Increased and Decreased Cortical Reactivities in Novelty Seeking and Persistence.

Background: Near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) has enabled completely noninvasive measurements of regional cerebral blood volume (rCBV) changes in cortices. In the present study, we investigated the relationships between rCBV changes assessed with NIRS and two dimensions of personality, novelty seeking and persistence. Methods: Thirty right-handed healthy volunteers participated in the study. Their personality traits were assessed using the Temperament and Character Inventory (TCI), and changes in oxy- and deoxy-hemoglobin concentrations were monitored during 40 s unilateral finger tapping tasks over the subjects’ bilateral temporal regions using a 24-channel NIRS machine. Results: The oxy-hemoglobin concentration increases were significantly correlated positively with novelty seeking scores and negatively with persistence scores in the TCI during the initial time segment of the left-finger tapping task. Conclusion: Increased and decreased brain activations demonstrated using multichannel NIRS were assumed to characterize the cortical reactivities underlying novelty seeking and persistence temperament, respectively. Copyright © 2005 S. Karger AG, Basel [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]