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. 2017 May 31:7:107-114.
doi: 10.1016/j.dadm.2017.05.002. eCollection 2017.

Neuroticism, depression, and anxiety traits exacerbate the state of cognitive impairment and hippocampal vulnerability to Alzheimer's disease

Valérie Zufferey  1   2 , Alessia Donati  2 , Julius Popp  2 , Reto Meuli  3 , Jérôme Rossier  4 , Richard Frackowiak  1 , Bogdan Draganski  1   5 , Armin von Gunten  2 , Ferath Kherif  1
Affiliations

Neuroticism, depression, and anxiety traits exacerbate the state of cognitive impairment and hippocampal vulnerability to Alzheimer's disease

Valérie Zufferey et al. Alzheimers Dement (Amst). .

Abstract

Introduction: Certain personality traits are associated with higher risk of Alzheimer's disease, similar to cognitive impairment. The identification of biological markers associated with personality in mild cognitive impairment could advance the early detection of Alzheimer's disease.

Methods: We used hierarchical multivariate linear models to quantify the interaction between personality traits, state of cognitive impairment, and MRI biomarkers (gray matter brain volume, gray matter mean water diffusion) in the medial temporal lobe (MTL).

Results: Over and above a main effect of cognitive state, the multivariate linear model showed significant interaction between cognitive state and personality traits predicting MTL abnormality. The interaction effect was mainly driven by neuroticism and its facets (anxiety, depression, and stress) and was associated with right-left asymmetry and an anterior to posterior gradient in the MTL.

Discussion: Our results support the hypothesis that personality traits can alter the vulnerability and pathoplasticity of disease and therefore modulate related biomarker expression.

Keywords: Alzheimer's disease; Brain; Neuroimaging; Personality; Prognosis; Psychiatry.

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Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
(A) NEO Personality inventory (NEO-Pi-R) is hierarchical construct composed of 5 domains and 6 facets for each domain. (B) Search volume of interest with the hippocampus in yellow and parahippocampal cortex in red. (C) Multivariate Linear Model (MLM) identified the personality profile and the brain distributed pattern that best explain the covariance between personality scores and anatomical measures.
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
MLM analysis of personality profile at domain level: (A) First Eigen-component (P <0.05) and (B) the associated spatial distribution within the search volume of interest for GMV; (C) First Eigen-component (P <0.05) and (D) the associated spatial distribution within the search volume of interest for GMMD. Abbreviations: Neuro, neuroticism; Extra, extraversion; Open, openness; Agree, agreeableness; Consc, conscientiousness. Y axis is an arbitrary unit (AU).
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
Hypothetical model of state marker in Alzheimer's disease (AD) including personality trait. The curves show the time evolution of state marker abnormality of AD. (A) Vulnerability: Individuals characterized with a different personality profile (e.g. with lower neuroticism score) can show different disease onset. (B) Pathoplasticity: Individuals characterized with a different personality profile (e.g. with lower neuroticism score) can show different rate of decline. X axis represents the time, and Y axis, the state biomarker abnormality of AD such as cognitive or brain decline.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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