Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 21, 2026

Measurement of Fronto-limbic Activity Using an Emotional Oddball Task in Children with Familial High Risk for Schizophrenia
Published on: December 2, 2015
Associations between anterior cingulate cortex glutamate and gamma-aminobutyric acid concentrations and the harm
Hengjun J Kim1, Jieun E Kim, Gyunggoo Cho
1Interdisciplinary Program in Brain Science, Seoul National University College of Natural Sciences, Seoul, South Korea.
Abstract:
Converging lines of evidence have suggested that the personality traits might have neurobiological underpinnings. The anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) has been implicated to play an important role in the human fear and anxiety. Functional and structural characteristics of ACC have been suggested to be associated with the harm avoidance (HA) temperament, one of the important temperament dimensions. Therefore, we aimed to investigate correlations between neurometabolite concentrations in ACC, specifically glutamate and gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA), which are major excitatory and inhibitory neurotransmitters, respectively, and HA scores. Neurometabolite concentrations were measured using high resolution single voxel proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy ((1)H-MRS), and the HA temperament was evaluated using the Temperament and Character Inventory (TCI). Correlations between HA scores from 37 participants (21 men/16 women, age of 30.3+/-7.0) and glutamate and GABA concentrations in the mid-ACC region were evaluated. HA scores correlated negatively with glutamate concentrations in ACC (partial correlation, R=-0.54, df=33, P=0.001) and positively with GABA concentrations in ACC (partial correlation, R=0.48, df=30, P=0.005). These findings suggest that glutamate and GABA concentrations in ACC are closely related to levels of the HA temperament in healthy subjects.
Related Concept Videos
Gut-Brain Axis
Socioemotional Development during Infancy
Primary Temperament Types
Stella Chess...
Functional Brain Systems: Limbic System
Role of Amygdala in Memory
One of the...
The Physiology of Taste
Aggression

