Abstract
Despite its relevance for health and education, the neurocognitive mechanism of real-life self-control is largely unknown. While recent research revealed a prominent role of the ventromedial prefrontal cortex in the computation of an integrative value signal, the contribution and relevance of other brain regions for real-life self-control remains unclear. To investigate neural correlates of decisions in line with long-term consequences and to assess the potential of brain decoding methods for the individual prediction of real-life self-control, we combined functional magnetic resonance imaging during preference decision making with ecological momentary assessment of daily self-control in a large community sample (N = 266). Decisions in line with long-term consequences were associated with increased activity in bilateral angular gyrus and precuneus, regions involved in different forms of perspective taking, such as imagining one’s own future and the perspective of others. Applying multivariate pattern analysis to the same clusters revealed that individual patterns of activity predicted the probability of real-life self-control. Brain activations are discussed in relation to episodic future thinking and mentalizing as potential mechanisms mediating real-life self-control.
Highlights
Self-control, the ability to adjust behavior according to longterm goals despite short-term temptations, is associated with a wide range of positive real-life outcomes (De Ridder et al, 2011; Moffitt et al, 2011; Tangney et al, 2004)
While we previously investigated the modulation of value signals in the ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC) and its role in predicting real-life self-control, the present paper focusses on the role of prefrontal and parietal cortex regions, which are involved in inhibitory control and future-directed thinking
Both the precuneus and the angular gyrus have been associated with the anticipation of future outcomes (Andrews-Hanna et al, 2010; Benoit & Schacter, 2015; Kruschwitz et al, 2018; Soutschek et al, 2016; Xu et al, 2016;Zwosta et al, 2015 ; Zwosta et al, 2018), a cognitive function that is necessary for episodic future thinking, i.e., the mental simulation of experiences that may occur in one’s personal future (Goschke, 2014; Schacter et al, 2017)
Summary
Self-control, the ability to adjust behavior according to longterm goals despite short-term temptations, is associated with a wide range of positive real-life outcomes (De Ridder et al, 2011; Moffitt et al, 2011; Tangney et al, 2004). According to the valuation model of self-control (Berkman et al, 2017), self-controlled choice involves a dynamic integration process wherein subjective value for each choice option is calculated by integrating various short- and long-term gains and costs. According to dual-process theories, self-control often is reduced to the inhibition of impulsive behaviors (Heatherton & Wagner, 2011; Hofmann et al, 2009; Metcalfe & Mischel, 1999). Previous research revealed that the inferior frontal gyrus is critical for response inhibition (Aron et al, 2014) and that the dorsolateral PFC is involved in active goal-maintenance
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