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How is an introverts brain wired differently than an extroverts? Just to give you an example. On an average, the processing that goes on in an introverts brain is greater than in an extroverts [citation needed].

What part of the brain affects personality traits such how introverted someone is? How is this part of the brain different in either it's physical entity or it's activity between extroverts and introverts?

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    $\begingroup$ I think we are several years away from understanding how those type of behaviours are coded in the brain... $\endgroup$
    – nico
    Jul 2, 2013 at 11:32
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    $\begingroup$ This question might fare better on cogsci.SE. $\endgroup$
    – kmm
    Jul 2, 2013 at 12:49
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    $\begingroup$ I think you will have a better chance of getting an answer if you narrow down the question and include references for your claims. $\endgroup$
    – fileunderwater
    Jul 2, 2013 at 14:24
  • $\begingroup$ i think you can look at an extreme case. It's called Williams-Beuren Syndrome. The patients have a deletion in 7th chromosome (q11.23) and have a highly naive and sociable behavior [there are also other markers, of course]. $\endgroup$
    – WYSIWYG
    Jul 3, 2013 at 7:07
  • $\begingroup$ Do introverts have "brains"? I think this is actually a controversial subject. Certainly, some have highly connected networks that are somewhat analogous to a brain, but I think of brain as a uniquely vertebrate organ. $\endgroup$
    – Keegan Keplinger
    Jul 10, 2013 at 13:56

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I am not sure if this answers your question, but according to the article "The Difference Between Introverts and Extroverts" (Gallagher, 1999), the main differences between introverts and extraverts are where the main brain activity occurs (as seen by positron emission tomography (PET) measurements). The full PET study is in the article "Cerebral Blood Flow and Personality: A Positron Emission Tomography Study " (Johnson et al. 1999).

The conclusion of the Johnson et al. paper states:

This study revealed a pattern of increased blood flow in the frontal lobes associated with introversion. ... in the present study, there were more cortical regions associated with introversion than with extraversion. ...in the present study, extraverts did show lower blood flow in several regions in the behavioral inhibition system, namely, the frontal lobes and the hippocampus.

Some images of brain activity is included in a more recent article "Differences in regional brain volume related to the extraversion–introversion dimension—A voxel based morphometry study" (Forsman et al. 2012). Forsman's article looks at activity in the white and grey matter of the brain.

I hope this helps.

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