Default network deactivations are correlated with psychopathic personality traits.

• Main Authors: Tong Sheng, Anahita Gheytanchi, Lisa Aziz-Zadeh
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Public Library of Science (PLoS) 2010-09-01
• Series: PLoS ONE
• Online Access: http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC2935364?pdf=render

The posteromedial cortex (PMC) and medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) are part of a network of brain regions that has been found to exhibit decreased activity during goal-oriented tasks. This network is thought to support a baseline of brain activity, and is commonly referred to as the "default network". Although recent reports suggest that the PMC and mPFC are associated with affective, social, and self-referential processes, the relationship between these default network components and personality traits, especially those pertaining to social context, is poorly understood.In the current investigation, we assessed the relationship between PMC and mPFC deactivations and psychopathic personality traits using fMRI and a self-report measure. We found that PMC deactivations predicted traits related to egocentricity and mPFC deactivations predicted traits related to decision-making.These results suggest that the PMC and mPFC are associated with processes involving self-relevancy and affective decision-making, consistent with previous reports. More generally, these findings suggest a link between default network activity and personality traits.