Table 1.
Summary of neuroimaging studies on trait openness.
| Study | Sample | Openness questionnaires/other tasks | Imaging modality/network or region analysis methodology | Results summary and interpretation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| DeYoung et al. (2010) | 116 healthy individuals | NEO-PI-R2 | sMRI1 Whole brain volumes and ROIs3 (voxel-level) expansion or contraction compared to the reference image |
There were no discernible correlations between openness and local brain volume One cluster in the right parietal cortex was linked to this feature but was too small to cross the cluster-size criteria (2) |
| Riccelli et al. (2017) | 507 healthy participants from the human connectome study | NEO-FFI4 | sMRI1 SBM5 |
Greater area and folding in the prefrontal-parietal regions and a thinner cortex were associated with openness. These results show a relationship between individual variance in the sociocognitive dispositions outlined by the FFM and anatomical variability in prefrontal cortices (30) |
| Bjørnebekk et al. (2012) | 265 healthy individuals | NEO-PI-R2 BDI6 WASI7 |
sMRI1 Multimodal imaging approach: regional analysis of cortical morphometry and white matter DTI8 |
The personality trait most directly connected to brain shape was neuroticism Greater neuroticism was linked to decreased total brain volume, extensive WM microstructure loss, and reduced frontotemporal surface area The inferior frontal gyrus was narrower in people with higher extraversion ratings, and the temporoparietal junction was adversely correlated with conscientiousness There were no conclusive links between agreeableness and openness and brain anatomy (31) |
| Wenfu Li et al. (2015) | 246 college students | NEO-PI-R2 RAPM9 WCAT10 |
sMRI1 VBM11 |
These findings suggest that an individual’s trait creativity may be significantly influenced by the specific personality trait of openness to experience and that creativity and the appropriate pMTG volume are related through openness to experience to some extent (34) |
| Yasuno et al. (2017) | 37 healthy participants | NEO-FFI4 | sMRI1 VBM11 |
Variations in intra-cortical myelination in the anterior cingulate/medial frontal cortex, posterior cingulate cortex, and posterior insula/adjacent putamen are related to individual differences in openness to experience These results support the theory that myelination serves as a biological underpinning for the trait of openness and plays a role in the relationship between creativity and mental illnesses (32) |
| Marstrand-Joergensen et al. (2021) | 295 unique healthy individuals | NEO-PI-R2 |
12rsfMRI Resting-state functional connectivity |
Openness, including the fantasy component, was inversely correlated with DMN functional connectivity in the resting state (35) |
| Wang et al. (2022) | 376 healthy participants | NEO-PI-R2 Creativity tasks: 13CAQ, 14CBI, 15BICB Divergent thinking tasks: 16PIT, 17AUT, 18UST |
12rsfMRI Specific networks functional connectivity analysis Including the dorsal and ventral attention network, default mode network, limbic network, control network, and two others for somatosensory and visual networks |
At the behavioral level, there is a correlation between creative achievement and both experiential openness and diverse thinking. Both openness to new experiences and divergent thinking involves the attentat networks and the default mode network since they both call for focus and the capacity for spontaneous thought (27) |
| Sun et al. (2019) | 29 healthy university students |
2NEO-PI-R Divergent thinking tasks: 17AUT, 19OCT (as a control task) |
Task-fMRI Activation functional connectivity analysis |
Different combinations of network connectivity patterns predict creativity and openness to experience Positive connections between the precuneus and supramarginal gyrus and the middle frontal gyrus/superior frontal gyrus were found Individual difference analysis showed a significant correlation between openness to experience and the intensity of functional connectivity between various important default mode, cognitive control, and salience network areas The network-based mechanisms that underlie creativity and the neurological foundation of individual differences in openness to experience were found to be true (54) |
| Wei et al. (2014) | 269 healthy individuals | Divergent thinking: measured by the torrance tests of creative thinking | Pre- and post-task—resting state fMRI Whole-brain voxel-based activity and ROI-functional connectivity |
Study findings suggest that increased RSFC between the default mode network’s mPFC and mTG may be essential for creativity and that cognitive stimulation can increase RSFC between these two brain regions (reflecting creativity training-induced changes in functional connectivity, especially in the lower creativity individuals who had lower scores of torrance tests of creative thinking) (55) |
| Beaty et al. (2018) | 163 healthy adults | Creative ideation task, alternate uses task (AUT) of divergent thinking | Two task-based fMRI samples and one task-free resting-state sample fMRI during creative ideation task Functional connectivity analysis |
Greater default mode network, SN, and ECN functional connectivity are associated with higher creativity and divergent thinking (56) |
A summary of findings and methodology from neuroimaging studies showing correlational structural and functional connectivity and activity to variability in openness and creativity and divergent thinking as another aspect of trait openness. We conducted a comprehensive literature search using the PubMed database for studies published from 1979 to 2023 in peer-reviewed journals that investigated the neurobiological correlates of openness. We included original articles that reported brain imaging data or neurophysiological measures of brain function in relation to measures of openness. Here we review the most recent relevant neuroimaging studies. 1Structural MRI (sMRI), 2Revised NEO personality inventory (NEO-PI-R) (57), 3Region of interest (ROI), 4NEO-five-factors-inventory (NEO-FFI) (13), 5Surface-based morphometry (SBM), 6Beck depression inventory (BDI) (58), 7Wechsler abbreviated scale of intelligence (WASI) (59), 8Diffusion tensor imaging (DTI), 9Raven’s advanced progressive matrix (RAPM) (60), 10The creativity assessment packet (WCAT) (61), 11Voxel-based morphometry (VBM), 12Resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rsfMRI), 13The creative achievement questionnaire (CAQ) (62), 14Creative behavior inventory (CBI) (63), 15The biographical inventory of creative behaviors (BICB) (64), 16The product improvement task (PIT), 17The alternate uses task (AUT) (21), 18The utopian situations task (UST), 19Object characteristics task (OCT).