{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,4,7]],"date-time":"2026-04-07T06:15:37Z","timestamp":1775542537842,"version":"3.50.1"},"reference-count":52,"publisher":"Frontiers Media SA","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,4,7]],"date-time":"2026-04-07T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1775520000000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["frontiersin.org"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Front. Comput. Neurosci."],"abstract":"<jats:p>An increasing number of studies are currently focusing on \u201cpersonality neuroscience,\u201d a term denoting the research aimed at neuroimaging correlates of inter-individual temperament and character variability. Among other methods, a graph theoretical analysis of the functional connectivity in resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging data was applied in a study by, reporting novel functional connectivity correlates of personality traits. The current paper presents a conceptual replication of the results of this study and discusses the related challenges, including an extension of the original statistical methods in order to illustrate the effect of the multiple comparison problem. Five personality dimensions were obtained using the revised \u201cBig Five\" Personality Inventory, including scores of Extraversion and Neuroticism covered in the original paper. Using a larger sample (84 subjects) with adequate statistical power (ranging from 0.75 to 0.95 across analyses), we failed to replicate any of the nine specific neuroimaging correlates of personality presented by Gao et al. While acknowledging differences in the experimental procedures, we discuss that the lack of replication might be caused by the relatively liberal control of false positives in the original study. Indeed, the original testing scheme leads to an expected count of about 10 false positive observations among all tests; applying this scheme to our data we observed a similar number of positive tests, albeit for different relations. No significant correlations were found in our data when standard family-wise error control was applied. These results illustrate the importance of combining exploration with independent validation, use of large datasets, as well as appropriate control of multiple comparison problem in order to prevent false alarms in research into neural substrates of personality differences. Importantly, our findings do not disprove the existence of a link between personality and the brain's intrinsic functional architecture; but rather suggest that such a link might be even more subtle and elusive than previously reported.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3389\/fncom.2026.1796308","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,4,7]],"date-time":"2026-04-07T05:35:00Z","timestamp":1775540100000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/crossmark-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Replication challenges in linking personality to resting-state functional connectomics"],"prefix":"10.3389","volume":"20","author":[{"given":"Nikola","family":"Jajcay","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Complex Systems, Institute of Computer Science, Czech Academy of Sciences","place":["Prague, Czechia"]}]},{"given":"David","family":"Tome\u010dek","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"National Institute of Mental Health","place":["Klecany, Czechia"]}]},{"given":"Iveta","family":"Fajnerov\u00e1","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"National Institute of Mental Health","place":["Klecany, Czechia"]}]},{"given":"Jan","family":"Rydlo","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"National Institute of Mental Health","place":["Klecany, Czechia"]},{"name":"Department of Radiology, Institute for Clinical and Experimental Medicine (IKEM)","place":["Prague, Czechia"]}]},{"given":"Jaroslav","family":"Tint\u011bra","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"National Institute of Mental Health","place":["Klecany, Czechia"]},{"name":"Department of Radiology, Institute for Clinical and Experimental Medicine (IKEM)","place":["Prague, Czechia"]}]},{"given":"Ji\u0159\u00ed","family":"Hor\u00e1\u010dek","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"National Institute of Mental Health","place":["Klecany, Czechia"]}]},{"given":"Ji\u0159\u00ed","family":"Lukavsk\u00fd","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"National Institute of Mental Health","place":["Klecany, Czechia"]},{"name":"Institute of Psychology, Czech Academy of Sciences","place":["Prague, Czechia"]}]},{"given":"Jaroslav","family":"Hlinka","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Complex Systems, Institute of Computer Science, Czech Academy of Sciences","place":["Prague, Czechia"]},{"name":"National Institute of Mental Health","place":["Klecany, Czechia"]}]}],"member":"1965","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,4,7]]},"reference":[{"key":"B1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"e17","DOI":"10.1371\/journal.pcbi.0030017","article-title":"Efficiency and cost of economical brain functional networks","volume":"3","author":"Achard","year":"2007","journal-title":"PLoS Comput. Biol"},{"key":"B2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"e0027633","DOI":"10.1371\/journal.pone.0027633","article-title":"Personality is reflected in the brain's intrinsic functional architecture","volume":"6","author":"Adelstein","year":"2011","journal-title":"PLoS ONE"},{"key":"B3","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"836","DOI":"10.3758\/s13415-013-0224-0","article-title":"Neuroticism and extraversion are associated with amygdala resting-state functional connectivity","volume":"14","author":"Aghajani","year":"2014","journal-title":"Cogn. Affect. Behav. Neurosci"},{"key":"B4","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"309","DOI":"10.1207\/S15327906MBR3803_02","article-title":"Sample size tables for correlation analysis with applications in partial correlation and multiple regression analysis","volume":"38","author":"Algina","year":"2003","journal-title":"Multivariate Behav. Res"},{"key":"B5","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"713","DOI":"10.1016\/S0191-8869(01)00186-6","article-title":"A comparative study of Zuckerman's three structural models for personality through the NEO-PI-R, ZKPQ-III-R, EPQ-RS and Goldberg's 50-bipolar adjectives","volume":"33","author":"Aluja","year":"2002","journal-title":"Pers. Individ. Dif"},{"key":"B6","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"512","DOI":"10.1177\/1073858406293182","article-title":"Small-world brain networks","volume":"12","author":"Bassett","year":"2006","journal-title":"Neuroscientist"},{"key":"B7","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"289","DOI":"10.1111\/j.2517-6161.1995.tb02031.x","article-title":"Controlling the false discovery rate: a practical and powerful approach to multiple testing","volume":"57","author":"Benjamini","year":"1995","journal-title":"J. R. Stat. Soc. Ser. B Methodol"},{"key":"B8","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"186","DOI":"10.1038\/nrn2575","article-title":"Complex brain networks: graph theoretical analysis of structural and functional systems","volume":"10","author":"Bullmore","year":"2009","journal-title":"Nat. Rev. Neurosci"},{"key":"B9","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"650","DOI":"10.1037\/0022-3514.85.4.650","article-title":"Just because you're imaging the brain doesn't mean you can stop using your head: A primer and set of first principles","volume":"85","author":"Cacioppo","year":"2003","journal-title":"J. Pers. Soc. Psychol"},{"key":"B10","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"359","DOI":"10.1093\/scan\/nsaa044","article-title":"Robust prediction of individual personality from brain functional connectome","volume":"15","author":"Cai","year":"2020","journal-title":"Soc. Cogn. Affect. Neurosci"},{"key":"B11","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"116707","DOI":"10.1016\/j.neuroimage.2020.116707","article-title":"Resting-state \u201cphysiological networks\"","volume":"213","author":"Chen","year":"2020","journal-title":"NeuroImage"},{"key":"B12","volume-title":"Revised NEO Personality Inventory (NEO PI-R) and NEO Five-Factor Inventory (NEO-FFI)","author":"Costa","year":"1992"},{"key":"B13","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"323","DOI":"10.1017\/CBO9780511596544.023","author":"DeYoung","year":"2009","journal-title":"The Cambridge Handbook of Personality Psychology"},{"key":"B14","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"e6","DOI":"10.1017\/pen.2018.8","article-title":"Resting-state functional brain connectivity best predicts the personality dimension of openness to experience","volume":"1","author":"Dubois","year":"2018","journal-title":"Personal. Neurosci"},{"key":"B15","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"7900","DOI":"10.1073\/pnas.1602413113","article-title":"Cluster failure: why fMRI inferences for spatial extent have inflated false-positive rates","volume":"113","author":"Eklund","year":"2016","journal-title":"Proc. Nat. Acad. Sci"},{"key":"B16","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"792","DOI":"10.1177\/0956797620916786","article-title":"What is the test-retest reliability of common task-functional MRI Measures? New empirical evidence and a meta-analysis","volume":"31","author":"Elliott","year":"2020","journal-title":"Psychol. Sci"},{"key":"B17","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"773","DOI":"10.1016\/0191-8869(91)90144-Z","article-title":"Dimensions of personality: 16, 5 or 3 criteria for a taxonomic paradigm","volume":"12","author":"Eysenck","year":"1991","journal-title":"Pers. Individ. Dif"},{"key":"B18","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"215","DOI":"10.1016\/0378-8733(78)90021-7","article-title":"Centrality in social networks conceptual clarification","volume":"1","author":"Freeman","year":"1978","journal-title":"Soc. Netw"},{"key":"B19","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"56","DOI":"10.1002\/hbm.460020107","article-title":"Functional and effective connectivity in neuroimaging: a synthesis","volume":"2","author":"Friston","year":"1994","journal-title":"Hum. Brain Mapp"},{"key":"B20","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"14","DOI":"10.3389\/fnhum.2013.00257","article-title":"Extraversion and neuroticism relate to topological properties of resting-state brain networks","volume":"7","author":"Gao","year":"2013","journal-title":"Front. Hum. Neurosci"},{"key":"B21","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"249","DOI":"10.1037\/0735-7044.121.2.249","article-title":"Emotional conflict and neuroticism: personality-dependent activation in the amygdala and subgenual anterior cingulate","volume":"121","author":"Haas","year":"2007","journal-title":"Behav. Neurosci"},{"key":"B22","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1","DOI":"10.1063\/1.4977951","article-title":"Small-world bias of correlation networks: from brain to climate","volume":"27","author":"Hlinka","year":"2017","journal-title":"Chaos"},{"key":"B23","first-page":"65","article-title":"A simple sequentially rejective multiple test procedure","volume":"6","author":"Holm","year":"1979","journal-title":"Scand. J. Stat"},{"key":"B24","volume-title":"Designing Clinical Research","author":"Hulley","year":"2013"},{"key":"B25","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"503","DOI":"10.1098\/rspb.2005.3354","article-title":"The brainstem reticular formation is a small-world, not scale-free, network","volume":"273","author":"Humphries","year":"2006","journal-title":"Proc. R. Soc. Lond. B: Biol. Sci"},{"key":"B26","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"e124","DOI":"10.1371\/journal.pmed.0020124","article-title":"Why most published research findings are false","volume":"2","author":"Ioannidis","year":"2005","journal-title":"PLoS Med"},{"key":"B27","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"e70203","DOI":"10.1111\/psyp.70203","article-title":"Deviation from typical brain activity during naturalistic stimulation is related to personality traits","volume":"62","author":"Jajcay","year":"2025","journal-title":"Psychophysiology"},{"key":"B28","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.64898\/2026.01.19.700331","author":"Jajcay","year":"2026","journal-title":"Replication Challenges in Linking Personality to Resting-State Functional Connectomics"},{"key":"B29","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"120726","DOI":"10.1038\/s41467-025-58176-9","article-title":"A network correspondence toolbox for quantitative evaluation of novel neuroimaging results","volume":"303","author":"Kong","year":"2025","journal-title":"NeuroImage"},{"key":"B30","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"198701","DOI":"10.1103\/PhysRevLett.87.198701","article-title":"Efficient behavior of small-world networks","volume":"87","author":"Latora","year":"2001","journal-title":"Phys. Rev. Lett"},{"key":"B31","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"663","DOI":"10.1007\/s12264-015-1565-1","article-title":"Functional neuroimaging of extraversion-introversion","volume":"31","author":"Lei","year":"2015","journal-title":"Neurosci. Bull"},{"key":"B32","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"52","DOI":"10.1016\/j.neuroimage.2013.02.020","article-title":"Extraversion is encoded by scale-free dynamics of default mode network","volume":"74","author":"Lei","year":"2013","journal-title":"Neuroimage"},{"key":"B33","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"945","DOI":"10.1093\/brain\/awn018","article-title":"Disrupted small-world networks in schizophrenia","volume":"131","author":"Liu","year":"2008","journal-title":"Brain"},{"key":"B34","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"9477","DOI":"10.1523\/JNEUROSCI.0333-10.2010","article-title":"Functional connectivity and brain networks in schizophrenia","volume":"30","author":"Lynall","year":"2010","journal-title":"J. Neurosci"},{"key":"B35","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"654","DOI":"10.1038\/s41586-022-04492-9","article-title":"Reproducible brain-wide association studies require thousands of individuals","volume":"603","author":"Marek","year":"2022","journal-title":"Nature"},{"key":"B36","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"910","DOI":"10.1126\/science.1065103","article-title":"Specificity and stability in topology of protein networks","volume":"296","author":"Maslov","year":"2002","journal-title":"Science"},{"key":"B37","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"aac4716","DOI":"10.1126\/science.aac4716","article-title":"Estimating the reproducibility of psychological science","volume":"349","year":"2015","journal-title":"Science"},{"key":"B38","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"2142","DOI":"10.1016\/j.neuroimage.2011.10.018","article-title":"Spurious but systematic correlations in functional connectivity MRI networks arise from subject motion","volume":"59","author":"Power","year":"2012","journal-title":"Neuroimage"},{"key":"B39","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"320","DOI":"10.1016\/j.neuroimage.2013.08.048","article-title":"Methods to detect, characterize, and remove motion artifact in resting state fMRI","volume":"84","author":"Power","year":"2014","journal-title":"NeuroImage"},{"key":"B40","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"18","DOI":"10.1007\/s11682-022-00737-3","article-title":"Multimodal-neuroimaging machine-learning analysis of motor disability in multiple sclerosis","volume":"17","author":"Reh\u00e1k Bu\u010dkov\u00e1","year":"2023","journal-title":"Brain Imaging Behav"},{"key":"B41","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1059","DOI":"10.1016\/j.neuroimage.2009.10.003","article-title":"Complex network measures of brain connectivity: uses and interpretations","volume":"52","author":"Rubinov","year":"2010","journal-title":"Neuroimage"},{"key":"B42","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"607","DOI":"10.1016\/S0191-8869(96)00246-2","article-title":"Extraversion, neuroticism, and susceptibility to positive and negative affect: a test of two theoretical models","volume":"22","author":"Rusting","year":"1997","journal-title":"Pers. Individ. Dif"},{"key":"B43","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1353","DOI":"10.1016\/S0191-8869(03)00234-4","article-title":"Comparison of the Giant Three and the Big Five in early adolescents","volume":"36","author":"Scholte","year":"2004","journal-title":"Pers. Individ. Dif"},{"key":"B44","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1414","DOI":"10.1038\/s41593-023-01299-3","article-title":"Functional brain networks reflect spatial and temporal autocorrelation","volume":"26","author":"Shinn","year":"2023","journal-title":"Nat. Neurosci"},{"key":"B45","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"e0232570","DOI":"10.1371\/journal.pone.0232570","article-title":"Personality reflection in the brain's intrinsic functional architecture remains elusive","volume":"15","author":"Tome\u010dek","year":"2020","journal-title":"PLoS ONE"},{"key":"B46","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"273","DOI":"10.1006\/nimg.2001.0978","article-title":"Automated anatomical labeling of activations in SPM using a macroscopic anatomical parcellation of the MNI MRI single-subject brain","volume":"15","author":"Tzourio-Mazoyer","year":"2002","journal-title":"NeuroImage"},{"key":"B47","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"7619","DOI":"10.1523\/JNEUROSCI.1443-09.2009","article-title":"Efficiency of functional brain networks and intellectual performance","volume":"29","author":"van den Heuvel","year":"2009","journal-title":"J. Neurosci"},{"key":"B48","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"440","DOI":"10.1038\/30918","article-title":"Collective dynamics of small-world networks","volume":"393","author":"Watts","year":"1998","journal-title":"Nature"},{"key":"B49","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"68","DOI":"10.1016\/j.brainres.2011.08.060","article-title":"The synchronization of spontaneous BOLD activity predicts extraversion and neuroticism","volume":"1419","author":"Wei","year":"2011","journal-title":"Brain Res"},{"key":"B50","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"662","DOI":"10.1037\/0022-3514.85.4.662","article-title":"What neuroimaging and brain localization can do, cannot do and should not do for social psychology","volume":"85","author":"Willingham","year":"2003","journal-title":"J. Pers. Soc. Psychol"},{"key":"B51","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1809","DOI":"10.1093\/cercor\/bhj118","article-title":"Neuroanatomical correlates of extraversion and neuroticism","volume":"16","author":"Wright","year":"2006","journal-title":"Cereb. Cortex"},{"key":"B52","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"757","DOI":"10.1037\/0022-3514.65.4.757","article-title":"A comparison of three structural models for personality: the Big Three, the Big Five, and the Alternative Five","volume":"65","author":"Zuckerman","year":"1993","journal-title":"J. Pers. Soc. Psychol"}],"container-title":["Frontiers in Computational Neuroscience"],"original-title":[],"link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/www.frontiersin.org\/articles\/10.3389\/fncom.2026.1796308\/full","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2026,4,7]],"date-time":"2026-04-07T05:35:02Z","timestamp":1775540102000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/www.frontiersin.org\/articles\/10.3389\/fncom.2026.1796308\/full"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2026,4,7]]},"references-count":52,"alternative-id":["10.3389\/fncom.2026.1796308"],"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/fncom.2026.1796308","relation":{},"ISSN":["1662-5188"],"issn-type":[{"value":"1662-5188","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2026,4,7]]},"article-number":"1796308"}}