Abstract
The main goal of this study was to identify the moderating role of temperamental traits, as defined by Strelau’s Regulative Theory of Temperament (RTT), in explaining brain activity evoked by video stimuli of varying stimulatory value. fMRI scans were performed in a group of 61 young females in the luteal phase of the menstrual cycle. The validity of stimulus selection had been verified prior to the main study by collecting declarative measures of affective reactions, including valence, arousal, and basic emotions ratings. The choice of dynamic and complex video-stimuli allowed us to induce high levels of arousal effectively. Three categories of movies used in the experiment included neutral, low arousing, and highly arousing scenes. Movies classified into the last category depicted extreme-sport activities allowing us to confront the subjects with recordings potentially life-threatening situations. Results of the study revealed that activation of orbitofrontal cortex in highly arousing conditions is linked to the levels of activity, while traits of perseverance and emotional reactivity were negatively correlated with the BOLD signal in this structure. Low arousing movies evoked higher activation of the amygdala and left hippocampus in emotionally reactive subjects. Obtained results might be coherently interpreted in the light of RTT theory, therefore providing its first validation using functional brain imaging.
Highlights
From a historical perspective, temperament is one of the earliest theoretical constructs investigated by psychologists
Following our expectations, we showed that brain activation patterns were systematically related to the stimulatory value of the presented material, with more pronounced reactions evoked by videos depicting extreme-sports activities
Correlational analysis revealed an interesting pattern of relationships between temperamental traits and BOLD signal levels
Summary
Temperament is one of the earliest theoretical constructs investigated by psychologists. Temperament is understood as a set of basic, biologically determined personality traits. We decided to use the Regulatory Theory of Temperament (RTT) proposed by Jan Strelau. According to this theory, temperament is a set of basic, primarily biologically determined and relatively stable personality traits, which apply to the formal characteristics of behavior. Sensory sensitivity (the ability to react to sensory stimuli of low stimulative value), endurance (the ability to react adequately in situations demanding long-lasting or high stimulative activity and under intensive external stimulation) and activity (the tendency to undertake behavior of high stimulative value or to supply by means of behavior strong stimulation from the surroundings) are considered temporal traits (Strelau, 1982; Strelau et al, 2002)
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