Real-Life Self-Control is Predicted by Parietal Activity During Preference Decision Making: A Brain Decoding Analysis

Research output: Contribution to journalResearch articleContributedpeer-review

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.

Details

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)936-947
Number of pages12
JournalCognitive, affective & behavioral neuroscience
Volume21
Issue number5
Publication statusPublished - Oct 2021
Peer-reviewedYes

External IDs

PubMedCentral PMC8455489
Scopus 85107564811
ORCID /0000-0001-9793-3859/work/142248862
ORCID /0000-0002-1612-3932/work/142251084
ORCID /0000-0001-5398-5569/work/150329449

Keywords

Keywords

  • Brain Mapping, Brain/diagnostic imaging, Decision Making, Humans, Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Self-Control

Library keywords