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There is an increased emphasis on visualizing neuroimaging results in more intuitive ways. Common statistical tools for dissemination of these results, such as bar charts, lack the spatial dimension that is inherent in neuroimaging data. Here we present two packages for the statistical software R that integrate this spatial component. The ggseg and ggseg3d packages visualize predefined brain segmentations as 2D polygons and 3D meshes, respectively. Both packages are integrated with other well-established R packages, which allows great flexibility. In this Tutorial, we describe the main data and functions in the ggseg and ggseg3d packages for visualization of brain atlases. The highlighted functions are able to display brain-segmentation plots in R. Further, the accompanying ggsegExtra package includes a wider collection of atlases and is intended for community-based efforts to develop additional compatible atlases for ggseg and ggseg3d. Overall, the ggseg packages facilitate parcellation-based visualizations in R, improve and facilitate the dissemination of results, and increase the efficiency of workflows.

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Evidence from neuroimaging and electrophysiological studies indicates that the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) is a core region in emotional processing, particularly during down-regulation of negative emotional conditions. However, emotional regulation is a process subject to major inter-individual differences, some of which may be explained by personality traits. In the present study we used transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) over the left DLPFC to investigate whether transiently increasing the activity of this region resulted in changes in the ratings of positive, neutral and negative emotional pictures. Results revealed that anodal, but not cathodal, tDCS reduced the perceived degree of emotional valence for negative stimuli, possibly due to an enhancement of cognitive control of emotional expression. We also aimed to determine whether personality traits (extraversion and neuroticism) might condition the impact of tDCS. We found that individuals with higher scores on the introversion personality dimension were more permeable than extraverts to the modulatory effects of the stimulation. The present study underlines the role of the left DLPFC in emotional regulation, and stresses the importance of considering individual personality characteristics as a relevant variable, although replication is needed given the limited sample size of our study.