The Neural Code of Neuroticism

Abstract

High neuroticism is a risk factor for mental disorders. Understanding whether individuals share a common foundation in brain function underlying neuroticism is therefore an essential goal of neuroscience. We applied Inter-Subject Representational Similarity Analysis on data from 174 Human Connectome Project participants to investigate if their similarity in neuroticism is reflected in their similarity of fMRI-recorded brain activity during movie watching. To test behavioral personality theories that consider trait expression as dependent on situational context, we examined whether brain-trait representational similarity varied between trait-relevant and trait-irrelevant movie scenes (independently rated, N = 86). Higher neuroticism was associated with greater heterogeneity in brain responses, a pattern that was particularly pronounced during trait-relevant scenes. Our study informs dimensional conceptualizations of psychopathology viewing neuroticism as risk factor and extends behavioral personality theories to the neural level. Broadly, it highlights the value of naturalistic imaging and underscores the importance of stimulus selection when investigating brain-behavior associations.