Why are some people particularly prone to anxiety, worry, or stress, while others remain more composed? An international study led by the Central Institute of Mental Health (CIMH) shows that the amygdala—previously considered central to these processes—apparently does not explain the differences among people in their susceptibility to anxiety, worry, and stress. Instead, the researchers identified brain networks involved in body awareness, movement, and visual processing as more significant predictors of individual susceptibility to stress. The findings have now been published in Nature Communications.
For decades, the amygdala has been the focus of attention
People differ significantly in how often and how intensely they experience negative emotions. Psychologists summarize these differences under the term “neuroticism.” These include, among other things, anxiety, depressive moods, and an increased susceptibility to stress. Pronounced negative emotionality is considered a major risk factor for various mental illnesses and has therefore been the focus of neurobiological research for many years. Until now, the amygdala was considered the most important brain region underlying these personality traits. However, the scientific evidence was contradictory.
"For many years, the amygdala has been regarded as the central hub for negative emotions. However, our results show that this assumption cannot be confirmed by the functional MRI paradigms commonly used to date. This does not mean that the amygdala is unimportant for emotions. However, it does not seem to provide a reliable explanation for stable differences between people,” says Dr. Maurizio Sicorello, first author of the study and research associate at the CIMH.
New brain networks are coming into focus
For their study, the researchers analyzed the brain activity of more than 400 participants during established emotional fMRI tasks. Using state-of-the-art machine learning methods and an independent replication sample, they systematically investigated which brain regions can predict individual differences in emotional personality traits.
The results showed that while neuroticism as a whole could not be reliably predicted based on brain activity, individual susceptibility to stress could be predicted to a limited extent. Brain networks that process information about one’s own body, control movements, and integrate visual stimuli were particularly relevant. It was not the emotional centers that had previously been the focus of attention, but rather these large-scale networks that provided the most meaningful clues to individual susceptibility to stress.
New Perspectives for Emotion Research
The results suggest that the neural basis of emotional personality traits is more complex than previously thought. Rather than individual brain regions, large-scale networks that link perception, bodily sensations, and action planning may play a decisive role.
“Our study shows how important it is to reexamine long-standing assumptions using modern methods. It opens up new perspectives on which brain processes can actually explain why some people are significantly more susceptible to stress and negative emotions than others,” says Prof. Dr. Christian Schmahl, Medical Director of the Department of Psychosomatics and Psychotherapeutic Medicine at the CIMH. “Emotional personality traits apparently do not originate in individual brain regions, but rather through the interaction of distributed brain networks,” he adds.
A particularly robust methodology
To ensure their results were as robust as possible, the researchers defined their research questions and analysis methods before beginning the analysis. They then verified their results using two independent datasets, combined traditional neurobiological methods with machine learning, and further demonstrated the predictability of emotional dispositions across more than 1,100 statistical model variants. The key findings proved to be consistent.
The study was conducted in close collaboration between the Central Institute for Mental Health and several research institutions in the United States, including Dartmouth College, the University of Pittsburgh, and the University of Michigan.
The results provide important insights into how emotional personality traits can be studied in greater detail in the future. They also demonstrate how crucial the selection of psychological traits and appropriate experimental tasks is for research into emotional processes.
Publication
Sicorello, M., Gianaros, P.J., Wright, A. et al. The functional neurobiology of dispositions towards negative emotions. Nat Commun 17, 5622 (2026). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-026-74565-0