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Related Experiment Video

Updated: May 22, 2026

Using Facial Electromyography to Assess Facial Muscle Reactions to Experienced and Observed Affective Touch in Humans

Using Facial Electromyography to Assess Facial Muscle Reactions to Experienced and Observed Affective Touch in Humans

Published on: March 15, 2019

Touch and personality: extraversion predicts somatosensory brain response.

Michael Schaefer¹, Hans-Jochen Heinze, Michael Rotte

¹Department of Neurology, Otto-von-Guericke University Magdeburg, 39120 Magdeburg, Germany. mischa@neuro2.med.uni-magdeburg.de

|May 16, 2012

Summary

Introversion is linked to higher activity in the primary somatosensory cortex (SI). This study found that less extraverted individuals showed greater cortical responses to tactile stimulation, particularly in the right hemisphere.

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Area of Science:

Neuroscience
Psychology
Personality Science

Background:

The Five-Factor-Model categorizes personality into five dimensions: extraversion, neuroticism, agreeableness, conscientiousness, and openness.
Individual differences in personality traits are hypothesized to correlate with distinct neural underpinnings.
Introversion may be associated with compensatory mechanisms for cortical activity in specific neural pathways.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate the relationship between personality traits, specifically extraversion, and neural responses in somatosensory cortices.
To test the hypothesis that extraversion influences somatosensory processing in the primary somatosensory cortex (SI).

Main Methods:

Utilized non-painful tactile stimulation on the fingers of 23 healthy young adults.
Assessed personality traits using the Five-Factor-Model (NEO-FFI).
Employed neuromagnetic source imaging to analyze cortical activity (dipole strengths) in SI.

Main Results:

A significant association was found between the personality trait extraversion and cortical activity in SI.
Lower levels of extraversion correlated with higher cortical activity in SI.
This relationship was particularly pronounced in the right hemisphere.

Conclusions:

Personality traits, such as extraversion, appear to be associated with activity levels in primary cortical areas.
The findings suggest a potential link between introversion and heightened somatosensory cortical processing.
Results offer further support for inter-hemispheric asymmetry in neural mechanisms underlying social cognition and personality.