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Scan reveals what brain looks like when you are angry
Tuesday June 19, 2012 06:51:49 PM,
IANS
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Washington: A new
brain scan shows what it looks like when a person runs out of
patience or loses self-control.
It would explain why someone who works very hard not to take a
second helping of lasagna at dinner winds up taking two pieces of
cake at desert. The study could also modify previous thinking that
considered self-control to be like a muscle.
University of Iowa neuroscientist William Hedgcock confirms
previous studies that show self-control is a finite commodity that
is depleted by use. Once the pool has dried up, we're less likely
to keep our cool the next time we're faced with a situation that
requires self-control.
But Hedgcock's study is the first to actually show it happening in
the brain, using Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (FMRI)
images that scan people as they perform self-control tasks, the
Journal of Consumer Psychology reports.
The images show the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) fires with
equal intensity throughout the task. ACC is the part of the brain
that recognises a situation in which self-control is needed and
says: "Heads up, there are multiple responses to this situation
and some might not be good."
However, the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) fires with
less intensity after prior exertion of self-control. DLPFC is the
part of the brain that manages self-control and says: "I really
want to do the dumb thing, but I should overcome that impulse and
do the smart thing".
Hedgcock said that loss of activity in the DLPFC might be the
person's self-control draining away. The stable activity in the
ACC suggests people have no problem recognising a temptation.
Although they keep fighting, they have a harder and harder time
not giving in.
Researchers gathered their images by placing subjects in an MRI
scanner and then had them perform two self-control tasks-the first
involved ignoring words that flashed on a computer screen, while
the second involved choosing preferred options.
Hedgcock says the study is an important step in trying to
determine a clearer definition of self-control and to figure out
why people do things they know aren't good for them.
One possible implication is crafting better programs to help
people who are trying to break addictions to things like food,
shopping, drugs, or alcohol.
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