Introversion/extraversion and neuroticism are 2 important and frequently studied dimensions of human personality. These dimensions describe individual differences in emotional responding across a range of situations and may contribute to a predisposition for psychiatric disorders. Recent neuroimaging research has begun to provide evidence that neuroticism and introversion/extraversion have specific functional and structural neural correlates. Previous studies in healthy adults have reported an association between neuroticism, introversion/extraversion, and the activity of the prefrontal cortex and amygdala. Studies of individuals with psychopathological states have also indicated that anatomic variations in these brain areas may relate to extraversion and neuroticism. The purpose of the present study was to examine selected structural correlates of neuroticism and extraversion in healthy subjects (n = 28) using neuroanatomic measures of the cerebral cortex and amygdala. We observed that the thickness of specific prefrontal cortex regions correlates with measures of extraversion and neuroticism. In contrast, no such correlations were observed for the volume of the amygdala. The results suggest that specific aspects of regional prefrontal anatomy are associated with specific personality traits.

Amyloid fibrils are aggregated and precipitated forms of protein in which the protein exists in highly ordered, long, unbranching threadlike formations that are stable and resistant to degradation by proteases. Fibril formation is an ordered process that typically involves the unfolding of a protein to partially folded states that subsequently interact and aggregate through a nucleation-dependent mechanism. Here we report on studies investigating the molecular basis of the inherent propensity of the milk protein, -casein, to form amyloid fibrils. Using reduced and carboxymethylated -casein (RCM-CN), we show that fibril formation is accompanied by a characteristic increase in thioflavin T fluorescence intensity, solution turbidity, and ␤-sheet content of the protein. However, the lag phase of RCM-CN fibril formation is independent of protein concentration, and the rate of fibril formation does not increase upon the addition of seeds (preformed fibrils). Therefore, its mechanism of fibril formation differs from the archetypal nucleationdependent aggregation mechanism. By digestion with trypsin or proteinase K and identification by mass spectrometry, we have determined that the region from Tyr 25 to Lys 86 is incorporated into the core of the fibrils. We suggest that this region, which is predicted to be aggregation-prone, accounts for the amyloidogenic nature of -casein. Based on these data, we propose that fibril formation by RCM-CN occurs through a novel mechanism whereby the rate-limiting step is the dissociation of an amyloidogenic precursor from an oligomeric state rather than the formation of stable nuclei, as has been described for most other fibril-forming systems.

Extraversion and neuroticism are two important and frequently studied dimensions of human personality. They describe individual differences in emotional responding that are quite stable across the adult lifespan. Neuroimaging research has begun to provide evidence that neuroticism and extraversion have specific neuroanatomical correlates within the cerebral cortex and amygdala of young adults. However, these brain areas undergo alterations in size with aging, which may influence the nature of these personality factor-brain structure associations in the elderly. One study in the elderly demonstrated associations between perisylvian cortex structure and measures of self transcendence (Kaasinen et al., 2005), but the neuroanatomical correlates of extraversion and neuroticism, or other measures of the Five Factor Model of personality have not been explored. The purpose of the present study was to investigate the structural correlates of neuroticism and extraversion in healthy elderly subjects (n=29) using neuroanatomic measures of the cerebral cortex and amygdala. We observed that the thickness of specific lateral prefrontal cortex (PFC) regions, but not amygdala volume, correlates with measures of extraversion and neuroticism. The results suggest differences in the regional neuroanatomic correlates of specific personality traits with aging. We speculate that this relates to the influences of age-related structural changes in the PFC.

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The human amygdala preferentially responds to objects of potential value, such as hedonically valenced and novel stimuli. Many studies have documented age-related differences in amygdala responses to valenced stimuli, but relatively little is known about age-related changes in the amygdala's response to novelty. This study examines whether there are differences in amygdala novelty responses in two different age groups. Healthy young and elderly adults viewed both young and elderly faces that were seen many times (familiar faces) or only once (novel faces) in the context of an fMRI study. We observed that amygdala responses to novel (versus familiar) faces were preserved with aging, suggesting that novelty processing in the amygdala remains stable across the lifespan. In addition, participants demonstrated larger amygdala responses to target faces of the same age group than to age out-group target faces (i.e., an age in-group effect). Differences in anatomic localization and behavioral results suggest that novelty and age in-group effects were differentially processed in the amygdala.

Abstract& The animal literature suggests that exposure to more complex, novel environments promotes neurogenesis and cognitive performance in older animals. Studies in humans indicate that participation in intellectually stimulating activities may serve as a buffer against mental decline and help to sustain cognitive abilities. Here, we show that across old adults, increased responsiveness to novel events (as measured by viewing duration and the size of the P3 event-related potential) is strongly linked to better performance on neuropsychological tests, especially those involving attention/executive functions. Cognitively high performing old adults generate a larger P3 response to visual stimuli than cognitively average performing adults. These results suggest that cognitively high performing adults successfully manage the task by appropriating more resources and that the increased size of their P3 component represents a beneficial compensatory mechanism rather than less efficient processing. &

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