Sassenberg, Tyler2022-08-292022-08-292022-05https://hdl.handle.net/11299/241250University of Minnesota M.A. thesis. May 2022. Major: Psychology. Advisor: Colin DeYoung. 1 computer file (PDF); vii, 62 pages.Previous research in the field of personality neuroscience has identified associations of conscientiousness and related constructs like impulsivity and self-control with structural and functional properties of particular regions in the prefrontal cortex (PFC) and insula. Network-based conceptions of brain function suggest that these regions probably belong to a single large network, labeled the salience/ventral attention network (SVAN). The current study tested associations between conscientiousness and resting-state functional connectivity in this network using two community samples (N = 244 and 239) and data from the Human Connectome Project (N = 1000). Individualized parcellation was used to improve the accuracy of functional localization and to facilitate replication. Functional connectivity was measured using an index of network efficiency, a graph theoretical measure describing the capacity for parallel information transfer within a network. Efficiency of a set of parcels in the SVAN was significantly associated with conscientiousness in all samples. Findings are consistent with a theory of conscientiousness as a function of variation in neural networks underlying effective prioritization of goals.enConscientiousnessefficiencyindividualized parcellationsalience networkventral attention networkThesis or Dissertation