Distinct Nodal Centrality and Connectivity Profiles Underlying Independent and Interdependent Self-Construal: A...

Self-construal-the extent to which the self is construed as autonomous from or connected with others-shapes cognition and social behavior, yet its system-level neural architecture remains poorly understood. This study examined whether independent and interdependent self-construal are associated with distinct patterns of nodal centrality and connectivity in the resting brain and whether these patterns covary with in-group favoritism.

Graph-theoretical analyses were applied to resting-state fMRI data from 67 college students. Degree centrality (DC) was the primary analysis; seed-based static functional connectivity (sFC) and dynamic functional connectivity variability (FCV) from DC-derived seeds served as exploratory follow-ups. In-group favoritism was assessed with a minimal-group point-allocation task.

Independent self-construal was positively associated with DC in the left inferior occipital gyrus and right lingual gyrus; exploratory sFC linked these occipital seeds to frontal, temporal, and parietal regions, with greater exploratory FCV in their coupling with frontoparietal control areas. Interdependent self-construal was positively associated with DC in the medial prefrontal cortex and thalamus, with exploratory sFC to occipital, temporal, and insular regions but no significant FCV effects. The self-construal difference score yielded convergent DC results and was negatively associated with in-group favoritism; occipital-postcentral coupling was positively associated with in-group favoritism in an exploratory correlation.

Independent and interdependent self-construal are associated with distinct nodal centrality profiles, linking independence to occipital perceptual hubs and interdependence to medial prefrontal-thalamic hubs. Exploratory connectivity analyses extend these findings to the coupling of these hubs with distributed brain regions and to in-group favoritism.