Abstract
As a component of self-regulation, delay discounting (DD) refers to an individual’s tendency to prefer smaller-but-sooner rewards over larger-but-later rewards and plays an essential role in many aspects of human behavior. Although numerous studies have examined the neural underpinnings of DD in adults, there are far fewer studies focusing on the neurobiological correlates underlying DD in adolescents. Here, we investigated the associations between individual differences in DD and the fractional amplitude of low-frequency fluctuations (fALFF) and resting-state functional connectivity (RSFC) in 228 high school students using resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (RS-fMRI). At the regional level, we found an association between higher DD and greater fALFF in the dorsal anterior cingulate cortex (dACC), which is involved in conflict monitoring and strategy adaptation. At the connectivity level, DD was positively correlated with the RSFC between the dACC and the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC), a critical functional circuit in the cognitive control network. Furthermore, these effects persisted even after adjusting for the influences of general intelligence and trait impulsivity. Overall, this study reveals the fALFF and RSFC as the functional brain basis of DD in late adolescents, aiding to strengthen and corroborate our understanding of the neural underpinnings of DD.
Highlights
Self-regulation is a crucial human capacity that allows individuals to inhibit desires, control thoughts, regulate emotions and behaviors, and make choices and plans[1, 2]
The results showed that all scores were normally distributed [for delay discounting (DD): Kolmogorov-Smirnov test (K-S) = 1.33, p = 0.060; for general intelligence: K-S = 1.33, p = 0.102; for trait impulsivity: K-S = 0.82, p = 0.515]
The results showed that the fractional amplitude of low-frequency fluctuations (fALFF) in the dorsal anterior cingulated cortex (ACC) (dACC) [β = 0.29, p = 0.000003, p = 0.00002 (Bonferroni corrected)] and the dACC-dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) connectivity [β = 0.26, p = 0.00003, p = 0.0002 (Bonferroni corrected)] jointly accounted for 14.6% of the variance in DD (ΔR2 = 0.146) beyond the variance explained by general intelligence and trait impulsivity as well as gender, age and FD
Summary
Self-regulation is a crucial human capacity that allows individuals to inhibit desires, control thoughts, regulate emotions and behaviors, and make choices and plans[1, 2]. Given that DD is generally considered a stable personality trait that varies among individuals[3, 4, 21], the neural basis underlying DD might be implicated in the overall brain function and structure under task-free conditions. Resting-state fMRI (RS-fMRI) is one of the tools used to examine the brain bases of personality traits and behavioral performance under task-free conditions[22,23,24]. Several studies have employed RS-fMRI to investigate the neural correlates underlying DD36–41 These studies had several limitations that may limit the statistical power of their findings. Given that adolescents are characterized by heightened risk-taking and impulsive behaviors, and their brains are undergoing structural and functional reconfigurations[43, 44], it would be interesting and valuable to explore the neural bases of DD in adolescents
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