Neuroticism associated with neural activation patterns to positive stimuli.

Relationships between neuroticism and neural activation to salient emotional stimuli were examined in three magnetic resonance imaging studies in which participants viewed International Affective Picture System pictures or emotional films. Neuroticism directly correlated with dorsomedial prefrontal cortex activation in response to positive stimuli. Dorsomedial prefrontal cortex correlations may reflect increased self-association in individuals with high neuroticism.