The Anatomy of Personality:

The Lessons of Psychosurgery

• Prefrontal leucotomy (by 1937): damages small
areas of white matter behind each frontal lobe with
intention of decreasing pathological levels of
agitation and emotional arousal
• Prefrontal lobotomy—more drastic: removes
whole sectors of frontal lobes
• Observations of patients consistent with brain
damage: frontal lobes play a role in anticipating the
future, including negative outcomes, and in planning
and decision making.

• Replaced with drugs

 The Biochemistry of Personality
• Galen (Rome, A.D. 130–200) proposed that
personality depended on the balance of
humors (blood, black bile, yellow bile,
phlegm)
• The chemistry of the mind
– Neurons communicate with neurotransmitters
– Hormones stimulate or inhibit neural activity
– About 60 chemicals transmit information in the
brain and body
– People differ in average levels
Communications Among Neurons
 The Biochemistry of Personality:
Neurotransmitters
• Dopamine
– Involved in responding to reward and approaching
attractive objects and people
– Related to sociability, general activity level, and
novelty seeking
– Parkinson’s disease
 The Biochemistry of Personality:
Neurotransmitters
• Dopamine
– Possible relation with bipolar disorder,
extraversion, and impulsivity
– Activates the behavioral activation system (BAS)
– Individual differences in development of nerve
cells that produce and are responsive to
dopamine
– Related to the fundamental dimension of
plasticity
 The Biochemistry of Personality:
Serotonin (and Prozac)
• Role in inhibition of behavioral impulses
• Prozac: a selective serotonin reuptake
inhibitor (SSRI)
– Physical effect: increases serotonin levels
 The Biochemistry of Personality:
Serotonin (and Prozac)
• Prozac
– Psychological effects: controversial
• Positive effects
• Changes in personality for people without a
diagnosed disorder
• Makes negative emotions less severe and
doesn’t affect positive emotions
• Related to the fundamental dimension of
stability
 The Biochemistry of Personality:
Hormones
• Epinephrine and norepinephrine
– Released in respond to stress to create the fight-
or-flight response
– Females might respond differently to stress
• Tend-and-befriend
• Importance of oxytocin
– Only the initial and automatic response to stress
 The Biochemistry of Personality:
Hormones
• Testosterone
– Concentration in men is about 10 times higher
than in women
– Link with aggression is complex
– Role in control and inhibition of aggression and
sexuality
– Related to many other behaviors
 The Biochemistry of Personality:
Hormones
• Cortisol
– Released in response to stress
– Chronically high levels in people with severe
stress, anxiety, and depression
– Low levels related to post-traumatic stress
disorder (PTSD) and sensation seeking
 The Biochemistry of Personality:
Hormones
• Oxytocin
– Role in mother-child bonding, romantic
attachment, and sexual response
– Decreases fearfulness
– Facilitates approach behaviors
The Big Five and the Brain