Neural Systems Underlying individual differences in intertemporal decision making

Introduction

Common impulsivity is present among many disorders of the brain namely those associated in

addiction. Psychologically speaking, impulsiveness is a behavior acted out with no anticipation

for the future consequences. Preference is high for humans and animals to gain an immediate

admittance with rewards. Delay discounting, is a single component that can motivate decision-

making centers, time in relation to devaluation of the reward itself. The mesolimbic pathway is

most commonly associated in actions that bring pleasure or the sense of fulfillment. Researchers

believe that further understanding of these time-related reward centers could give additional

insight for the disorders linked to impulsivity and to categorize possible biomarkers or even

treatment goals. Discovering the actualities in the delay discounting behavior may lead to

identification of the neural networking systems contributing transitional phenotypes of impulsive

disorders. The lack of research among groups of healthy individuals brings the desired emphasis

in this case, ninety-five subjects were tested using theoretical money. Higher sums for later or a

significantly lower sum for the today. Hypothesizing two sets of brain regions would be active

and separating the activation with thoughtless decision-making and other functions. Monitoring

the medial and lateral temporal lobe, using independent component analysis, found to be a

positive relationship in the instant rewards. By separation of these active regions that were

indirectly active during the decision-making results suggested a competing functional connection

of two regions.

Materials and Methods

Recruited ninety-five healthy adults, with ranging backgrounds in race, age, education and

gender. To begin the process, the Alcohol Use and Disorders Identification Test data was

collected to categorize intermediate phenotypes of alcohol use. Based off the scores, no

participants tested positive for an alcohol usage disorder. Applicants completed a delayed

discounting task: a smaller, immediate monetary reward (Now), or a larger, delayed reward

(Later). Assortments were measured and collected when using one of the two keys provided on

a response box connected to MRI-compatible technology. The groups were split into two for the

groups of WANT and DONT WANT SOONER. The results were equal and later measured

using an Impulsive choice ratio and paired with the MRI Analysis of Functional neuroimages

software. To help control the false positives Voxel-wise analysis was incorporated, outcomes

that permit direct contrasts with past influential studies, therefore, be authenticated and

constructed. ICA was used with contrast neuroimaging maps, constructed 10 components to

produce accurate readings in the clustering. The networking of the brain was triggered in

correlation, relationships to behavior.

Results

A full range of ICR were constructed and the behavioral data demonstrates an accuracy in

CON trials, comparing the reaction times between the WANT and CON provided the mean

difference: 588 +/- 358 ms. From the ninety-five tests, eight were excluded due to the lack of

efficient data.

ICA erected contrasts between WANT and CON initiations linked with choice assessment for all

subjects. These results were compared to other studies findings. ICR positively correlated with

enhanced activity during subjective choice in a multitude of regions, including clusters in the

medial temporal lobe, superior frontal gyrus, retrosplenial cortex and cerebellum.
PPI analysis was directed to measure the separate networks to compose if they function in a

opposing custom. Using the results from component 3 and 9 the outcomes submit substantial

negative relations.

Discussion

This research employed an approach that was lacking a direction to the brain networking that is

associated in the individual variances of reward assortment bias of healthy adults. Two brain

regions that were activated during the ICA method: medial temporal lobe, insula and superior

temporal gyrus... linked in higher impulsiveness and ...striatal, frontal and parietal brain

regions... was not correlated directly to impulsiveness. However, this data provided suggested

they were directly active during the decision-making process. Comparing these finding to

addictive behaviors it was proposed, when improvement of the frontal-parietal network

activation and growing a cognitive regulator could be a process used in a therapeutic approach to

help directly impact an outcome in substance abuse cases. The limitations in this study were

plentiful, when admitting subjects to the ICR values there was data not provided due to the

insignificant results. Further studies should be conducted in the substance abuse regions that can

be directly correlated to these findings to further impact the theories supported by the data. The

focus on the effects in the regions should be further tested on the difference in gender of

participants.
Bibliography

Elton, Amanda, et al. (2016). Neural systems underlying individual differences in

intertemporal decision making.
HHS Author Manuscript, 467-479.