Voxel-Based Morphometry of Optimistic and Pessimistic Brains: A Detailed Study Focusing on Age Range and Gender

Abstract

The aim of the present study was to investigate brain volumes in pessimist and optimist participants. Therefore, in the present voxel-based morphometry research, it is investigated whether optimism has a corresponding counterpart in the structure of the brain. Thirty-two participants were screened via a publicly available dataset to test for this. The participants are divided into two groups: low optimists and high optimists, each with sixteen people. In comparison, a significant difference (P<0.05) was not found between the groups we created as a result of statistical calculations; however, statistically significant results (P<0.001) were obtained via a detailed VBM analysis in many brain regions, especially the thalamus, amygdala, left insula, superior frontal gyrus, and right cerebellum regions. These differences were identified and reported.

Keywords

• Voxel based morphometry
• Magnetic resonance imaging
• Optimistic
• Pessimistic

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