Differences of prefrontal cortex activity between picture-based personality tests: a near-infrared spectroscopy study.

This study reports on brain activity induced by picture-based personality tests. Near-infrared spectroscopy is a newly developed, noninvasive technology in neuroimaging that can measure brain activity through blood volume changes. We measure the prefrontal cortex (Brodmann Area 10 [BA10]) activities of adolescents during the Rorschach (1921), the Rosenzweig Picture-Frustration Study (PFS; Hayashi, 1964), and Thematic Apperception Test (TAT; Murray, 1943). BA10 showed that the PFS was left-hemisphere dominant and significantly different from the Rorschach and TAT, which showed a tendency to be right-hemisphere dominant. We believe that this tendency reflects emotion and sociality.