Table 2.
MPQ personality and MAO A catalytic activity in the frontal cortex
| MPQ scales a | Description of high scorers | Mean ± SD b | r (25) c | t (25) d |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Control (0–24) | Cautious, careful, reflective | 16.72 ± 4.4 | 0.00 | −0.30 |
| Harm avoidance (0–28) | Avoids danger, prefers safety even if tedious | 16.03 ± 6.0 | −0.05 | −0.36 |
| Traditionalism (0–27) | Conservative, needs predictable environment, high moral standards | 16.20 ± 4.6 | −0.07 | −0.41 |
| Aggression (0–20) | Willing to take advantage of others and cause them discomfort | 5.52 ± 3.4 | −0.54** | 1.40 |
| Alienation (0–20) | Suspicious, feels mistreated, persecuted | 4.24 ± 5.4 | −0.05 | 1.30 |
| Stress reaction (0–14) | Nervous, sensitive, prone to overreact | 3.3 ± 3.0 | 0.02 | 1.74 |
| Social closeness (0–22) | Sociable, needs and likes people | 14.7 ± 4.4 | 0.00 | −0.16 |
| Well-being (0–11) | Happy, cheerful, feels good about oneself and the future | 9.2 ± 2.4 | 0.04 | −0.33 |
| Achievement (0–21) | Works hard, enjoys demanding projects, persists for long hours | 13.1 ± 4.0 | −0.02 | −0.69 |
| Social potency (0–26) | Forceful, decisive, influences others, enjoys leadership roles | 14.0 ± 5.9 | −0.25 | 1.92 |
| Constraint | Control + harm avoidance + traditionalism | 49.2 ± 11.3 | −0.02 | −0.42 |
| Negative emotionality | Aggression + alienation + stress reaction | 12.5 ± 9.0 | −0.18 | 2.00 |
| Positive emotionality | Social closeness + well-being + achievement + social potency | 51.2 ± 10.9 | −0.15 | 0.70 |
All tests were two-tailed. **p < 0.003.
aIn parentheses, we provide the range of scores for the MPQ scales; the last three are personality factors empirically constructed from combination of some of the scales.
bMeans and SD are provided for all participants (n = 27).
c r (25) is the Pearson's correlation value for each of the scales with MAO A enzymatic activity (λk 3) in the frontal cortex for all the participants.
d t (25) is the t test value of the independent samples comparison between low (n = 10) and high (n = 17) MAO A genotype groups.