Multimodal Imaging Analysis Reveals Frontal-Associated Networks in Relation to Individual Resilience Strength

Abstract

Psychological resilience is regarded as a critical protective factor for preventing the development of mental illness from experienced adverse events. Personal strength is one key element of resilience that reflects an individual’s reactions to negative life events and is crucial for successful adaptation. Previous studies have linked unimodal imaging measures with resilience. However, applying multimodal imaging measures could provide comprehensive organization information at the system level to examine whether an individual’s resilience strength is reflected in the brain’s structural and functional network. In this study, MRI was used to acquire multimodal imaging properties and subscales of personal strength in terms of resilience from 109 participants (48 females and 61 males). We employed a method of fusion independent component analysis to link the association between multimodal imaging components and personal strength of psychological resilience. The results reveal that a fusion component involving multimodal frontal networks in connecting with the parietal, occipital, and temporal regions is associated with the resilience score for personal strength. A multiple regression model further explains the predictive role of frontal-associated regions that cover a visual-related network regulating cognition and emotion to discern the perceived adverse experience. Overall, this study suggests that frontal-associated regions are related to individual resilience strength.