Personality traits in psychosis and psychosis risk linked to TSPO expression: a neuroimmune marker.

Personality has been correlated with differences in cytokine expression, an indicator of peripheral inflammation; however, the associations between personality and central markers of inflammation have never been investigated in humans. Microglia are the resident macrophages of the central nervous system, and the first responders to tissue damage and brain insult. Microglial activation is associated with elevated expression of translocator protein 18kDa (TSPO), which can be imaged with positron emission tomography (PET) to quantify immune activation in the human brain.