The relationship of neuroticism to individual differences in the dynamics of brain activity during social interactions

Social interactions in the context of cooperation and competition are the most important type of activity of people, determining their well-being and success in life. The neural bases of this activity, as well as the role of personality-related individual differences, are insufficiently studied. In particular, the literature lacks data on the relationship between neuroticism and individual differences in brain activity during cooperative and competitive interactions, and the aim of our work was to fill this gap. fMRI data were recorded during task performance in individual, cooperative, and competitive modes and analyzed using the inter-subject representative similarity analysis. The results indicate that in emotionally instable individuals, social interactions, in both cooperative and competitive contexts, are associated with greater strain, manifested in the activity of social brain, emotion regulation, and attentional centers. This can potentially lead to the accumulation of the effects of social stress and the emergence of symptoms of mental health problems.