Open AccessDiurnal Preference and Grey Matter Volume in a Large Population of Older Adults: Data from the UK Biobank
Author(s) -
Ray Norbury
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
journal of circadian rhythms
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.641
H-Index - 26
ISSN - 1740-3391
DOI - 10.5334/jcr.193
Subject(s) - grey matter , precuneus , evening , orbitofrontal cortex , morning , voxel based morphometry , medicine , putamen , population , brain size , psychology , psychiatry , environmental health , prefrontal cortex , magnetic resonance imaging , radiology , physics , cognition , astronomy , white matter
Eveningness (a diurnal preference for evening time) is associated with a number of negative health outcomes and risk and prevalence for psychiatric disorder. Our understanding of the anatomical substrates of diurnal preference, however, is limited. The current study used Voxel-Based Morphometry to compare grey matter volume in a large sample ( N = 3730) of healthy adults determined by questionnaire to be either definite morning-type or definite evening-type. Eveningness was associated with increased grey matter volume in precuneus, brain regions implicated in risk and reward processing (bilateral nucleus accumbens, caudate, putamen and thalamus) and orbitofrontal cortex. These results indicate an anatomical-basis for diurnal preference which may underlie reported differences in behaviour and brain function observed in these individuals.