Programm

Personality traits are the core building blocks for understanding individual differences in daily functioning. While neurobiological theories of personality have a long history, their empirical validation remains challenging. A key challenge is the mapping of broad traits to much more fine-grained neuro-behavioral measures (or vice versa), neglecting their hierarchical organization. This symposium demonstrates how matching the specificity of traits, behaviors, temporal dynamics, and neural spatial resolution refines understanding of personality across the domains of emotion and cognition (N=150-450).

The first talk (emotional responses/trait resolution) presents a comprehensive machine learning multiverse analysis on a large fMRI dataset, demonstrating that neural responses to emotional stimuli robustly predict specific trait facets (e.g., vulnerability to stress) rather than broad domains (e.g., neuroticism).

The second talk (emotion regulation/behavioral resolution) distinguishes between the selection and implementation of emotion regulation strategies during EEG, showing differential associations to mental health-related personality traits and executive function.

The third talk (executive functions/temporal resolution) demonstrates a data-driven time-frequency decomposition of EEG responses to dissect cognitive flexibility across three tasks, refining the neural characterization of task switching.

The fourth talk (intelligence/spatial resolution) uses fine-grained white matter microstructure analyses to investigate fluid intelligence, integrating structural equation modeling with measures of structural integrity, axon density, and myelin content.

Lastly, a moderated discussion will integrate findings and future directions guided by models of personality neuroscience (e.g., Brunswick asymmetry, causal theory).

Together, this symposium highlights how methodological and statistical advances enhance the neurobiological mapping of personality, increasing precision across traits, processes, and neuroimaging techniques.