Neural correlates of reflection on actual versus ideal self-discrepancy

Subjective feelings of actual/ideal self-discrepancy vary across individuals and influence one's own affective states. However, the neural correlates of actual/ideal self-discrepancy and their genetic individual differences remain unknown. We investigated neural correlates of actual/ideal self-discrepancy and their associations with the serotonin transporter promoter polymorphism (5-HTTLPR) that moderates human affective states during self-reflection. We scanned short/short and long/long allele carriers of 5-HTTLPR, using functional MRI, during reflection on the distance between actual and ideal self in personality traits. We found that larger actual/ideal self-discrepancy was associated with activations in the ventral/dorsal striatum and dorsal medial and lateral prefrontal cortices. Moreover, these brain activities were stronger in short/short than long/long allele carriers and predicted self-report of life satisfaction in short/short carriers but trait depression in long/long carriers. Our findings revealed neural substrates of actual/ideal self-discrepancy and their associations with affective states that are sensitive to individuals' genetic makeup.