Human Personality and Brain Mapping C. Robert Cloninger Center for Psychobiology of Personality, Washington University, St. Louis

Individuals differ markedly from one another in personality traits.  The variation in personality can be reliably measured and related to individual differences in human brain receptor distributions.   Seven dimensions of human personality have been distinguished that each have different genetic determinants.  The Temperament and Character Inventory (TCI) reliably measures these dimensions.  The structure of the TCI personality traits is compatible with the hierarchical and non-linear organization of brain networks.  The TCI temperament traits include Harm Avoidance (i.e., anxiety-proneness), Novelty Seeking (i.e., anger-proneness), Reward Dependence (i.e., sensitivity to social cues), and Persistence (i.e., resistance to frustration).  The TCI character traits include measures of Self-directedness, Cooperativeness, and Self-transcendence, which quantify individual differences in higher cognitive processes that regulate emotional conflicts and decision making.  Each dimension is moderately heritable and correlated with specific genetic polymorphisms influencing neuroreceptor functions.  The neuroreceptor regulation of each dimensions of personality is complex, involving non-linear interactions among multiple genetic and environmental influences during development.  The complex patterns will be illustrated for both temperament and character traits.