Adults’ brains show temperamental side
By Bruce Bower
Using brain-imaging techniques, psychologists have identified possible neural locations underlying shyness or gregariousness.
Thirteen people in their early 20s whom the psychologists had categorized as inhibited during infancy displayed much more amygdala activity when shown new faces versus familiar ones, say Carl E. Schwartz of Massachusetts General Hospital in Charlestown and his coworkers. In contrast, nine young adults who were uninhibited as infants didn’t show this difference in amygdala responses to novel and recognizable faces, the scientists report in the June 20 Science.