Penalized canonical correlation analysis reveals a relationship between temperament traits and brain oscillations during mind wandering

IntroductionThere has been a growing interest in studying brain activity under naturalistic conditions. However, the relationship between individual differences in ongoing brain activity and psychological characteristics is not well understood. We investigated this connection, focusing on the association between oscillatory activity in the brain and individually characteristic dispositional traits. Given the variability of unconstrained resting states among individuals, we devised a paradigm that could harmonize the state of mind across all participants.MethodsWe constructed task contrasts that included focused attention (FA), self-centered future planning, and rumination on anxious thoughts triggered by visual imagery. Magnetoencephalography was recorded from 28 participants under these 3 conditions for a duration of 16 min. The oscillatory power in the alpha and beta bands was converted into spatial contrast maps, representing the difference in brain oscillation power between the two conditions. We performed permutation cluster tests on these spatial contrast maps. Additionally, we applied penalized canonical correlation analysis (CCA) to study the relationship between brain oscillation patterns and behavioral traits.ResultsThe data revealed that the FA condition, as compared to the other conditions, was associated with higher alpha and beta power in the temporal areas of the left hemisphere and lower alpha and beta power in the parietal areas of the right hemisphere. Interestingly, the penalized CCA indicated that behavioral inhibition was positively correlated, whereas anxiety was negatively correlated, with a pattern of high oscillatory power in the bilateral precuneus and low power in the bilateral temporal regions. This unique association was found in the anxious-thoughts condition when contrasted with the focused-attention condition.ConclusionOur findings suggest individual temperament traits significantly affect brain engagement in naturalistic conditions. This research underscores the importance of considering individual traits in neuroscience and offers an effective method for analyzing brain activity and psychological differences. In the article, we present a novel way to jointly analyze brain oscillations and temperament characteristics with penalized canonical correlation analysis in a clinically relevant context of mindful and anxious states of minds. The main results include the specific regions of the brain where the brain oscillations are modulated by the temperament traits in anxious situations, and the specific regions where the brain correlates of focused attention differ from the brain correlates of mind wandering. image