creativity and its dimensions. Moreover, originality was negatively correlated with functional homogeneity in the left superior frontal gyrus and positively correlated with functional homogeneity in the right occipito-temporal gyrus. In contrast, flexibility was positively correlated with functional homogeneity in the left superior and middle occipital gyrus. These findings provide additional evidence of a link between verbal creative thinking and brain structure in the right precuneus--a region involved in internally--focused attention and effective semantic retrieval-and further suggest that local functional homogeneity of verbal creative thinking has neurobiological relevance that is likely based on anatomical substrates.

Individual Differences in Brain Structure and Resting Brain Function Underlie Cognitive Styles: Evidence from the Embedded Figures Test

Cognitive styles can be characterized as individual differences in the way people perceive, think, solve problems, learn, and relate to others. Field dependence/independence (FDI) is an important and widely studied dimension of cognitive styles. Although functional imaging studies have investigated the brain activation of FDI cognitive styles, the combined structural and functional correlates with individual differences in a large sample have never been investigated. In the present study, we investigated the neural correlates of individual differences in FDI cognitive styles by analyzing the correlations between Embedded Figures Test (EFT) score and structural neuroimaging data [regional gray matter volume (rGMV) was assessed using voxel-based morphometry (VBM)] / functional neuroimaging data [resting-brain functions were measured by amplitude of low-frequency fluctuation (ALFF)] throughout the whole brain. Results showed that the increased rGMV in the left inferior parietal lobule (IPL) was associated with the EFT score, which might be the structural basis of effective local processing. Additionally, a significant positive correlation between ALFF and EFT score was found in the fronto-parietal network, including the left inferior parietal lobule (IPL) and the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC). We speculated that the left IPL might be associated with superior feature identification, and mPFC might be related to cognitive inhibition of global processing bias. These results suggested that the underlying neuroanatomical and functional bases were linked to the individual differences in FDI cognitive styles and emphasized the important contribution of superior local processing ability and cognitive inhibition to field-independent style.

The Neural Mechanisms Underlying the Acute Effect of Cigarette Smoking on Chronic Smokers

Although previous research had related structural changes and impaired cognition to chronic cigarette smoking, recent neuroimaging studies have associated nicotine, which is a main chemical substance in cigarettes, with improvements in cognitive functions (e.g. improved attention performance). However, information about the alterations of whole-brain functional connectivity after acute cigarette smoking is limited. In this study, 22 smokers underwent resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fMRI) after abstaining from smoking for 12 hours (state of abstinence, SOA). Subsequently, the smokers were allowed to smoke two cigarettes (state of satisfaction, SOS) before they underwent a second rs-fMRI. Twenty non-smokers were also recruited to undergo rs-fMRI. In addition, high-resolution 3D T1-weighted images were acquired using the same magnetic resonance imaging(fMRI)scanner for all participants. The results showed that smokers had structural changes in insula, thalamus, medial frontal cortex and several regions of the default mode network (DMN) compared with non-smokers. Voxel-wise group comparisons of newly developed global brain connectivity (GBC) showed that smokers in the SOA condition had higher GBC in the insula and superior frontal gyrus compared with non-smokers. However, smokers in the SOS condition demonstrated significantly lower GBC in several regions of the DMN, as compared with smokers in the SOA condition. These results suggest that structural integrity combined with dysfunction of the DMN might be involved in relapses after a short period of time among smokers.

Assessment of trait anxiety and prediction of changes in state anxiety using functional brain imaging: A test–retest study

Anxiety is a multidimensional construct that includes stable trait anxiety and momentary state anxiety, which have a combined effect on our mental and physical well-being. However, the relationship between intrinsic brain activity and the feeling of anxiety, particularly trait and state anxiety, remain unclear. In this study, we used resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) (amplitude of low-frequency fluctuations (ALFF) and regional homogeneity (ReHo)) to determine the effects of intrinsic brain activity on stable inter-individual trait anxiety and intra-individual state anxiety variability in a cross-sectional and test-retest study. We found that at both time points, the trait anxiety score was significantly associated with intrinsic brain activity (both the ALFF and ReHo) in the right ventral medial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC) and ALFF of the dorsal anterior cingulate cortex/anterior midcingulate cortex (dACC/aMCC). More importantly, the change in intrinsic brain activity in the right insula was predictive of intra-individual state anxiety variability over a 9-month interval. The test-retest nature of this studys design could provide an opportunity to distinguish between the intrinsic brain activity associated with state and trait anxiety. These results could deepen our understanding of anxiety from a neuroscientific perspective.

Disorganized cortical thickness covariance network in major depressive disorder implicated by aberrant hubs in large-scale networks

Major depressive disorder is associated with abnormal anatomical and functional connectivity, yet alterations in whole cortical thickness topology remain unknown. Here, we examined cortical thickness in medication-free adult depression patients (n = 76) and matched healthy controls (n = 116). Inter-regional correlation was performed to construct brain networks. By applying graph theory analysis, global (i.e., small-worldness) and regional (centrality) topology was compared between major depressive disorder patients and healthy controls. We found that in depression patients, topological organization of the cortical thickness network shifted towards randomness, and lower small-worldness was driven by a decreased clustering coefficient. Consistently, altered nodal centrality was identified in the isthmus of the cingulate cortex, insula, supra-marginal gyrus, middle temporal gyrus and inferior parietal gyrus, all of which are components within the default mode, salience and central executive networks. Disrupted nodes anchored in the default mode and executive networks were associated with depression severity. The brain systems involved sustain core symptoms in depression and implicate a structural basis for depression. Our results highlight the possibility that developmental and genetic factors are crucial to understand the neuropathology of depression.

Regional gray matter volume mediates the relationship between family socioeconomic status and depression-related trait in a young healthy sample

Socioeconomic status (SES) is a complex phenomenon that is predicted by a broad spectrum of variables and is often conceptualized as a combination of financial, occupational, and educational influences. SES is associated with symptoms of depression and depression-related personality traits. Many studies have focused on the relationship between SES and depression symptoms in clinical subjects; however, there are few studies of the neural basis of the relationship between SES and depression-related personality traits in nonclinical subjects. Thus, in the present study, we studied the neural basis of the relationship between SES and depression-related traits. The first step was to use voxel-based morphometry (VBM) to investigate the neuroanatomical basis underlying family SES in a large sample of healthy subjects. We found a significant negative correlation between family SES and the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) that extending to the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC). Then, the mediation analysis revealed that the correlation between family SES, especially family income, and depression-related traits were mediated by the region of the mPFC that extending to the ACC volume. These findings suggest that the family income may play more important role in driving depression-related traits than that of parental education. They also suggest that the mPFC extension to the ACC may play an important role in the correlation between familial SES, especially with respect to family income and the depression-related traits.

Gray matter correlates of dispositional optimism: A voxel-based morphometry study

Dispositional optimism is an important product of human evolution. This individual difference variable plays a core role in human experience. Dispositional optimism is beneficial to physical and psychological wellbeing. Previous task-related neuroimaging studies on dispositional optimism were limited by small sample sizes, and did not examine individual differences in dispositional optimism related to brain structure. Thus, the current study used voxel-based morphometry and the revised Life Orientation Test to investigate individual dispositional optimism and its association with brain structure in 361 healthy participants. The results showed that individual dispositional optimism was associated with larger gray matter volume of a cluster of areas that included the left thalamus/left pulvinar that extended to the left parahippocampal gyrus. These findings suggest a biological basis for individual dispositional optimism, distributed across different gray matter regions of the brain.

Neuroanatomical correlates of individual differences in social anxiety in a non-clinical population

Socially anxious individuals are characterized as those with distorted negative self-beliefs (NSBs), which are thought to enhance reactions of social distress (emotional reactivity) and social avoidance (social functioning). However, it remains unclear whether individual differences in social distress and social avoidance are represented by differences in brain morphometry. To probe into these neural correlates, we analyzed magnetic resonance images of a sample of 130 healthy subjects and used the Connectome Computation System (CCS) to evaluate these factors. The results showed that social distress was correlated with the cortical volume of the right orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) and the subcortical volume of the left amygdala, while social avoidance was correlated with the cortical volume of the right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC). Additionally, loneliness might mediate the relationship between the amygdala volume and the social distress score. Our results demonstrated that social distress and social avoidance were represented by segregated cortical regions in the healthy individuals. These findings might provide a valuable basis for understanding the stable brain structures underlying individual differences in social anxiety.

A voxel-based morphometry study of regional gray and white matter correlate of self-disclosure

Self-disclosure is an important performance in human social communication. Generally, an individual is likely to have a good physical and mental health if he is prone to self-disclosure under stressful life events. However, as for now, little is known about the neural structure associated with self-disclosure. Therefore, in this study, we used voxel-based morphometry to explore regional gray matter volume (rGMV) and white matter volume (rWMV) associated with self-disclosure measured by the Jourard Self-disclosure Questionnaire in a large sample of college students. Results showed that individual self-disclosure was significantly and positively associated with rGMV of the left postcentral gyrus, which might be related to strengthen individual’s ability of body feeling; while self-disclosure was significantly and negatively associated with rGMV of the right orbitofrontal cortex (OFC), which might be involved in increased positive emotion experience seeking (intrinsically rewarding). In addition, individual self-disclosure was also associated with smaller rWMV in the right inferior parietal lobule (IPL). These findings suggested a biological basis for individual self-disclosure, distributed across different gray and white matter areas of the brain.

MRI correlates of interaction between gender and expressive suppression among the Chinese population

Expressive suppression is a kind of emotion regulation strategies by suppressing behaviors related to emotional responding. Despite the amount of behavioral research on expressive suppression, the structural and functional mechanisms underlying the interaction between gender and expressive suppression in Chinese healthy subjects have remained unknown. In the current study, we assessed the levels of expressive suppression and acquired the structural and functional imaging data from 273 Chinese individuals. A nearly automatic cortical processing technique was used to calculate cortical thickness for each subject. The results from cortical thickness analyses revealed a significant interaction between gender and expressive suppression in the superior frontal gyrus. Then, we conducted the whole-brain functional connectivity analysis with the seed of the superior frontal gyrus to explore the functionally related regions of brain. Subsequent analysis of the interaction between gender and expressive suppression indicated a significant functional connectivity between the superior frontal gyrus and default mode network (DMN) core regions, including the medial prefrontal cortex, precuneus and parahippocampal gyrus. Our results provided the robust empirical evidence illustrating the role of the superior frontal gyrus and DMN in gender difference of expressive suppression among the Chinese population. These findings might have implications for understanding gender difference in emotion processing and regulation.