Search

Trait impulsivity, characterized by the tendency to act without adequate consideration of potential consequences in pursuit of immediate rewards, is a recognized vulnerability marker for substance use disorders (SUDs). Cognitive control deficits are implicated in the manifestation of high trait impulsivity, and intraindividual reaction time variability (IIRTV), an indicator of cognitive control, may influence trait impulsivity. Baseline respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA) reflects vagal tone, serves as an index of physiological self-regulation, which has been demonstrated to be related to trait impulsivity. However, it is unclear whether IIRTV is associated with trait impulsivity and whether it interacts with baseline RSA to influence trait impulsivity. A total of 113 males with SUDs participated (M age  = 46.04 years, SD = 11.53) in this study. Trait impulsivity was assessed using a self-report questionnaire, IIRTV was measured through a two-choice oddball task, and baseline RSA was obtained through the collection of electrocardiogram (ECG) data. The results indicated that IIRTV interacted with baseline RSA to influence trait impulsivity. These findings suggested that cognitive control indexed by IIRTV, might represent a central nervous correlate of trait impulsivity, and that it interacted with vagal tone indexed by baseline RSA, to influence trait impulsivity., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Borderline personality disorder (BPD) is characterized by unstable self-image, conflictual interpersonal relationships, emotional dysregulation, and marked impulsivity. One form of impulsivity commonly seen in BPD is binge eating; however, little is known about this maladaptive behavior in the context of BPD. In the eating disorder (ED) literature, multiple theories suggest binge eating occurs as a result of heightened levels of negative affect. Given that BPD and EDs share emotional dysregulation and impulsivity as maintaining mechanisms of each respective disorder, these theories of binge eating may provide a model for binge eating in BPD. Existing literature suggests feelings of emotional emptiness may precede binge episodes in those with EDs. The current study sought to explore feelings of emptiness as antecedents to binge eating behaviors in those with BPD traits. Using ecological momentary assessment, binge episodes, affect, and feelings of emptiness were tracked throughout the day for 14 days in undergraduate students with BPD traits ( n = 55). The current study found momentary feelings of emptiness at the time of the binge eating episode significantly predicted increased odds of a binge episode occurring. Additionally, momentary feelings of emptiness, as well as other negative affects, increase following a binge episode. Results suggest treatment of binge eating within BPD should include elements of acceptance of negative affects including emptiness, such as in dialectical behavior therapy distress tolerance skills training. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

Borderline personality disorder (BPD) is a complex and severe psychiatric condition characterized by emotional, self-image, behavior, and relational instability. While adult BPD heterogeneity has been extensively studied, the phenomenological borderline personality features (BPFs) in adolescence remain uninvestigated. This study aimed to explore the potentially dynamic causal relationships between BPFs in adolescence and identify the subtypes through cross-lagged panel network (CLPN) analysis. Two independent Chinese adolescent samples were followed over 18 months ( N ₁ = 1,056, M 1age = 15.37, SD1 = 1.86) and 6 months ( N ₂ = 723, M 2age = 16.84, SD ₂ = 0.48) to track BPFs. CLPN modeling was employed to investigate the stability, potential causal relations, and subtypes of adolescent BPFs. The results revealed a relatively stable overall adolescent BPF network structure with some subtle changes over time. Impulsivity emerged as the BPF with the highest out-expected influence, indicating its predictive role for other BPFs. A strong reciprocal causal relationship was observed between impulsivity and affective instability. Based on the CLPN estimation, two distinct BPFs subgroups were spontaneously clustered: externalized-dysregulation subtype (impulsivity, affective instability, and self-harm/suicide) and introjective-disturbance subtype (identity disturbance, chronic emptiness, and stress-related dissociation). The present study tentatively explores a potential typology for adolescent BPF based on these two clusters, which possibly have different pathological mechanisms, and moreover offer insights into the essential construct and clinical intervention of adolescent BPD. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

Adolescent food insecurity is a salient adversity hypothesized to affect neural systems associated with increased impulsive behavior. Family environments shape how adverse experiences influence development. In this study, hypotheses were tested regarding the conjoint effects of food insecurity and family flexibility on impulsivity via alterations in connectivity between regions within the salience and central executive networks. Such alterations are reflected in resting-state functional connectivity (rsFC) metrics between the anterior insula (AI) and the middle frontal gyrus (MFG). Hypotheses were tested in a longitudinal moderated mediation model with two waves of data from 142 adolescents (Time 1 [T1] M age = 12.89, SD = 0.85; Time 2 [T2] M age = 15.01, SD = 1.07). Data on past-year household food insecurity, family flexibility, and rsFC were obtained at T1. Impulsivity was self-reported by the adolescent at T1 and T2. Findings revealed that high T1 left-to-left rsFC between the AI and MFG was associated with increased impulsivity at T2. The interaction of family flexibility and food insecurity was associated with AI and MFG rsFC. In the context of low family flexibility, food insecurity was linked to high levels of AI and MFG rsFC. Conversely, in the context of optimal family flexibility, food insecurity was associated with low levels of AI and MFG rsFC. Conditional indirect analysis suggests that the links among food insecurity, rsFC, and impulsive behavior depend on family flexibility. RESEARCH HIGHLIGHTS: Adolescent food insecurity was associated with anterior insula and middle frontal gyrus connectivity only at certain levels of family flexibility. High family flexibility attenuated the link between food insecurity and neural connectivity, while low levels of family flexibility increased this risk. High left anterior insula and left middle frontal gyrus connectivity was associated with increased impulsivity 1 year later., (© 2024 The Author(s). Developmental Science published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

This paper aims to examine the key factors influencing young drivers' hazard avoidance in Iran. In this study, a hazard avoidance index is defined and calculated for investigating the effect of impulsiveness, behavioral, and psychological characteristics on driving hazard avoidance. A questionnaire and go-no-go and flanker computer tests as well as a driving simulator are used for collecting data from 173 Iranian drivers under the age of 30. For this purpose, different scenarios were used, such as pedestrian crossing, the presence of fixed obstacles, and animals crossing the road, whose various characteristics are also changed. Structural equation modeling and the partial least squares method are applied for investigating the relationship between different variables and the hazard avoidance index. The results show that the driver hazard avoidance index is mostly affected by variables such as inhibitory control, opposite directional response, attentional impulsiveness, motion impulsiveness, non-planning impulsiveness, disregarding the law, and lapses and error. The results could help policymakers to assess diving hazard avoidance and improve training programs related to traffic safety based on the variables that are more effective on inexperienced and novice drivers' hazard avoidance.

Background: Aggressive behaviour (AB) and non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI) are common in people with mild intellectual disability or borderline intellectual functioning, leading to adverse consequences for themselves and those around them., Method: We investigated the relationship between AB (both total and physical in particular) and NSSI and risk factors in 125 residents in a treatment clinic using incident reports and standard clinical measurements., Results: There was a weak correlation between AB and NSSI, as well as between impulsivity and total AB, and between coping and AB and NSSI. However, NSSI, impulsivity and coping skills did not predict AB., Conclusion: Results do not corroborate those of other studies in this area. In future studies impulsivity, coping, aggression and NSSI may be measured using other instruments, and differences between people with and without intellectual disability regarding these variables may be explored., (© 2024 The Author(s). Journal of Applied Research in Intellectual Disabilities published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

Given impulsivity's multidimensional nature and its implications across various aspects of human behavior, a comprehensive understanding of functional brain circuits associated with this trait is warranted. In the current study, we utilized whole-brain resting-state functional connectivity data of healthy males (n = 156) to identify a network of connections predictive of an individual's impulsivity, as assessed by the Barratt Impulsiveness Scale (BIS)-11. Our participants were selected, in part, based on their self-reported BIS-11 impulsivity scores. Specifically, individuals who reported high or low trait impulsivity scores during screening were selected first, followed by those with intermediate impulsivity levels. This enabled us to include participants with rare, extreme scores and to cover the entire BIS-11 impulsivity spectrum. We employed repeated K-fold cross-validation for feature-selection and used stratified 10-fold cross-validation to train and test our models. Our findings revealed a widespread neural network associated with trait impulsivity and a notable correlation between predicted and observed scores. Feature importance and node degree were assessed to highlight specific nodes and edges within the impulsivity network, revealing previously overlooked key brain regions, such as the cerebellum, brainstem, and temporal lobe, while supporting previous findings on the basal ganglia-thalamo-prefrontal network and the prefrontal-motor strip network in relation to impulsiveness. This deepened understanding establishes a foundation for identifying alterations in functional brain networks associated with dysfunctional impulsivity., (© 2024 The Author(s). Human Brain Mapping published by Wiley Periodicals LLC.)

The interplay between personality traits and impulsivity has long been a central theme in psychology and psychiatry. However, the potential association between Greed Personality Traits (GPT) and impulsivity, encompassing both trait and state impulsivity and future time perspective, remains largely unexplored. To address these issues, we employed questionnaires and an inter-temporal choice task to estimate corresponding trait/state impulsivity and collected multi-modal neuroimaging data (resting-state functional imaging: n = 430; diffusion-weighted imaging: n = 426; task-related functional imaging: n = 53) to investigate the underlying microstructural and functional substrates. Behavioral analyses revealed that GPT mediated the association between time perspective (e.g., present fatalism) and trait impulsivity (e.g., motor impulsivity). Functional imaging analyses further identified that brain activation strengths and patterns related to delay length, particularly in the dorsomedial prefrontal cortex, superior parietal lobule, and cerebellum, were associated with GPT. Moreover, individuals with similar levels of greed exhibited analogous spontaneous brain activity patterns, predominantly in the Default Mode Network (DMN), Fronto-Parietal Network (FPN), and Visual Network (VIS). Diffusion imaging analysis observed specific microstructural characteristics in the spinocerebellar/pontocerebellar fasciculus, internal/external capsule, and corona radiata that support the formation of GPT. Furthermore, the corresponding neural activation pattern, spontaneous neural activity pattern, and analogous functional couplings among the aforementioned brain regions mediated the relationships between time perspective and GPT and between GPT and motor impulsivity. These findings provide novel insights into the possible pathway such as time perspective → dispositional greed → impulsivity and uncover their underlying microstructural and functional substrates., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare no conflict of interest concerning their authorship or the publication of this article., (Copyright © 2024. Published by Elsevier Inc.)

Objectives: Psychiatric symptoms occur frequently in people living with human immunodeficiency virus (PLWH), which may affect quality of life, sexual risk behavior, and adherence to antiretroviral therapy (ART). Data from large cohorts are limited, and symptoms are often analyzed in isolation. Therefore, we applied a network analysis to assess the interrelatedness of mental health indicators in a large cohort of PLWH., Methods: We included 1615 PLWH on ART. Participants reported on the severity of depression, anxiety, impulsivity, substance use, quality of life, sexual risk behavior, and ART adherence. An Ising network model was constructed to analyze interrelations between mental health indicators and connections with clinical consequences., Results: Our network analysis revealed that symptoms of depression, anxiety, and indicators of impulsivity were interrelated. Substance use was prevalent and strongly connected with sexual risk behavior. Quality of life was most strongly connected with symptoms of depression. Unexpectedly, ART adherence did not display connections with any of the mental health indicators., Conclusion: In PLWH, the interrelatedness between symptoms of depression and anxiety and indicators of impulsivity is high. Mainly, depressive symptoms seem to impact quality of life, which warrants attention for depression in PLWH. We did not observe evidence for the common assumption that patients suffering from psychiatric symptoms are less adherent to HIV treatment., (© 2024 The Author(s). Brain and Behavior published by Wiley Periodicals LLC.)

Objective: Previous research has tended to consider impulsive, inattentive, and loss of control eating (LOC) tendencies as symptoms of greater pathologies in treatment-seeking samples. However, inattentive and impulsive tendencies and LOC often co-occur. Although LOC is an important diagnostic component of disordered eating (ED), it has recently been argued to be a dysregulated eating behavior in its own right. The purpose of the current self-report study was, therefore, to investigate the association between impulsive and inattentive tendencies and LOC in adults after accounting for ED., Method: A community sample of 516 adults was surveyed online about their inattentive and impulsive tendencies, LOC, and ED behaviors., Results: A hierarchical multiple linear regression revealed ED, inattentive, and impulsive symptoms to be independent, significant, positive predictors of LOC., Discussion: These findings suggest that the levels of inattentive and, to a lesser extent, impulsive tendencies are significantly associated with LOC in adults, even after ED is accounted for. Moreover, inattentive tendencies were found to be more significantly associated with LOC than impulsive tendencies. These are novel and important findings that can be used to inform both clinicians and individuals with inattentive and impulsive tendencies alike of this association. Considering the well-documented adverse health and wellbeing outcomes associated with LOC, future feasibility trials are needed aimed at treating this co-occurrence., (© 2024 The Author(s). Brain and Behavior published by Wiley Periodicals LLC.)

Impulsivity, aggression, and suicide are the major clinical symptoms of borderline personality disorder (BPD). Although previous studies indicated poor sleep quality and its relationship with clinical symptoms in patients with BPD, chronotype, an important sleep parameter, was not investigated in these patients. This study aimed to analyze chronotype and its relationship with clinical symptoms in patients with BPD. Participants in this study consisted of 68 BPD patients and 65 healthy controls. Subjective sleep characteristics, impulsivity, aggression, suicide probability, and chronotype were assessed using the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), Barratt Impulsivity Scale, Buss-Perry Aggression Scale (BPAQ), Suicide Probability Scale, and Morningness - Eveningness Questionnaire, respectively. PSQI total and subscale scores subjective sleep quality, sleep latency, sleep duration, habitual sleep efficiency, sleep disturbances, and daytime drowsiness were significantly higher in the BPD group ( p  < 0.001). There was a positive correlation between the PSQI total score and the BPAQ total score ( r  = 0.268, p  = 0.027). The rate of evening type was significantly higher in the control group ( p  = 0.004). Suicide attempts and the subscale of suicide probability hopelessness, suicidal ideation, and negative self-evaluation scores were significantly higher in evening type BPD patients. ( p  = 0.017, p  = 0.009, p  = 0.001, p  = 0.047). Sleep quality is associated with aggression, and the eveningness chronotype is associated with suicide. It may be useful to focus on sleep problems in treating BPD patients.

Background: Apathy is a debilitating behavioral change in Huntington's disease (HD), but impulsivity in HD has not been well documented, and the co-occurrence of these behaviors in HD has not been investigated., Objective: Our objective was to determine whether apathy and impulsivity co-occur in people with HD and their associations with quality of life., Methods: Carriers of Huntington's gene expansion (premanifest to mild motor manifest disease; n = 42) along with healthy controls (n = 20) completed measures of apathy (Apathy Evaluation Scale and Apathy Motivation Index) and impulsivity (Barratt Impulsiveness Scale-11 and UPPS-P impulsivity scale), along with mood, cognition, clinical, and quality of life measures. Apathy and impulsivity measures were each reduced to a single metric per patient using principal component analysis. Correlations and multiple linear regression models determined associations between apathy and impulsivity and the potential influence of other covariates., Results: Apathy and impulsivity were significantly correlated (r = 0.6, p < 0.001, 95% CI [0.36, 0.76]) in HD, with this association remaining after controlling for depressive symptoms, motor disease severity, and cognitive function. Furthermore, apathy and depressive symptoms were associated with poorer quality of life., Conclusions: Apathy and impulsivity co-occur in individuals with premanifest to mild manifest HD and have a significant impact on wellbeing. We add to a growing evidence body that apathy and impulsivity may be intrinsically linked., (© 2024 The Author(s). Brain and Behavior published by Wiley Periodicals LLC.)

Rationale: Motivation and inhibitory control are dominantly regulated by the dopaminergic (DA) and noradrenergic (NA) systems, respectively. Hypothalamic hypocretin (orexin) neurons provide afferent inputs to DA and NA nuclei and hypocretin-1 receptors (HcrtR1) are implicated in reward and addiction. However, the role of the HcrtR1 in inhibitory control is not well understood., Objectives: To determine the effects of HcrtR1 antagonism and motivational state in inhibitory control using the go/no-go task in mice., Methods: n = 23 male C57Bl/6JArc mice were trained in a go/no-go task. Decision tree dendrogram analysis of training data identified more and less impulsive clusters of animals. A HcrtR1 antagonist (BI001, 12.5 mg/kg, per os) or vehicle were then administered 30 min before go/no-go testing, once daily for 5 days, under high (food-restricted) and low (free-feeding) motivational states in a latin-square crossover design. Compound exposure levels were assessed in a satellite group of animals., Results: HcrtR1 antagonism increased go accuracy and decreased no-go accuracy in free-feeding animals overall, whereas it decreased go accuracy and increased no-go accuracy only in more impulsive, food restricted mice. HcrtR1 antagonism also showed differential effects in premature responding, which was increased in response to the antagonist in free-feeding, less impulsive animals, and decreased in food restricted, more impulsive animals. HcrtR1 receptor occupancy by BI001 was estimated at ~ 66% during the task., Conclusions: These data indicate that hypocretin signalling plays roles in goal-directed behaviour and inhibitory control in a motivational state-dependant manner. While likely not useful in all settings, HcrtR1 antagonism may be beneficial in improving inhibitory control in impulsive subpopulations., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Impulsivity has been proposed to have an impact on glycemic dysregulation. However, it remains uncertain whether an unfavorable glycemic status could also contribute to an increase in impulsivity levels. This study aims to analyze associations of baseline and time-varying glycemic status with 3-year time-varying impulsivity in older adults at high risk of cardiovascular disease. A 3-year prospective cohort design was conducted within the PREDIMED-Plus-Cognition substudy. The total population includes 487 participants (mean age = 65.2 years; female = 50.5%) with overweight or obesity and metabolic syndrome. Insulin resistance (HOMA-IR), glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c), presence of type 2 diabetes mellitus, and type 2 diabetes control were evaluated. Impulsivity was measured using the Impulsive Behavior Scale questionnaire and various cognitive measurements. Impulsivity z-scores were generated to obtain Global, Trait, and Behavioral Impulsivity domains. Linear mixed models were used to study the longitudinal associations across baseline, 1-year, and 3-year follow-up visits. HOMA-IR was not significantly related to impulsivity. Participants with higher HbA1c levels, type 2 diabetes, and poor control of diabetes showed positive associations with the Global Impulsivity domain over time, and those with higher HbA1c levels were further related to increases in the Trait and Behavioral Impulsivity domains over the follow-up visits. These results suggest a potential positive feedback loop between impulsivity and glycemic-related dysregulation., (© 2024 The Author(s). Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of The New York Academy of Sciences.)

Purpose: Research supports physical activity as a method to heighten stress resistance and resilience through positive metabolic alterations mostly affecting the neuroendocrine system. High-intensity interval training (HIIT) has been proposed as a highly effective time-saving method to induce those changes. However, existing literature relies heavily on cross-sectional analyses, with few randomised controlled trials highlighting the necessity for more exercise interventions. Thus, this study aims to investigate the effects of HIIT versus an active control group on the stress response to an acute psychosocial stressor in emotionally impulsive humans (suggested as being strong stress responders)., Methods: The study protocol was registered online (DRKS00016589) before data collection. Sedentary, emotionally impulsive adults (30.69 ± 8.20 y) were recruited for a supervised intervention of 8 weeks and randomly allocated to either a HIIT (n = 25) or a stretching group (n = 19, acting as active controls). Participants were submitted to a test battery, including saliva samples, questionnaires (self-efficacy- and perceived stress-related), visual analogue scales (physical exercise- and stress-related), and resting electroencephalography and electrocardiography assessing their reaction to an acute psychological stressor (Trier Social Stress Test) before and after the exercise intervention., Results: HIIT increased aerobic fitness in all participants, whereas stretching did not. Participants from the HIIT group reported perceiving exercising more intensively than those from the active control group (ƞ p 2  = 0.108, p = 0.038). No further group differences were detected. Both interventions largely increased levels of joy post-TSST (ƞ p 2  = 0.209, p = 0.003) whilst decreasing tension (ƞ p 2  = 0.262, p < 0.001) and worries (ƞ p 2  = 0.113, p = 0.037). Finally, both interventions largely increased perceived levels of general self-efficacy (ƞ p 2  = 0.120, p = 0.029)., Conclusion: This study suggests that 8 weeks of HIIT does not change the psychoneuroendocrine response to an acute psychological stress test compared to an active control group in emotionally impulsive humans. Further replications of supervised exercise studies highly powered with active and passive controls are warranted., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Purpose: To analyze patients with drug-resistant focal epilepsy from temporal (TLE) and extra-temporal origin (ETE) and to compare the prevalence of psychiatric comorbid disorders and impulsivity between them and a control group., Methods: Consecutively studied patients with TLE and ETE confirmed with Video-EEG were included. Standardized psychiatric assessment was conducted using the Structured Clinical Interview for Axis I and II diagnosis of DSM-IV (SCID I-II), the Barrat-11 scale for impulsivity, and Beck inventory for depression. Parametric and nonparametric tests were performed., Results: Seventy-three patients with temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE), 21 extra-temporal epilepsy (ETE) and 58 healthy control subjects were included. Both groups of patients showed a high frequency of Axis I comorbid psychiatric disorders: Depression was the most frequent disorder followed by Anxiety Disorders. Furthermore, Axis II (Personality disorders) were also diagnosed, similarly in both groups of patients (p > 0.05). In addition, both TLE and ETE groups presented higher impulsivity scores compared with the control group (p < 0.01). ETE showed a tendency to a higher impulsivity in the motor factor (p = 0.05). Among patients with TLE, a left laterality of the epileptogenic zone, and the presence of comorbid psychiatric disorders (depression), were found as independent factors associated with higher impulsivity (p < 0.05)., Conclusion: Comorbid depression associated with higher impulsivity are important issues to consider in behavioral and clinical evaluation of patients with drug-resistant focal epilepsies, with the aim to set up a prompt treatment., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Choice impulsivity can be measured by offering a sequence of various binary choices between smaller, immediately available rewards and larger, later available rewards. An individual's delay discount (DD) rate reflects the aggregate decision-making tendency. Given the broad spectrum of disorders associated with a high DD rate, this may be an important transdiagnostic factor. This study aimed to establish whether post-decisional neurophysiological processes reflecting the presence of error monitoring are involved in delay discounting. A large sample (N = 97) was investigated, including 46 females and 51 males. The electroencephalogram (EEG) was recorded during the classic monetary choice questionnaire (MCQ-27). Error-related event-related potentials (ERPs) and event-related oscillations (EROs) following responses were analyzed. A modest relationship between error positivity (Pe) and DD rate was seen centro-parietal, with higher amplitude for low DD individuals after choosing immediate rewards. A robust association was found between DD rate and theta oscillation power increases. This was most prominent in low DD individuals after making an immediate reward choice. Theta power was positively associated with decision (reaction) time, suggesting an association between pre- and post-decisional conflict. No evidence was found for an error-related negativity (ERN) and delta oscillations. This study provides clear evidence for conflict monitoring as a post-decision process in delay discounting. Findings suggest that diminished theta band power bursts and lower Pe amplitude, observed after choosing an immediate reward, reflect the neurophysiological consequence and possibly the cause of steep delay discounting. High DD was characterized by prefrontal hypoactivation and appears to result from affective decision-making., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare no competing interests., (Copyright © 2024 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Several person variables predate injury or pain onset that increase the probability of maladjustment to pain and opioid misuse. The aim of this study was to evaluate the role of 2 diathesis variables (impulsiveness and anxiety sensitivity [AS]) in the adjustment of individuals with chronic noncancer pain and opioid misuse. The sample comprised 187 individuals with chronic noncancer pain. The hypothetical model was tested using correlation and structural equation modeling analyses. The results show a significant association between impulsiveness and AS and all the maladjustment variables, and between impulsiveness and AS and opioid misuse and craving. However, although the correlation analysis showed a significant association between adjustment to pain and opioid misuse, the structural equation modeling analysis showed a nonsignificant association between them (as latent variables). The findings support the hypothesis that both impulsiveness and AS are vulnerability factors for maladaptive adjustment to chronic pain and opioid misuse. PERSPECTIVE: This article adds to the empirical literature by including AS and impulsiveness as antecedent variables in a model of dual vulnerability to chronic pain maladjustment and opioid misuse. The findings suggest the potential utility of assessing both factors in individuals in the first stages of chronic pain., (Copyright © 2024 United States Association for the Study of Pain, Inc. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Boredom, a complex emotional state with implications for mental health and well-being, has garnered attention across disciplines, yet remains relatively understudied in psychiatric research. Here, we explored the intricate relationship between trait-impulsivity, stress, and boredom across two studies. Participants completed self-report measures of trait-impulsivity and boredom and boredom-inducing tasks. Study 1, involving 80 participants (42 women and 38 men, aged 20-63), replicates previous findings, by demonstrating that impulsive individuals report greater boredom following a boring task. Study 2 then extends this, using 20 participants (9 women and 12 men, aged 18-24), to show that hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis activity, specifically heightened salivary cortisol responses, mediate the link between impulsivity and boredom following a boring task. Collectively, these results demonstrate that HPA axis activity may underline the relationship between trait-impulsivity and boredom by extending previous work and offering a novel insight into potential mechanisms. These findings offer promise for personalised interventions, designed for high impulsivity individuals, to alleviate the negative impacts of boredom and potentially break the identified feedback loop., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest We have no known conflict of interest to disclose., (Copyright © 2024 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Co-occurrence between gambling disorder (GD) and other mental disorders is common, but its association with problematic pornography use (PPU) remains unexplored. This study aimed to investigate relationships between sociodemographic variables, personality measures, psychopathology, emotional regulation, and impulsivity and the co-occurrence of GD and PPU using structural equation modeling (SEM). The sample consisted of 359 adults seeking treatment for GD. The short version of the Problematic Pornography Consumption Scale (PPCS-6) identified patients with GD + PPU. Psychopathology, impulsivity, emotional regulation, and personality were also assessed. Higher impulsivity levels statistically predicted co-occurrence between GD and PPU. Impulsivity mediated the relationship between younger age, maladaptive personality features, and emotional dysregulation and co-occurrence. Psychopathological distress did not directly associate with GD + PPU co-occurrence. Impulsivity relates importantly to the co-occurrence of GD and PPU. Younger age, maladaptive personality, and emotional dysregulation contribute to increased impulsivity levels and co-occurrence. The findings highlight the importance of addressing impulsivity in understanding and treating co-occurring GD and PPU., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest Dr. Potenza discloses that he has consulted for and advised Game Day Data, Addiction Policy Forum, AXA, Idorsia, Baria-Tek, Boehringer Ingelheim, and Opiant Therapeutics; been involved in a patent application with Yale University and Novartis; received research support from the Mohegan Sun Casino, Children and Screens and the Connecticut Council on Problem Gambling; consulted for or advised legal and gambling entities on issues related to impulse control, internet use and addictive behaviors; provided clinical care related to impulse-control and addictive behaviors; performed grant reviews; edited journals/journal sections; given academic lectures in grand rounds, CME events, and other clinical/scientific venues; and generated books or chapters for publishers of mental health texts. Drs. Fernández-Aranda and Susana Jimenez-Murcia received consultancy/speaker honoraria from Novo Nordisk. The other authors have no conflicts of interest with respect to the content of this manuscript., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Background: Impulsive action and risk-related decision-making (RDM) are associated with various psychiatric disorders, including drug abuse. Both behavioral traits have also been linked to reduced frontocortical activity and alterations in dopamine function in the ventral tegmental area (VTA). However, despite direct projections from the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) to the VTA, the specific role of the mPFC-to-VTA pathway in controlling impulsive action and RDM remains unexplored., Methods: We used positron emission tomography with [18F]-fluorodeoxyglucose to evaluate brain metabolic activity in Roman high- (RHA) and low-avoidance (RLA) rats, which exhibit innate differences in impulsive action and RDM. Notably, we used a viral-based double dissociation chemogenetic strategy to isolate, for the first time to our knowledge, the role of the mPFC-to-VTA pathway in controlling these behaviors. We selectively activated the mPFC-to-VTA pathway in RHA rats and inhibited it in RLA rats, assessing the effects on impulsive action and RDM in the rat gambling task., Results: Our results showed that RHA rats displayed higher impulsive action, less optimal decision-making, and lower cortical activity than RLA rats at baseline. Chemogenetic activation of the mPFC-to-VTA pathway reduced impulsive action in RHA rats, whereas chemogenetic inhibition had the opposite effect in RLA rats. However, these manipulations did not affect RDM. Thus, by specifically targeting the mPFC-to-VTA pathway in a phenotype-dependent way, we reverted innate patterns of impulsive action but not RDM., Conclusion: Our findings suggest a dissociable role of the mPFC-to-VTA pathway in impulsive action and RDM, highlighting its potential as a target for investigating impulsivity-related disorders., (© The Author(s) 2024. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of CINP.)

Background: Impulsivity is associated with serious detrimental consequences on physical, mental, behavioral and social aspects of health among patients with psychosis. The present prospective 12-month follow-up study aimed to determine the prevalence of highly impulsive individuals among Ultra High Risk (UHR) patients, how impulsivity evolves over the follow-up period, and whether impulsivity impacts clinical, psychological and functional outcomes in this population., Method: UHR patients were invited to complete a battery of measurements at three-time points: at baseline, and at 6 and 12 months of follow-up. Impulsivity was assessed using both behavioral (the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test, WCST) and self-report (the Barratt Impulsiveness Scale, BIS-11) measures., Results: Findings showed that at 6 months of follow-up, higher 6-month BIS-11 attentional and motor impulsivity were significantly associated with lower quality of life and greater general psychological distress. In addition, higher baseline BIS-11 motor impulsivity significantly predicted more severe positive psychotic symptoms at 12 months of follow-up. However, WCST scores did not show any significant associations with study variables at the different times of follow-up., Conclusion: Interventions targeting impulsivity in UHR individuals could help decrease psychological distress and positive psychotic symptoms' severity, as well as improve quality of life in UHR individuals., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest None., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Impulsive decision-making has been linked to impulse control disorders and substance use disorders. However, the neural mechanisms underlying impulsive choice are not fully understood. While previous PET imaging and autoradiography studies have shown involvement of dopamine and D2/3 receptors in impulsive behavior, the roles of distinct D1, D2, and D3 receptors in impulsive decision-making remain unclear. In this study, we used a food reward delay-discounting task (DDT) to identify low- and high-impulsive rats, in which low-impulsive rats exhibited preference for large delayed reward over small immediate rewards, while high-impulsive rats showed the opposite preference. We then examined D1, D2, and D3 receptor gene expression using RNAscope in situ hybridization assays. We found that high-impulsive male rats exhibited lower levels of D2 and D3, and particularly D3, receptor expression in the nucleus accumbens (NAc), with no significant changes in the insular, prelimbic, and infralimbic cortices. Based on these findings, we further explored the role of the D3 receptor in impulsive decision-making. Systemic administration of a selective D3 receptor agonist (FOB02-04) significantly reduced impulsive choices in high-impulsive rats but had no effects in low-impulsive rats. Conversely, a selective D3 receptor antagonist (VK4-116) produced increased both impulsive and omission choices in both groups of rats. These findings suggest that impulsive decision-making is associated with a reduction in D3 receptor expression in the NAc. Selective D3 receptor agonists, but not antagonists, may hold therapeutic potentials for mitigating impulsivity in high-impulsive subjects., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Parents have reported emotional regulation problems in cognitive disengagement syndrome (CDS) and attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). The first objective of this research was to explore the differences between the parents' ratings on CDS, ADHD, hyperactivity/impulsivity, inattention, anxiety, depression and emotional dysregulation. The second one was to compare the predictive capacity of CDS and ADHD over anxiety, depression and emotional regulation problems. The third one was to analyze the mediation of emotional dysregulation in CDS, ADHD, hyperactivity/impulsivity, inattention, and anxiety and depression. The sampling used was non-probabilistic. The final sample consisted of 1,070 participants (484 fathers and 586 mothers) who completed the Emotion Regulation Checklist (ERC) and the Child and Adolescent Behavior Inventory (CABI). In relation to the first objective, first, mothers reported more emotional regulation problems in children than in fathers. Second, emotional regulation problems were more strongly correlated with hyperactivity/impulsivity. Significant differences were found in all father scores, except for anxiety and the emotional regulation subscale. Regarding mothers, significant differences were only observed in ADHD scores, hyperactivity/impulsivity, and depression. Both parents reported more problems in older children, except for hyperactivity/impulsivity scores and ADHD rated by mothers. According to the second objective, CDS scores were found to significantly predict anxiety and depression scores, but not those of inattention or emotional regulation problems. Finally, in relation to the third objective, emotional regulation problems mediated the relationships between CDS, ADHD, and anxiety and depression. In conclusion, the data support the importance of emotional regulation problems in understanding CDS and its relationship with ADHD, anxiety, and depression.

Central robust network functional rearrangement is a characteristic of several neurological conditions, including chronic pain. Preclinical and clinical studies have shown the importance of pain-induced dysfunction in both orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) and nucleus accumbens (NAc) brain regions for the emergence of cognitive deficits. Outcome information processing recruits the orbitostriatal circuitry, a pivotal pathway regarding context-dependent reward value encoding. The current literature reveals the existence of structural and functional changes in the orbitostriatal crosstalk in chronic pain conditions, which have emerged as a possible underlying cause for reward and time discrimination impairments observed in individuals affected by such disturbances. However, more comprehensive investigations are needed to elucidate the underlying disturbances that underpin disease development. In this review article, we aim to provide a comprehensive view of the orbitostriatal mechanisms underlying time-reward dependent behaviors, and integrate previous findings on local and network malplasticity under the framework of the chronic pain sphere., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Impaired goal-directed behavior is associated with a range of mental disorders, implicating underlying transdiagnostic factors. While compulsivity has been linked to reduced model-based (MB) control, impulsivity has rarely been studied in the context of reinforcement learning despite its links to reward processing and cognitive control. This study investigated the neural mechanisms underlying MB control and the influence of impulsivity and compulsivity, using EEG data from 238 individuals during a two-step decision making task. Single-trial analyses revealed a modulation of the feedback-related negativity (FRN), where amplitudes were higher after common transitions and positive reward prediction error (RPE), indicating a valence effect. Meanwhile, enhanced P3 amplitudes after rare transitions and both positive and negative RPE possibly reflect surprise. In a second step, we regressed the mean b values of the effect of RPE on the EEG signals onto self-reported impulsivity and compulsivity and behavioral MB control (w). The effect of RPE on FRN-related activity was mainly associated with higher w scores, linking the FRN to MB control. Crucially, the modulation of the P3 by RPE was negatively associated with compulsivity, pointing to a deficient mental model in highly compulsive individuals., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Background: Emotional dysregulation is a common feature across various psychiatric disorders, including personality disorders, mood disorders, substance use disorders, and schizophrenia. It manifests through difficulties in emotion modulation, which can lead to impulsive behaviors, exaggerated emotional reactions, and poor management of negative emotions. Cognitive deficits, particularly those related to executive functions such as inhibition, working memory, and cognitive flexibility, play a crucial role in this process, contributing to a higher vulnerability to emotional dysregulation. This paper focuses on the role cognitive deficits may have in emotional dysregulation. The sample will include both psychiatric patients and offenders undergoing therapeutic rehabilitation in community settings., Method: In our observational study, fifty-nine psychiatric inpatients (total mean age: 45.3910.93), distributed by age, gender, and legal provision (offenders and non-offenders) were recruited in several psychiatric rehabilitation centers located in South Italy. We used Aberrant Salience Inventory (ASI), Barrat Impulsiveness Scale Version 11 (BIS-11), Historical-Clinical-Risk Management-20, Version 3 (HCR-20 V3 ), Brief Psychiatric Research Symptoms (BPRS), Verbal fluency tests (VFT) Estimated IQ Short Intelligence Test (T.I.B.), World Health Organization Disability Assessment Schedule 2.0. (WHODAS 2.0)., Results: The results highlighted higher impulsivity levels in offenders associated with higher scores on the cognitive performance scales., Conclusion: Cognitive deficits are a significant contributor to emotional dysregulation in psychiatric patients, particularly in offender psychiatric patients.

Introduction: Several studies show an association between obesity, impulsivity, and anger. The condition of obesity has moreover an important correlation with Eating Disorders (EDs), the most frequent of which is Binge Eating Disorder (BED). Obese patients seem to express peculiarities regarding the expression of some emotional processes, including impulsivity, aggression and anger, compared with regular-weight patients and those without an ED., Subject and Methods: This is a cross-sectional study carried out on a population of 47 obese patients undergoing bariatric surgery. Patients underwent a psychiatric evaluation at the outpatient clinics of the Section of Psychiatry, Clinical Psychology and Psychiatric Rehabilitation of the University Hospital of Perugia. Levels of anger and impulsivity were characterized using the STAXI-2 and BIS-11 scores. Scores were compared based on sex, the presence/absence of EDs and on the presence/absence of psychiatric disorders attested during the evaluation., Results: No statistically significative difference were detected on STAXI-2 and BIS-11 scores comparing men and women. People diagnosed with EDs had higher scores in the subscores of attention, cognitive complexity, motor impulsivity, non-planning impulsivity, and in the BIS-11 total score. No differences were detected in the STAXI-2 scores. When comparing patients on the presence/absence of psychiatric comorbidities, obese patients with a psychiatric diagnosis had higher scores on the impulsivity measures, but also a higher value on the ER index of the STAXI-2., Conclusions: Obese subjects undergoing bariatric surgery represent a fragile population that must be carefully evaluated from a psychiatric point of view. Indeed, the co-existence of psychiatric comorbidities may underpin the present of trait-like characteristics, such as impulsivity and anger, that should be carefully considered when proposing treatment strategies.

This study aimed to evaluate the correlation between cognitive function and emotional dysregulation in patients suffering from psychiatric disorders hosted in rehabilitation facilities, but within this sample, there are also perpetrators of violence who are not residents in facilities but are followed in clinics for crimes related to family violence. All patients were administered the rating scale to investigate general impulsivity, perform psychopathological evaluation, evaluate aberrant salience, and conduct a general cognitive assessment.

Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and substance use disorders (SUD) are characterized by exacerbated motor and risk-related impulsivities, which are associated with decreased cortical activity. In rodents, the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) and nucleus accumbens (NAc) have been separately implicated in impulsive behaviors, but studies on the specific role of the mPFC-NAc pathway in these behaviors are limited. Here, we investigated whether heightened impulsive behaviors are associated with reduced mPFC activity in rodents and determined the involvement of the mPFC-NAc pathway in motor and risk-related impulsivities. We used the Roman High- (RHA) and Low-Avoidance (RLA) rat lines, which display divergent phenotypes in impulsivity. To investigate alterations in cortical activity in relation to impulsivity, regional brain glucose metabolism was measured using positron emission tomography and [ 18 F]-fluorodeoxyglucose ([ 18 F]FDG). Using chemogenetics, the activity of the mPFC-NAc pathway was either selectively activated in high-impulsive RHA rats or inhibited in low-impulsive RLA rats, and the effects of these manipulations on motor and risk-related impulsivity were concurrently assessed using the rat gambling task. We showed that basal [ 18 F]FDG uptake was lower in the mPFC and NAc of RHA compared to RLA rats. Activation of the mPFC-NAc pathway in RHA rats reduced motor impulsivity, without affecting risk-related decision-making. Conversely, inhibition of the mPFC-NAc pathway had no effect in RLA rats. Our results suggest that the mPFC-NAc pathway controls motor impulsivity, but has limited involvement in risk-related decision-making in our current model. Our findings suggest that reducing fronto-striatal activity may help attenuate motor impulsivity in patients with impulse control dysregulation., (© 2024 The Author(s). Journal of Neuroscience Research published by Wiley Periodicals LLC.)

Objective: Negative urgency (i.e., acting rashly when experiencing negative affect; NU), is a theorised maintenance factor in binge-eating type eating disorders. This study examined the association between trait NU and eating disorder severity, momentary changes in state NU surrounding episodes of binge eating, and the momentary mechanistic link between affect, rash action, and binge-eating risk., Methods: Participants were 112 individuals with binge-eating disorder (BED). Baseline measures included the UPPS-P Impulsive Behaviour Scale to assess trait NU and the Eating Disorders Examination to assess binge-eating frequency and global eating disorder severity. Ecological momentary assessment captured real-time data on binge eating, negative affect, and state NU., Results: Multiple regression analysis revealed a strong association between trait NU and eating disorder severity. Generalised estimating equations showed that state NU increased before and decreased after binge-eating episodes, and that this pattern was not moderated by trait-level NU. Finally, a multilevel structural equation model indicated that increases in rash action mediated the momentary relationship between states of high negative affect and episodes of binge eating., Conclusion: These findings underscore the importance of both trait and state NU in binge-eating type eating disorders, and suggest NU as a potential key target for intervention., (© 2024 Eating Disorders Association and John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

Impulsivity is a trait associated with several psychiatric conditions, not least addictive disorders. While the neural mechanisms behind certain aspects of impulsivity have been studied extensively, there are few imaging studies examining this neurocircuitry in populations with substance use disorders. Therefore, we aimed to examine the functional connectivity of relevant neural networks, and their possible association with trait impulsivity, in a sample with severe amphetamine use disorder and a control group of healthy subjects. We used data collected in a randomized clinical trial studying the acute effects of oral naltrexone in amphetamine use disorder. Our final sample included 32 amphetamine users and 27 healthy controls. Trait impulsivity was rated with the Barratt Impulsiveness Scale-11, and functional connectivity was measured during resting-state fMRI, looking specifically at networks involving prefrontal regions previously implicated in studies of impulsivity. Amphetamine users had higher subjective ratings of impulsivity as compared to healthy controls, and these scores correlated positively with a wide-spread prefrontal hyperconnectivity that was found among the amphetamine users. These findings highlight the importance of aberrant prefrontal function in severe addiction., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest None., (Copyright © 2024. Published by Elsevier B.V.)

There are individual effects of alexithymia, childhood maltreatment, impulsivity, and some biological markers on aggression and psychological distress in schizophrenia. However, the combined effects of these psychological and biological markers have not yet been fully studied. This study therefore aimed to investigate the influence of these psychological and biological markers on aggression and psychological distress (e.g., depression and anxiety) in inpatients with schizophrenia (n = 355). Participants completed self-report and clinician-rated scales, and blood samples were collected. There were no significant differences between patients with and without alexithymia regarding biological markers. Patients with childhood maltreatment exhibited higher levels of free triiodothyronine (FT3) and C-reactive protein (CRP), as well as lower total cholesterol (TC) levels, compared to non-traumatized individuals. Aggression was positively predicted by psychological distress, alexithymia, childhood maltreatment, impulsivity, CRP, and FT3, and negatively by TC and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol. Negative symptoms, childhood maltreatment, alexithymia, aggression, and CRP positively, and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol negatively emerged as predictors of psychological distress. The study highlights the connections between childhood maltreatment, alexithymia, impulsivity, and potentially related biological dysregulation in explaining aggression and negative mood states as a bio-psychological model of aggression and mood in schizophrenia., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Studies of COMT Val 158 Met suggest that the neural circuitry subserving inhibitory control may be modulated by this functional polymorphism altering cortical dopamine availability, thus giving rise to heritable differences in behaviors. Using an anatomically-constrained magnetoencephalography method and stratifying the sample by COMT genotype, from a larger sample of 153 subjects, we examined the spatial and temporal dynamics of beta oscillations during motor execution and inhibition in 21 healthy Met 158 /Met 158 (high dopamine) or 21 Val 158 /Val 158 (low dopamine) genotype individuals during a Go/NoGo paradigm. While task performance was unaffected, Met 158 homozygotes demonstrated an overall increase in beta power across regions essential for inhibitory control during early motor preparation (∼100 ms latency), suggestive of a global motor "pause" on behavior. This increase was especially evident on Go trials with slow response speed and was absent during inhibition failures. Such a pause could underlie the tendency of Met 158 allele carriers to be more cautious and inhibited. In contrast, Val 158 homozygotes exhibited a beta drop during early motor preparation, indicative of high response readiness. This decrease was associated with measures of behavioral disinhibition and consistent with greater extraversion and impulsivity observed in Val homozygotes. These results provide mechanistic insight into genetically-determined interindividual differences of inhibitory control with higher cortical dopamine associated with momentary response hesitation, and lower dopamine leading to motor impulsivity., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Substance use is associated with altered or elevated food consumption and disordered eating. In the present study we examined whether breadth (variety) of drug use was associated with elevated portion size in a general population sample as it was in persons in recovery from substance use disorder. Furthermore, measures of emotional eating, impulsivity, food misuse, food craving were taken as possible mediators and reward responsiveness was examined as a potential moderator of this association. 444 adults (48.6 % women, mean age of 47.8 years) completed an online study in which they were asked to make judgements of ideal portion size for 6 different foods using a validated online tool that allowed participants to adjust the portion size of images of foods. Ideal portion size has been identified as a strong predictor of actual consumption. Participants were also asked to report the number of substances used in the past and provide anthropometric information. The results confirmed that breadth of drug use was associated with selection of higher portion size. Reward responsiveness was not a moderator of this relationship. Of the tested mediators, only impulsivity mediated the association between breadth of drug use and portion size. The results show that impulsivity may underlie the association between eating and substance use., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Road traffic injuries are the leading cause of death for young adults, and parents play a major role in shaping their traffic behaviour. Higher impulsivity (predictor of higher traffic risk) has been shown to be dependent on family relations and the serotonin transporter gene promoter polymorphism (5-HTTLPR). The specific mechanisms for the inheritance of risky traffic behaviour from parents to children are not clear, and the genetic aspect has not been studied before. We used data of Estonian Children Personality Behaviour and Health Study subjects (n = 596, mean age = 25.2 ± 0.6) and their parents (mothers, n = 460, mean age = 52.1 ± 5.8; fathers, n = 339, mean age = 54.1 ± 6.5). Family relationships scale, traffic risk questionnaires and Adaptive and Maladaptive Impulsivity Scale were filled out. The increased risk-taking behaviour of parents and worse quality of family relationship were significant predictors of higher traffic risk among subjects. Family support and impulsivity of fathers significantly predicted the subjects' traffic risk score in interaction with 5-HTTLPR genotype: l'/l' homozygous subjects with adaptively impulsive fathers had higher traffic risk, whereas for s'-allele carrying subjects family support was more significant. Parental role modelling and family relationships are significant predictors of future traffic behaviour of the child. Whether the behavioural example of the father or the influence of family relationships is more important in predicting future risky traffic behaviour, depends on the 5-HTTLPR genotype of the child., (© 2024. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Austria, part of Springer Nature.)

Intertemporal decision-making is pivotal for human interests and health. Recently, studies instructed participants to make intertemporal choices for both themselves and others, but the specific mechanisms are still debated. To address the issue, in the current study, the cost-unneeded conditions (i.e., "Self Immediately - Self Delay" and "Other Immediately - Other Delay" conditions) and the cost-needed conditions (i.e., "Self Immediately - Other Delay" and "Self Delay - Other Immediately" conditions) were set with the identity of OTHER being a stranger. We manipulated the magnitude of reward (Experiment 1) and disrupted the activation of the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex with repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS; Experiment 2). We found that both the behavioral and rTMS manipulations increased smaller but sooner choice probability via reducing self-control function. The reduced self-control function elicited by rTMS affected both self- and other-related intertemporal choices via increasing the choice preference for smaller but sooner reward options, which may help people deeply understand the relationship between self- and other-related intertemporal choices in processing mechanism, especially when the OTHER condition is set as a stranger., (© 2024 Massachusetts Institute of Technology.)

Impulsivity is a broad construct that often refers to one of several distinct behaviors and can be measured with self-report questionnaires and behavioral paradigms. Several psychiatric conditions are characterized by one or more forms of impulsive behavior, most notably the impulsive/hyperactive subtype of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), mood disorders, and substance use disorders. Monoaminergic neurotransmitters are known to mediate impulsive behaviors and are implicated in various psychiatric conditions. However, growing evidence suggests that glutamate, the major excitatory neurotransmitter of the mammalian brain, regulates important functions that become dysregulated in conditions like ADHD. The purpose of the current review is to discuss clinical and preclinical evidence linking glutamate to separate aspects of impulsivity, specifically motor impulsivity, impulsive choice, and affective impulsivity. Hyperactive glutamatergic activity in the corticostriatal and the cerebro-cerebellar pathways are major determinants of motor impulsivity. Conversely, hypoactive glutamatergic activity in frontal cortical areas and hippocampus and hyperactive glutamatergic activity in anterior cingulate cortex and nucleus accumbens mediate impulsive choice. Affective impulsivity is controlled by similar glutamatergic dysfunction observed for motor impulsivity, except a hyperactive limbic system is also involved. Loss of glutamate homeostasis in prefrontal and nucleus accumbens may contribute to motor impulsivity/affective impulsivity and impulsive choice, respectively. These results are important as they can lead to novel treatments for those with a condition characterized by increased impulsivity that are resistant to conventional treatments., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest None., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Background: Despite preliminary evidence that links impulsivity to suicide risk among Native American youth, impulsivity has not been directly studied in relation to suicide ideation (SI) or behaviors in this population. We examined indexes of rapid-response impulsivity (RRI) across multiple levels of analysis (self-report, behavioral, neurobiological) and associations with SI among Native American youth ages 9-10 in the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development Study., Methods: Data from the sample (n = 284) included self-report (UPPS-P), behavioral (Stop Signal Task), and neurobiological (right inferior frontal gyrus activation) indicators of RRI. RRI indicators were modeled using variable-centered (i.e., traditional multivariable regression) and person-centered (i.e., clustering analyses) approaches in measuring their association with SI., Results: Logistic regression analysis demonstrated that higher negative urgency was associated with higher odds of SI (Adjusted Odds Ratio = 1.23, p = 0.015). Latent profile analysis clustered youth into five profiles based on within-individual variation in RRI indicators. Youth with an elevated self-reported negative and positive urgency profile had higher odds of reporting SI than "normative" youth (Adjusted Odds Ratio = 2.38, p = 0.019)., Limitations: Limitations of this study include the modest sample size particularly regarding SI (14.1 %), potential bias in estimates of lifetime SI, and generalizability to youth from specific Native American communities., Conclusions: Negative urgency may increase risk for SI among Native American youth in late childhood. Clinical implications, including the potential for person-centered RRI profiles to act as candidate markers of suicide risk and resilience in adolescence and inform safety assessments and planning, are discussed., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest None., (Copyright © 2024 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Prenatal alcohol exposure (PAE) can lead to a wide range of adverse effects in humans, including impaired self-control and increased impulsive behavior. Deficits in self-control can interfere with academic performance and have lasting impacts. In the present study, a rodent model of PAE was used to assess impulsivity through operant conditioning. Pregnant rats were assigned to one of three groups: ad-lib control (CON), pair-fed (PF), and alcohol-exposed (ALC). ALC rats were given a liquid diet containing 6% alcohol, PF rats were yoked to an ALC rat and given a CON liquid diet, and CON rats received ad libitum food. Operant conditioning was used to evaluate extinction in adolescents (Experiment 1) and differential reinforcement of low rates (DRL) in adolescents and adults (Experiment 2). PAE resulted in an increase in responses and resets during DRL testing, indicative of impaired self-control, an effect that was only observed in adolescent males. Females, regardless of age, did not show increased impulsivity following PAE. This indicates that children with PAE may exhibit attentional deficits similar to those with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, with males at a higher risk., (© 2024 The Author(s). Developmental Psychobiology published by Wiley Periodicals LLC.)

Deficits in impulse control are observed in several neurocognitive disorders, including attention deficit hyperactivity (ADHD), substance use disorders (SUDs), and those following traumatic brain injury (TBI). Understanding brain circuits and mechanisms contributing to impulsive behavior may aid in identifying therapeutic interventions. We previously reported that intact lateral habenula (LHb) function is necessary to limit impulsivity defined by impaired response inhibition in rats. Here, we examine the involvement of a synaptic input to the LHb on response inhibition using cellular, circuit, and behavioral approaches. Retrograde fluorogold tracing identified basal forebrain (BF) inputs to LHb, primarily arising from ventral pallidum and nucleus accumbens shell (VP/NAcs). Glutamic acid decarboxylase and cannabinoid CB1 receptor (CB1R) mRNAs colocalized with fluorogold, suggesting a cannabinoid modulated GABAergic pathway. Optogenetic activation of these axons strongly inhibited LHb neuron action potentials and GABA release was tonically suppressed by an endogenous cannabinoid in vitro. Behavioral experiments showed that response inhibition during signaled reward omission was impaired when VP/NAcs inputs to LHb were optogenetically stimulated, whereas inhibition of this pathway did not alter LHb control of impulsivity. Systemic injection with the psychotropic phytocannabinoid, Δ 9 -tetrahydrocannabinol (Δ 9 -THC), also increased impulsivity in male, and not female rats, and this was blocked by LHb CB1R antagonism. However, as optogenetic VP/NAcs pathway inhibition did not alter impulse control, we conclude that the pro-impulsive effects of Δ 9 -THC likely do not occur via inhibition of this afferent. These results identify an inhibitory LHb afferent that is controlled by CB1Rs that can regulate impulsive behavior., (© 2024. This is a U.S. Government work and not under copyright protection in the US; foreign copyright protection may apply.)

Background: The impulsive choice is characterized by the preference for a small immediate reward over a bigger delayed one. The mechanisms underlying impulsive choices are linked to the activity in the Nucleus Accumbens (NAc), the orbitofrontal cortex (OFC), and the dorsolateral striatum (DLS). While the study of functional connectivity between brain areas has been key to understanding a variety of cognitive processes, it remains unclear whether functional connectivity differentiates impulsive-control decisions., Methods: To study the functional connectivity both between and within NAc, OFC, and DLS during a delay discounting task, we concurrently recorded local field potential in NAc, OFC, and DLS in rats. We then quantified the degree of phase-amplitude coupling (PAC), coherence, and Granger Causality between oscillatory activities in animals exhibiting either a high (HI) or low (LI) tendency for impulsive choices., Results: Our results showed a differential pattern of PAC during decision-making in OFC and NAc, but not in DLS. While theta-gamma PAC in OFC was associated with self-control decisions, a higher delta-gamma PAC in both OFC and NAc biased decisions toward impulsive choices in both HI and LI groups. Furthermore, during the reward event, Granger Causality analysis indicated a stronger NAc➔OFC gamma contribution in the HI group, while the LI group showed a higher OFC➔NAc gamma contribution., Conclusions: The overactivity in NAc during reward in the HI group suggests that exacerbated contribution of NAcCore can lead to an overvaluation of reward that biases the behavior toward the impulsive choice., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors have not conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Objective: Pain's impact on executive function is understood and specific cognitive abilities may contribute to coping with pain, though past work is confounded by chronic pain populations. This study aims to understand how executive functioning may predict the experience of pain among healthy adults. It was hypothesized that poorer executive functioning would predict more intense pain perception., Method: A total of 172 young adults were recruited for participation. Three aspects of executive functioning (i.e., impulsivity, cognitive flexibility, working memory) were assessed before randomizing participants to varying types and levels of stimulated pain., Results: Results supported the hypothesis that poorer performance on tasks of working memory predicts more intense pain perception., Conclusions: Findings are counter to past work that has found inhibition may be important for coping, and future research is needed to understand the impact of specific cognitive abilities as well as how this may differ for chronic pain., (© The Author(s) 2024. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.)

Background: Impulsivity increases the risk for depression and anxiety. However, the granular pathways among them remain unknown. A network approach that moves from disorder-level analysis to symptom-level analysis can provide further understanding of psychopathological mechanisms. In this study, we examined the network structure of impulsivity and separate and comorbid symptoms of depression and anxiety., Methods: Regularized partial-correlation networks were estimated using cross-sectional data from 1047 Chinese participants aged 18-26 years (main dataset, mean age = 21.45 ± 2.01 years) and 325 Chinese participants aged 18-36 years (an independent replication dataset, mean age = 21.49 ± 3.73 years), including impulsivity-depression, impulsivity-anxiety, and impulsivity-depression-anxiety networks. The datasets were collected from 1 June 2023 to 4 August 2023 and from 27 April 2022 to 16 May 2022, respectively. Impulsivity, depression, and anxiety were assessed using Barratt Impulsiveness Scale Version 11, Patient Health Questionnaire-9, and Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7, respectively. Bridge centrality was analyzed, and a network comparison test (NCT) was conducted to investigate the differences between the main dataset and replication dataset., Results: The motor impulsivity dimension was revealed to be closely connected with individual symptoms of depression and anxiety regardless of whether they were in separate disorder forms or comorbid forms. In all the networks, motor impulsivity was the most important bridge node. The NCT showed comparable network connectivity and network structure between the main and replication datasets., Limitations: The use of cross-sectional data limited the inferences about the direction of causality between variables., Conclusions: These findings elucidate the psychopathological mechanisms underlying how impulsivity functions within depression, anxiety, and comorbidity and support that motor impulsivity is an important risk factor across different mental disorders and is responsible for comorbidity. The implications of these findings are discussed., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest None., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Negative urgency (NU), or the tendency to act rashly when stress of negative affect is high, could be the result of an insufficient control of the ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC) over the striatum, through an impaired dopamine (DA) transmission. Therefore, we investigated in vivo human stress-induced DA release in the vmPFC, its relation with fronto-striatal functional connectivity (FC), and NU in daily life. In total, 12 female healthy participants performed a simultaneous [18 F]fallypride PET and fMRI scan during which stress was induced. Regions displaying stress-induced DA release were identified and used to investigate stress-induced changes in fronto-striatal FC. Additionally, participants enrolled in an experience sampling study, reporting on daily life stress and rash actions over a 12-month-long period. Mixed models explored whether stress-induced DA release and FC moderated NU in daily life. Stress led to a lower FC between the vmPFC and dorsal striatum, but a higher FC between the vmPFC and contralateral ventral striatum. Participants with a higher FC between the vmPFC and dorsal striatum displayed more NU in daily life. A higher stress-induced DA release in the vmPFC was related to a higher stress-induced change in FC between the vmPFC and striatum. Participants with a higher DA release in the vmPFC displayed more NU in daily life. In conclusion, stress could differentially impact fronto-striatal FC whereby the connectivity with the dorsal striatum is especially important for NU in daily life. This could be mediated by a higher, but not a lower, stress-induced DA release in the vmPFC., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Goal-directed behavior is influenced by both reward value as well as internal state. A large body of research has focused on how reward value and internal drives such as hunger influence motivation in rodent models, however less work has focused on how these factors may differentially affect impulsivity. In these studies, we tested the effect of internal drive versus reward value on different facets of reward-related behavior including impulsive action, impulsive choice and, motivation. We varied reward value by changing the concentration of sucrose in the reward outcome, and varied internal drive by manipulating thirst through water restriction. Consistent with the literature we found that both internal state and reward value influenced motivation. However, we found that in high effort paradigms, only internal state influenced motivation with minimal effects of reward value. Interestingly, we found that internal state and reward value differentially influence different subtypes of impulsivity. Internal state, and to a lesser extent, reward value, influenced impulsive action as measured by premature responding. On the other hand, there were minimal effects of either reward value or homeostatic state on impulsive choice as measured by delay discounting. Overall, these studies begin to address how internal state and reward value differentially drive impulsive behavior. Understanding how these factors influence impulsivity is important for developing behavioral interventions and treatment targets for patients with dysregulated motivated or impulsive behavior., (Copyright © 2024 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

The present study investigated whether distinct developmental patterns of externalizing behaviors (EBs: hyperactivity-impulsivity, noncompliance, physical aggression) based on parent reports were repeatedly and differentially associated with separate dimensions of internalizing problems such as general anxiety, separation anxiety, and depressive symptoms across the early, middle, and late preschool years in a population birth cohort ( N = 2,057, 50.7% boys). Six high trajectory classes obtained by latent growth modeling were used as longitudinal indicators of single EB and co-occurrent EBs. Children following low or moderate trajectories for all EBs served as the reference class. Results revealed that children in trajectory classes reflecting high levels of co-occurring EBs showed higher levels of general anxiety, separation anxiety, and depressive symptoms across the preschool years. In contrast, children in trajectory classes reflecting single EB manifested higher levels of some, but not all, dimensions of internalizing problems. In addition, their scores varied from one period to another. No sex differences were observed in the above associations. These results underline the need for comprehensive assessments across distinct types of EBs and internalizing problems to better reflect the characteristics that distinguish individual children. Finally, results suggest that children showing early co-occurrent EBs and internalizing symptoms may be an important group to target for in-depth assessment and possibly preventive intervention. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

Numerous neuroimaging studies have identified significant individual variability in intertemporal choice, often attributed to three neural mechanisms: (1) increased reward circuit activity, (2) decreased cognitive control, and (3) prospection ability. These mechanisms that explain impulsivity, however, have been primarily studied in the gain domain. This study extends this investigation to the loss domain. We employed a hierarchical Bayesian drift-diffusion model (DDM) and the inter-subject representational similarity approach (IS-RSA) to investigate the potential computational neural substrates underlying impulsivity in loss domain across two experiments (n = 155). These experiments utilized a revised intertemporal task that independently manipulated the amounts of immediate and delayed-loss options. Behavioral results demonstrated positive correlations between the drift rate, measured by the DDM, and the impulsivity index K in Exp. 1 (n = 97) and were replicated in Exp. 2 (n = 58). Imaging analyses further revealed that the drift rate significantly mediated the relations between brain properties (e.g., prefrontal cortex activations and gray matter volume in the orbitofrontal cortex and precuneus) and K in Exp. 1. IS-RSA analyses indicated that variability in the drift rate also mediated the associations between inter-subject variations in activation patterns and individual differences in K. These findings suggest that individuals with similar impulsivity levels are likely to exhibit similar value processing patterns, providing a potential explanation for individual differences in impulsivity within a loss framework., (© 2024 The Author(s). Human Brain Mapping published by Wiley Periodicals LLC.)

Objectives: Numerous theories exist regarding age differences in risk preference and related constructs, yet many of them offer conflicting predictions and fail to consider convergence between measurement modalities or constructs. To pave the way for conceptual clarification and theoretical refinement, in this preregistered study we aimed to comprehensively examine age effects on risk preference, impulsivity, and self-control using different measurement modalities, and to assess their convergence., Methods: We collected a large battery of self-report, informant report, behavioral, hormone, and neuroimaging measures from a cross-sectional sample of 148 (55% female) healthy human participants between 16 and 81 years (mean age = 46 years, standard deviation [SD] = 19). We used an extended sample of 182 participants (54% female, mean age = 46 years, SD = 19) for robustness checks concerning the results from self-reports, informant reports, and behavioral measures. For our main analysis, we performed specification curve analyses to visualize and estimate the convergence between the different modalities and constructs., Results: Our multiverse analysis approach revealed convergent results for risk preference, impulsivity, and self-control from self- and informant reports, suggesting a negative effect of age. For behavioral, hormonal, and neuroimaging outcomes, age effects were mostly absent., Discussion: Our findings call for conceptual clarification and improved operationalization to capture the putative mechanisms underlying age-related differences in risk preference and related constructs., (© The Author(s) 2024. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of The Gerontological Society of America.)