Abstract
IntroductionSelf‐ and external‐preoccupation have been linked to psychopathological states. The neural substrates underlying self‐ and external‐preoccupation remain unclear. In the present study, we aim to provide insight into the information‐processing mechanisms associated with self‐ and external‐preoccupation at the structural level.MethodsTo investigate the neural substrates of self‐ and external‐preoccupation, we acquired high‐resolution T1‐weighted structural images and Preoccupation Scale scores from 1,122 young subjects. Associations between regional gray matter volume (rGMV) and Preoccupation Scale subscores for self‐ and external‐preoccupation were estimated using voxel‐based morphometry.ResultsSignificant positive associations between self‐preoccupation and rGMV were observed in widespread brain areas such as the bilateral precuneus and posterior cingulate gyri, structures known to be associated with self‐triggered self‐reference during rest. Significant negative associations between external‐preoccupation and rGMV were observed only in the bilateral cerebellum, regions known to be associated with behavioral addiction, sustained attention, and reward system.ConclusionOur results reveal distinct neural substrates for self‐ and external‐preoccupation at the structural level.
Highlights
Self‐ and external‐preoccupation have been linked to psychopathologi‐ cal states
Because self‐preoccupation is the disposition to focus on the self regardless of individual intention, self‐preoccupation may be associated with the precuneus, ventral MPFC (vMPFC), and posterior cingulate cortex (PCC), which are activated by self‐triggered self‐reference
Significant positive associations between Self‐Preoccupation Scale (SPS) and regional gray matter vol‐ ume (rGMV) were observed in widespread brain areas including the bilateral precuneus and posterior cingulate gyri (PCG) but not the dorsal MPFC (dMPFC) (Figure 1 and Table 2)
Summary
The disposition to focus more on the self than on others or one's environment and to maintain self‐focused attention is referred to as self‐preoccupation, a state that can be assessed quantitatively using the Self‐Preoccupation Scale (SPS) (Sakamoto, 1998). In contrast to self‐preoccupation, the disposition to maintain external focus on a specific object is referred to as external‐pre‐ occupation, which can be assessed by the External‐Preoccupation Scale (EPS) (Sakamoto, 1998). Because self‐preoccupation is the disposition to focus on the self regardless of individual intention, self‐preoccupation may be associated with the precuneus, vMPFC, and PCC, which are activated by self‐triggered self‐reference. The present study tests two hypotheses: (a) neural substrates of self‐preoccupation include the precuneus, vMPFC, and PCC but not the dMPFC, and (b) neural substrates of external‐preoccupation include the cerebellum. We perform whole‐brain multiple regression analysis, a method commonly used in neuroimaging research to identify regions associated with specific behavioral outcomes or metrics such as SPS scores
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