The neural basis of trait self-esteem revealed by the amplitude of low-frequency fluctuations and resting state functional connectivity

Abstract

Self-esteem is an affective, self-evaluation of oneself and has a significant effect on mental and behavioral health. Although research has focused on the neural substrates of self-esteem, little is known about the spontaneous brain activity that is associated with trait self-esteem (TSE) during the resting state. In this study, we used the resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) signal of the amplitude of low-frequency fluctuations (ALFFs) and resting state functional connectivity (RSFC) to identify TSE-related regions and networks. We found that a higher level of TSE was associated with higher ALFFs in the left ventral medial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC) and lower ALFFs in the left cuneus/lingual gyrus and right lingual gyrus. RSFC analyses revealed that the strengths of functional connectivity between the left vmPFC and bilateral hippocampus were positively correlated with TSE; however, the connections between the left vmPFC and right inferior frontal gyrus and posterior superior temporal sulcus were negatively associated with TSE. Furthermore, the strengths of functional connectivity between the left cuneus/lingual gyrus and right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex and anterior cingulate cortex were positively related to TSE. These findings indicate that TSE is linked to core regions in the default mode network and social cognition network, which is involved in self-referential processing, autobiographical memory and social cognition.

The optimistic brain: Trait optimism mediates the influence of resting‐state brain activity and connectivity on anxiety in late adolescence

“…As another popular measure for low‐frequency fluctuations correlations, resting‐state functional connectivity (RSFC) reflects the synchronization among different brain regions (Fox & Raichle, ). Increasing evidence has suggested that RSFC is a good neural marker of personality traits (e.g., Adelstein et al, ; Pan et al, ; Sampaio et al, ; Takeuchi et al, ; Wang et al, ). In summary, fALFF and RSFC are suitable for examining the neural bases of trait optimism.…”

Delay discounting is associated with the fractional amplitude of low-frequency fluctuations and resting-state functional connectivity in late adolescence

“…Specifically, the threshold for significant clusters was set as follows: 10,000 iterations, p < 0.05 at the cluster level combined with a p < 0.005 at the voxel level, at least 50 voxels (1350 mm 3 ). AlphaSim is a popular program used in previous studies to analyze RS-MRI data 29 – 31 , 35 .…”

“…Resting-state functional connectivity (RSFC) is another popular and reliable indicator reflecting synchronization among multiple brain regions 22 , 24 , 32 . Evidence from many previous investigations has indicated that RSFC is an excellent predictor of personality traits 33 – 35 . Thus, fALFF and RSFC are useful tools for uncovering the neural substrates of DD.…”

Spontaneous neuronal activity in insula predicts post-error adjustments

“…低频振幅(amplitude of spontaneous low-frequency fluctuation, ALFF; 0.01~0.08 Hz)是大脑自发神经活动 强度的神经指标, 主要反映了特定脑区静息状态下的 局部自发活动属性 [29] . 在认知功能上, ALFF被认为可 以反映在人格特质和认知控制上的个体差异 [25,30,31] .…”