Association between personality and tau-PET binding in cognitively normal older adults

Schultz, Stephanie A.; Gordon, Brian A.; Mishra, Shruti; Su, Yi; Morris, John C.; Ances, Beau M.; Duchek, Janet M.; Balota, David A.; Benzinger, Tammie L. S.

doi:10.1007/s11682-019-00163-y

Original Research
Published: 05 September 2019

Association between personality and tau-PET binding in cognitively normal older adults

Stephanie A. Schultz^1,2,
Brian A. Gordon^2,3,4,
Shruti Mishra^2,5,
Yi Su^2,6,
John C. Morris^3,7,
Beau M. Ances^3,7,
Janet M. Duchek^3,4,
David A. Balota^3,4 &
Tammie L. S. Benzinger ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0002-8114-0552^2,3,8

Brain Imaging and Behavior volume 14, pages 2122–2131 (2020)Cite this article

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Abstract

Personality traits such as Neuroticism and Conscientiousness are associated with Alzheimer disease (AD) pathophysiology in cognitively normal (CN) and impaired individuals, and may represent potential risk or resilience factors, respectively. This study examined the cross-sectional relationship between personality traits and regional tau deposition using positron emission tomography (PET) in cognitively normal older adults. A cohort of CN (Clinical Dementia Rating (CDR) 0, n = 128) older adults completed the NEO Five-Factor Inventory to assess traits of Neuroticism, Extroversion, Openness, Agreeableness, and Conscientiousness and underwent tau-PET and β-amyloid (Aβ)-PET imaging. We utilized linear regression models, adjusting for age, sex, geriatric depression score, and Aβ to evaluate the association between each of the personality traits and regional tau-PET accumulation. Elevated Neuroticism scores were associated with higher tau-PET accumulation in the amygdala (p = .002), entorhinal cortex (p = .012), and inferior temporal cortex (p = .016), as well as with a composite tau-PET measure (p = .002). In contrast, Extroversion, Openness, Agreeableness, and Conscientiousness were not associated with tau deposition in any of these regions (p’s > 0.160). Our results indicate that increased Neuroticism is associated with higher tau pathophysiology in regions known to be vulnerable to AD pathophysiology in CN participants. High Neuroticism scores may therefore serve as a potential risk factor for tau accumulation. Alternatively, personality can change with the onset of AD, thus increased tau levels may affect Neuroticism scores. While future longitudinal studies are needed to determine directionality, our findings suggest early associations between Neuroticism and tau accumulation in CN adults.

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Data availability

Data that support the findings of this study are available from the Knight ADRC at https://knightadrc.wustl.edu/Research/ResourceRequest.htm.

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Acknowledgements

The authors acknowledge the financial support of Fred Simmons and Olga Mohan, the Charles F. and Joanne Knight Alzheimer’s Research Initiative, the Hope Center for Neurological Disorders, the Mallinckrodt Institute of Radiology, the American Society for Neuroradiology, and the Barnes-Jewish Hospital Foundation (BJHF), the Paula and Rodger Riney Fund, the BJHF Willman Scholar Fund, and the Daniel J Brennan MD Fund. This research was additionally funded by BrightFocus Foundation grants A2017272S and A2017330S; Alzheimer’s Association Research Grant AARG -17-532945; Arizona Alzheimer’s Research Consortium; National Science Foundation grant DGE-1745038; and National Institutes of Health grants P50AG005681, P01AG026276, P01AG003991, R01AG055444, R01AG031581, UL1TR000448, R01EB009352, 1P30NS098577, and K01AG053474-01A1. Avid Radiopharmaceuticals (a wholly owned subsidiary of Eli Lilly) provided doses of 18Fflorbetapir, partial funding for 18F-florbetapir scanning, precursor for 18F-flortaucipir, and technology transfer for manufacturing of 18F-flortaucipir. The authors thank their participants, without whom this study would not have been possible.

Funding

The authors acknowledge the financial support of Fred Simmons and Olga Mohan, the Charles F. and Joanne Knight Alzheimer’s Research Initiative, the Hope Center for Neurological Disorders, the Mallinckrodt Institute of Radiology, the American Society for Neuroradiology, and the Barnes-Jewish Hospital Foundation (BJHF), the BJHF Paula and Rodger O. Riney Fund, the BJHF Willman Scholar Fund, and the Daniel J Brennan Fund. This research was additionally funded by BrightFocus Foundation grants A2017272S and A2017330S; Alzheimer’s Association Research Grant AARG -17-532945; Arizona Alzheimer’s Research Consortium; National Science Foundation grant DGE-1745038; and National Institutes of Health grants P50AG005681, P01AG026276, P01AG003991, R01AG055444, R01AG031581, UL1TR000448, R01EB009352, 1P30NS098577, and K01AG053474-01A1. Avid Radiopharmaceuticals (a wholly owned subsidiary of Eli Lilly) provided doses of 18F-florbetapir, partial funding for 18F-florbetapir scanning, precursor for 18F-flortaucipir, and technology transfer for manufacturing of 18F-flortaucipir.

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Affiliations

Division of Biology and Biomedical Sciences, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, USA
Stephanie A. Schultz
Department of Radiology, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, USA
Stephanie A. Schultz, Brian A. Gordon, Shruti Mishra, Yi Su & Tammie L. S. Benzinger
Knight Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, USA
Brian A. Gordon, John C. Morris, Beau M. Ances, Janet M. Duchek, David A. Balota & Tammie L. S. Benzinger
Department of Psychological & Brain Sciences, Washington University, St. Louis, USA
Brian A. Gordon, Janet M. Duchek & David A. Balota
Department of Radiology, Mass General Hospital, Boston, MA, USA
Shruti Mishra
Banner Alzheimer’s Institute, Phoenix, AZ, USA
Yi Su
Department of Neurology, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, USA
John C. Morris & Beau M. Ances
Department of Neurological Surgery, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, USA
Tammie L. S. Benzinger

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Stephanie A. Schultz
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Brian A. Gordon
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Shruti Mishra
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Yi Su
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John C. Morris
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Beau M. Ances
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Janet M. Duchek
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David A. Balota
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Tammie L. S. Benzinger
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Correspondence to Tammie L. S. Benzinger.

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Conflict of interest

John C. Morris, Tammie L.S. Benzinger, and Brian A. Gordon report participation in clinical trials sponsored by Eli Lilly, Roche, and Biogen. Avid Radiopharmaceuticals (a wholly owned subsidiary of Eli Lilly provided doses of 18F-florbetapir, partial funding for 18F-florbetapir scanning, precursor for 18F-flortaucipir and technology transfer for manufacturing of 18F-flortaucipir). None of the authors, nor their family members, own stock or have equity interest (outside of mutual funds or other externally directed accounts) in any pharmaceutical or biotechnology company.

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Schultz, S.A., Gordon, B.A., Mishra, S. et al. Association between personality and tau-PET binding in cognitively normal older adults. Brain Imaging and Behavior 14, 2122–2131 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11682-019-00163-y

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Published: 05 September 2019
Issue Date: December 2020
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11682-019-00163-y

Keywords

Personality
Neuroticism
Alzheimer disease
Tau
Neurodegeneration