| Endothelial type I interferon signaling modulates the vascular response to ischemic brain injury |
Kavli Affiliate: Adam Gazzaley
| Authors: Joseph Chih Chien Chen, Bijurika Nandi, Richard Campusano, Fei Jiang, David Ziegler, Adam Gazzaley and Theodore Zanto
| Summary:
The extraversion-introversion dimension of personality is hypothesized to differ based on low or high cortical arousal, respectively. Notably, high cortical arousal in introverts is thought to underlie increased distractibility. Here, we assess fMRI while participants meditate (focused attention to their breath) under three levels of auditory distraction: no, low and high. Whereas introverts exhibited worsening attentional focus on their breath with increasing distraction, extraverts retained their ability to focus attention despite distraction. Dynamic functional connectivity analysis indicated that extraverts exhibited less globally efficient and less modular networks, which may prevent distracting stimuli from creating interference. Furthermore, connectivity strengths amongst the default mode, central executive, and salience networks were increased for extraverts and decreased in introverts during high focused attention; potentially indicating distinct cognitive processes that support attentional control. These findings support the hypothesis regarding differing levels of cortical arousal in extraverts and introverts and extend personality theory by linking the extraversion dimension to attentional control and functional connectivity dynamics.