Role In Impulsive Behavior Research Articles

Neural basis of anticipation and premature impulsive action in the frontal cortex.

Planning motor actions can improve behavioral performance; however, it can also lead to premature actions. Although the anterior lateral motor cortex (ALM) is known to be important for correct motor planning, it is currently unknown how it contributes to premature impulsive motor output. This was addressed using whole-cell voltage recordings from layer 2/3 pyramidal neurons within the ALM while mice performed a cued sensory association task. Here, a robust voltage response was evoked during the auditory cue, which was greater during incorrect premature behavior than during correct performance in the task. Optogenetically suppressing ALM during the cued sensory association task led to enhanced behavior, with fewer, and more delayed, premature responses and faster correct responses. Taken together, our findings extend the current known roles of the ALM, illustrating that ALM plays an important role in impulsive behavior by encoding and influencing premature motor output.

Three-month cumulative exposure to testosterone and cortisol predicts distinct effects on response inhibition and risky decision-making in adolescents

Prior studies have established that cortisol and testosterone play a role in impulsive behavior, but little is known about how cumulative exposure to these hormones over a recent period influences cognitive processes that help to regulate impulsive behavior. We addressed this gap in the present study by examining how hair concentrations of testosterone and cortisol related to response inhibition and risky decision-making in adolescents. Adolescents provided 3 cm of hair cut as close as possible to the scalp from a posterior vertex position—indexing three months of hair growth—and completed two behavioral tasks, one that measures response inhibition and the second that measures risky decision-making. We found that greater three-month cumulative exposure to testosterone predicted better response inhibition but was unassociated with risky decision-making, whereas greater three-month cumulative exposure to cortisol predicted less risky decision-making but was unassociated with response inhibition. These results suggest that testosterone and cortisol may be associated with unique cognitive processes underpinning impulsive behavior, providing further evidence for their roles in contributing to complex impulsive behaviors in adolescence.

Differential effect of modafinil on impulsivity, attention and motor activity in preadolescent rats prenatally treated with alcohol

The purpose of the present research was to study the effect of different doses of modafinil (0, 10, 30 and 60 mg/kg) on reactive impulsivity, attention and hyperactivity in male Wistar rats treated with prenatal alcohol (PA), treatment that produces an alteration in dopaminergic (DA) neurons. The control rats were treated prenatally with sucrose (PS). Animals with PA were less efficient, more impulsive, and inattentive compared to PSs, in a Go-Signal-Task paradigm. The results indicated that a dose of 30 mg/kg of modafinil increased the number of correct responses in the task; decreased impulsivity and did not affect the attention in the PA animals. In contrast, in the PS animals the doses of 30 and 60 mg/kg of modafinil decreased the number of correct responses and increased the impulsivity. Inattention was only increased with 30 mg/kg in PS animals. Hyperactivity increased with a dose-response effect of modafinil in the PS group; meanwhile, this behavior increased only with the dose of 60 mg/kg in the PA group. A moderate dose of modafinil had beneficial effects on behaviors that are altered in animals with a dysfunction of the dopaminergic system; on the other hand, it has a deleterious effect on these behaviors in healthy animals, which suggests that it is due to the predominance of the psychostimulant effect of this drug. The main target of modafinil is the DA system, thus, the data suggest that this system has an important role in impulsive behavior and hyperactivity.

T67. Self-Reported Impulsive Behavior and Striatal Dopamine

Striatal dopamine is thought to serve a central role in impulsive behavior. However, impulsivity is a multi-dimensional construct (Lynam et al., 2007) and it remains unclear how striatal dopamine (DA) relates to specific dimensions of impulsive behavior.

Aggression in Schizophrenia and its Relationship to Neural Circuitry of Urgency

Aggression in Schizophrenia and its Relationship to Neural Circuitry of Urgency

Evaluation des neuropsychologischen Gruppenprogramms ATTENTIONER zur Aufmerksamkeitstherapie bei Kindern und Jugendlichen

Das neuropsychologische Gruppentraining ATTENTIONER zur Behandlung von Kindern und Jugendlichen mit Aufmerksamkeitsstörungen ermöglicht die gezielte Therapie der Aufmerksamkeitssteuerung. Die vorliegende Studie untersucht an einer Stichprobe von N = 17 Jungen und Mädchen im Alter von sieben bis 13 Jahren, die am ATTENTIONER-Training teilgenommen haben, mittels der TAP Veränderungen in der Aufmerksamkeitssteuerung (Geteilte Aufmerksamkeit und Go/Nogo ½) in einem Prä-Prä-Post Design. Neben Verbesserungen in der parallelen Reizverarbeitung konnte insbesondere die Inhibitionsfähigkeit der Kinder deutlich gesteigert werden. Dies ist von besonderer Bedeutung für die Rolle impulsiven Verhaltens etwa bei Störungen des Sozialverhaltens.

S.3.03 Inter-individual differences in impulsivity and underlying neurobiology

The association between orbital frontal cortex (OFC) volume and aggression and impulsivity was investigated among a heterogeneous group of non-psychotic psychiatric clients. Fifteen non-psychotic subjects from two different psychiatric clinics (New England Medical Center and Lemuel Shattuck Hospital) with a variety of diagnoses were sequentially referred for magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) for clinical purposes. This convenience sample, clinically stable at the time of evaluation, received a standardized psychiatric diagnostic interview, aggression and impulsivity psychometrics (Barratt Impulsivity, Lifetime History of Aggression, and Buss-Perry Aggression scales), and an MRI protocol with image analysis. OFC gray matter volume, total as well as left and right, was significantly and positively associated with motor impulsivity. OFC asymmetry was associated with aggression, though total, left, and right OFC volume measurements were not. For subjects without affective disorder, there was a strong and positive association of the OFC to motor and no-planning subscales of the Barratt Impulsivity Scale. For subjects with affective disorder, there was a strong association of OFC asymmetry to both of the aggression psychometrics. Consistent with expectation, results are suggestive of OFC involvement in the neural circuitry of impulsivity and aggression. The findings suggest a dissociation of the role of the OFC in relation to aggression and impulsivity, such that the OFC may play a part in the regulation of aggressive behavior and a generative role in impulsive behavior.

Impulsivity as a determinant and consequence of drug use: a review of underlying processes

Impulsive behaviors are closely linked to drug use and abuse, both as contributors to use and as consequences of use. Trait impulsivity is an important determinant of drug use during development, and in adults momentary 'state' increases in impulsive behavior may increase the likelihood of drug use, especially in individuals attempting to abstain. Conversely, acute and chronic effects of drug use may increase impulsive behaviors, which may in turn facilitate further drug use. However, these effects depend on the behavioral measure used to assess impulsivity. This article reviews data from controlled studies investigating different measures of impulsive behaviors, including delay discounting, behavioral inhibition and a newly proposed measure of inattention. Our findings support the hypothesis that drugs of abuse alter performance across independent behavioral measures of impulsivity. The findings lay the groundwork for studying the cognitive and neurobiological substrates of impulsivity, and for future studies on the role of impulsive behavior as both facilitator and a result of drug use.

The role of impulsive behavior in drug abuse

Impulsivity is a multifaceted construct that has recently been recognized as a factor contributing to enhanced vulnerability to drug abuse. In the present review, we focus on two facets of impulsivity (and tasks that measure them): (1) impulsive choice (delay discounting task) and (2) inhibitory failure (go/no-go, stop signal reaction time, and five-choice serial reaction time tasks). We also describe how performance on each of these tasks is associated with drug-related behavior during phases of drug abuse that capture the essential features of addiction (acquisition, escalation, and reinstatement of drug-seeking after drug access has terminated). Three hypotheses (H) regarding the relationship between impulsivity and drug abuse are discussed: (1) increased levels of impulsivity lead to drug abuse (H1), (2) drugs of abuse increase impulsivity (H2), and (3) impulsivity and drug abuse are associated through a common third factor (H3). Impulsivity expressed as impulsive choice or inhibitory failure plays a role in several key transition phases of drug abuse. There is evidence to support all three nonexclusive hypotheses. Increased levels of impulsivity lead to acquisition of drug abuse (H1) and subsequent escalation or dysregulation of drug intake. Drugs of abuse may increase impulsivity (H2), which is an additional contributor to escalation/dysregulation. Abstinence, relapse, and treatment may be influenced by both H1 and H2. In addition, there is a relationship between impulsivity and other drug abuse vulnerability factors, such as sex, hormonal status, reactivity to nondrug rewards, and early environmental experiences that may impact drug intake during all phases of addiction (H3). Relating drug abuse and impulsivity in phases of addiction via these three hypotheses provides a heuristic model from which future experimental questions can be addressed.

Orbitofrontal correlates of aggression and impulsivity in psychiatric patients

The association between orbital frontal cortex (OFC) volume and aggression and impulsivity was investigated among a heterogeneous group of non-psychotic psychiatric clients. Fifteen non-psychotic subjects from two different psychiatric clinics (New England Medical Center and Lemuel Shattuck Hospital) with a variety of diagnoses were sequentially referred for magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) for clinical purposes. This convenience sample, clinically stable at the time of evaluation, received a standardized psychiatric diagnostic interview, aggression and impulsivity psychometrics (Barratt Impulsivity, Lifetime History of Aggression, and Buss-Perry Aggression scales), and an MRI protocol with image analysis. OFC gray matter volume, total as well as left and right, was significantly and positively associated with motor impulsivity. OFC asymmetry was associated with aggression, though total, left, and right OFC volume measurements were not. For subjects without affective disorder, there was a strong and positive association of the OFC to motor and no-planning subscales of the Barratt Impulsivity Scale. For subjects with affective disorder, there was a strong association of OFC asymmetry to both of the aggression psychometrics. Consistent with expectation, results are suggestive of OFC involvement in the neural circuitry of impulsivity and aggression. The findings suggest a dissociation of the role of the OFC in relation to aggression and impulsivity, such that the OFC may play a part in the regulation of aggressive behavior and a generative role in impulsive behavior.