White matter structures associated with emotional intelligence: Evidence from diffusion tensor imaging

Abstract

Previous studies of brain lesions, functional activity, and gray matter structures have suggested that emotional intelligence (EI) is associated with regions involved in the network of social cognition (SCN) and in somatic marker circuitry (SMC). Our new study is the first to investigate the association between white matter (WM) integrity and EI. We examined this relationship in the brain of healthy young adult men [n = 74, mean age = 21.5 years, standard deviation (SD) = 1.6] and women (n = 44, mean age = 21.9 years, SD = 1.4). We performed a voxel-based analysis of fractional anisotropy, which is an indicator of WM integrity, using diffusion tensor imaging and used a questionnaire (EI Scale) for measuring EI to identify the correlation of WM integrity with individual EI factor (intrapersonal, interpersonal, and situation management factors). Our results showed that (a) the intrapersonal factor of EI was positively correlated with WM integrity in the right anterior insula, and (b) the interpersonal factor of EI was associated with WM integrity in a part of the right inferior longitudinal fasciculus (ILF). The right anterior insula is one of the important nodes of the SMC, whereas the ILF connects the visual cortex and areas related to SCN, and thus, is a part of the SCN. Our findings further support the notion that the brain regions involved in the SCN and in the SMC are associated with EI.

Anatomical correlates of quality of life: Evidence from voxel‐based morphometry

“…Thus, decreased rGMV may be related to increased processing of internally generated information, which can be related to intrapersonal emotional intelligence and may in turn be related to higher QOL and mental health. Partly consistent with this notion, in the present study population, the score for intrapersonal emotional intelligence on the Japanese version of the Emotional Intelligence Scale [Fukunishi et al, 2001;Takeuchi et al, 2011h;Uchiyama et al, 2001] was significantly and positively correlated with the average WHOQOL-26 score in the multiple regression analysis that accounted for the effects of age, sex, and RAPM score (P < 0.001, t ¼ 4.199, and b ¼ 0.325).…”

Anatomical correlates of quality of life: Evidence from voxel‐based morphometry

“…Thus, decreased rGMV may be related to increased processing of internally generated information, which can be related to intrapersonal emotional intelligence and may in turn be related to higher QOL and mental health. Partly consistent with this notion, in the present study population, the score for intrapersonal emotional intelligence on the Japanese version of the Emotional Intelligence Scale [Fukunishi et al, 2001;Takeuchi et al, 2011h;Uchiyama et al, 2001] was significantly and positively correlated with the average WHOQOL-26 score in the multiple regression analysis that accounted for the effects of age, sex, and RAPM score (P < 0.001, t ¼ 4.199, and b ¼ 0.325).…”

Reduced GM–WM concentration inside the Default Mode Network in individuals with high emotional intelligence and low anxiety: a data fusion mCCA+jICA approach

“…Due to the strong overlap between the network of areas activated in social cognition and the DMN ( Buckner and Carroll, 2007 ; Schilbach et al ., 2008 )—especially in the case of higher-order social cognition tasks (e.g. attributing mental states to others)—the results of the present study are also compatible with EI theories that empathizes the importance of social cognition skills ( Takeuchi et al ., 2013 ). In a more comprehensive view, the DMN seems to be implicated, more in general, in semantic functions (including representation of generalities concerning social interactions or self-representations) ( Binder et al ., 2009 ) and self-projection functions ( Buckner and Carroll, 2007 ), which are the basis for humans’ understanding of one’s own and others’ mental states.…”

“…This result suggests that higher scores in EI and lower scores in anxiety were associated with less increased GM and WM concentration in the DMN. The link between EI and the DMN has been already reported in resting-state fMRI studies ( Takeuchi et al ., 2013 ; Killgore et al ., 2017 ; George et al ., 2018 ; Ling et al ., 2019 ), where greater suppression of the DMN associated to EI has been equated to the more general evidence of greater DMN suppression in superior cognitive performance, also when cognitive performance include emotional elements ( Pan et al ., 2018 ; Leonards et al ., 2023 ). But as far as we know, this is the first evidence of a link between EI and the structural properties of the regions belonging to the DMN.…”

Mean diffusivity associated with trait emotional intelligence

“…Overall, the present neuroimaging findings of robust negative correlations between regional MDDS values and both total TEI and TEI intrapersonal factor scores further support the notion that specific components of the dopaminergic system contribute to TEI. Moreover, the present findings also advance our understanding of dopaminergic mechanisms of TEI as previous studies using morphometry or structural and functional connectivity analyses generally failed to find significant associations of TEI with the dopaminergic system (Takeuchi et al., 2011, 2013a,b). However, it should be noted that, upon adjusting other subfactors, the correlation between MD values in the right putamen and pallidum and TEI intrapersonal factor was no longer significant (although the left homologue showed a significant negative correlation, see Supplemental Results).…”

Anatomical correlates of quality of life: Evidence from voxel‐based morphometry

“…Thus, decreased rGMV may be related to increased processing of internally generated information, which can be related to intrapersonal emotional intelligence and may in turn be related to higher QOL and mental health. Partly consistent with this notion, in the present study population, the score for intrapersonal emotional intelligence on the Japanese version of the Emotional Intelligence Scale [Fukunishi et al, 2001;Takeuchi et al, 2011h;Uchiyama et al, 2001] was significantly and positively correlated with the average WHOQOL-26 score in the multiple regression analysis that accounted for the effects of age, sex, and RAPM score (P < 0.001, t ¼ 4.199, and b ¼ 0.325).…”

Reduced GM–WM concentration inside the Default Mode Network in individuals with high emotional intelligence and low anxiety: a data fusion mCCA+jICA approach

“…Due to the strong overlap between the network of areas activated in social cognition and the DMN ( Buckner and Carroll, 2007 ; Schilbach et al ., 2008 )—especially in the case of higher-order social cognition tasks (e.g. attributing mental states to others)—the results of the present study are also compatible with EI theories that empathizes the importance of social cognition skills ( Takeuchi et al ., 2013 ). In a more comprehensive view, the DMN seems to be implicated, more in general, in semantic functions (including representation of generalities concerning social interactions or self-representations) ( Binder et al ., 2009 ) and self-projection functions ( Buckner and Carroll, 2007 ), which are the basis for humans’ understanding of one’s own and others’ mental states.…”

“…This result suggests that higher scores in EI and lower scores in anxiety were associated with less increased GM and WM concentration in the DMN. The link between EI and the DMN has been already reported in resting-state fMRI studies ( Takeuchi et al ., 2013 ; Killgore et al ., 2017 ; George et al ., 2018 ; Ling et al ., 2019 ), where greater suppression of the DMN associated to EI has been equated to the more general evidence of greater DMN suppression in superior cognitive performance, also when cognitive performance include emotional elements ( Pan et al ., 2018 ; Leonards et al ., 2023 ). But as far as we know, this is the first evidence of a link between EI and the structural properties of the regions belonging to the DMN.…”

Mean diffusivity associated with trait emotional intelligence

“…Overall, the present neuroimaging findings of robust negative correlations between regional MDDS values and both total TEI and TEI intrapersonal factor scores further support the notion that specific components of the dopaminergic system contribute to TEI. Moreover, the present findings also advance our understanding of dopaminergic mechanisms of TEI as previous studies using morphometry or structural and functional connectivity analyses generally failed to find significant associations of TEI with the dopaminergic system (Takeuchi et al., 2011, 2013a,b). However, it should be noted that, upon adjusting other subfactors, the correlation between MD values in the right putamen and pallidum and TEI intrapersonal factor was no longer significant (although the left homologue showed a significant negative correlation, see Supplemental Results).…”

Anatomical correlates of quality of life: Evidence from voxel‐based morphometry

“…Thus, decreased rGMV may be related to increased processing of internally generated information, which can be related to intrapersonal emotional intelligence and may in turn be related to higher QOL and mental health. Partly consistent with this notion, in the present study population, the score for intrapersonal emotional intelligence on the Japanese version of the Emotional Intelligence Scale [Fukunishi et al, 2001;Takeuchi et al, 2011h;Uchiyama et al, 2001] was significantly and positively correlated with the average WHOQOL-26 score in the multiple regression analysis that accounted for the effects of age, sex, and RAPM score (P < 0.001, t ¼ 4.199, and b ¼ 0.325).…”

Reduced GM–WM concentration inside the Default Mode Network in individuals with high emotional intelligence and low anxiety: a data fusion mCCA+jICA approach

“…Due to the strong overlap between the network of areas activated in social cognition and the DMN ( Buckner and Carroll, 2007 ; Schilbach et al ., 2008 )—especially in the case of higher-order social cognition tasks (e.g. attributing mental states to others)—the results of the present study are also compatible with EI theories that empathizes the importance of social cognition skills ( Takeuchi et al ., 2013 ). In a more comprehensive view, the DMN seems to be implicated, more in general, in semantic functions (including representation of generalities concerning social interactions or self-representations) ( Binder et al ., 2009 ) and self-projection functions ( Buckner and Carroll, 2007 ), which are the basis for humans’ understanding of one’s own and others’ mental states.…”

“…This result suggests that higher scores in EI and lower scores in anxiety were associated with less increased GM and WM concentration in the DMN. The link between EI and the DMN has been already reported in resting-state fMRI studies ( Takeuchi et al ., 2013 ; Killgore et al ., 2017 ; George et al ., 2018 ; Ling et al ., 2019 ), where greater suppression of the DMN associated to EI has been equated to the more general evidence of greater DMN suppression in superior cognitive performance, also when cognitive performance include emotional elements ( Pan et al ., 2018 ; Leonards et al ., 2023 ). But as far as we know, this is the first evidence of a link between EI and the structural properties of the regions belonging to the DMN.…”

Mean diffusivity associated with trait emotional intelligence

“…Overall, the present neuroimaging findings of robust negative correlations between regional MDDS values and both total TEI and TEI intrapersonal factor scores further support the notion that specific components of the dopaminergic system contribute to TEI. Moreover, the present findings also advance our understanding of dopaminergic mechanisms of TEI as previous studies using morphometry or structural and functional connectivity analyses generally failed to find significant associations of TEI with the dopaminergic system (Takeuchi et al., 2011, 2013a,b). However, it should be noted that, upon adjusting other subfactors, the correlation between MD values in the right putamen and pallidum and TEI intrapersonal factor was no longer significant (although the left homologue showed a significant negative correlation, see Supplemental Results).…”