Cited by 79Neural and Behavioral Psychology StudiesDecision-Making and Behavioral EconomicsNeurotransmitter Receptor Influence on Behavior

Diminished Cortical Thickness Is Associated with Impulsive Choice in Adolescence

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Pehlivanova, Marieta, Wolf, Daniel H., Sotiras, Aristeidis, Kaczkurkin, Antonia N., Moore, Tyler M., Ciric, Rastko, Cook, Philip A., Garcia de La Garza, Angel +10 more·2018·The Journal of Neuroscience

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Abstract

Adolescence is characterized by both maturation of brain structure and increased risk of negative outcomes from behaviors associated with impulsive decision-making. One important index of impulsive choice is delay discounting (DD), which measures the tendency to prefer smaller rewards available soon over larger rewards delivered after a delay. However, it remains largely unknown how individual differences in structural brain development may be associated with impulsive choice during adolescence. Leveraging a unique large sample of 427 human youths (208 males and 219 females) imaged as part of the Philadelphia Neurodevelopmental Cohort, we examined associations between delay discounting and cortical thickness within structural covariance networks. These structural networks were derived using non-negative matrix factorization, an advanced multivariate technique for dimensionality reduction, and analyzed using generalized additive models with penalized splines to capture both linear and nonlinear developmental effects. We found that impulsive choice, as measured by greater discounting, was most strongly associated with diminished cortical thickness in structural brain networks that encompassed the ventromedial prefrontal cortex, orbitofrontal cortex, temporal pole, and temporoparietal junction. Furthermore, structural brain networks predicted DD above and beyond cognitive performance. Together, these results suggest that reduced cortical thickness in regions known to be involved in value-based decision-making is a marker of impulsive choice during the critical period of adolescence. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT Risky behaviors during adolescence, such as initiation of substance use or reckless driving, are a major source of morbidity and mortality. In this study, we present evidence from a large sample of youths that diminished cortical thickness in specific structural brain networks is associated with impulsive choice. Notably, the strongest association between impulsive choice and brain structure was seen in regions implicated in value-based decision-making; namely, the ventromedial prefrontal and orbitofrontal cortices. Moving forward, such neuroanatomical markers of impulsivity may aid in the development of personalized interventions targeted to reduce risk of negative outcomes resulting from impulsivity during adolescence.

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  1. Mazur JE (1987) An adjusting procedure for studying delayed reinforce- ment. In: Quantitative analyses of behavior, Vol. 5: the effect of delay and of intervening events on reinforcement value (Commons ML, Mazur JE, Nevin JA, eds) pp 55-73. Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
  2. Rosen A, Roalf DR, Ruparel K, Blake J, Seelaus K, Villa LP, Ciric R, Cook PA, Davatzikos C, Elliott MA, Garcia De La Garza A, Gennatas ED, Quarmley M, Schmitt JE, Shionhara RT, Tisdall MD, Craddock RC, Gur RE, Gur RC, Satterthwaite TD (2017) CrossRef Medline · DOI

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Authors
Pehlivanova, M., Wolf, D. H., Sotiras, A., Kaczkurkin, A. N., Moore, T. M., Ciric, R., Cook, P. A., Garcia de La Garza, A., Rosen, A. F. G., Ruparel, K., Sharma, A., Shinohara, R. T., Roalf, D. R., Gur, R. C., Davatzikos, C., Gur, R. E., Kable, J. W., & Satterthwaite, T. D.
Affiliations
University of Pennsylvania (US)
Venue
The Journal of Neuroscience
Published
2018-02-12
Volume
38
Issue
10
Pages
2471-2481
ISSN
  • 0270-6474 (ISSN-L)
  • 1529-2401
OpenAlex
W2773525895
Cited by
79
References
75
Citations by year
2026: 9 · 2025: 6 · 2024: 10 · 2023: 18 · 2022: 10 · 2021: 7 · 2020: 11 · 2019: 5 · 2018: 3
FWCI
3.86
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • Journal of Neuroscience (publishedVersion, other-oa)
  • bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory) (acceptedVersion, cc-by-nc-nd)
  • Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
Funders
  • Children's Hospital of Philadelphia
  • University of Pennsylvania (AG014971, MH089983, RF1-AG054409, MH089924, R01NS085211)
  • University of Pennsylvania Health System
  • National Institutes of Health (5r01mh107235-03)
  • National Institute on Aging (R01AG021910, R01AG014971, P50AG005681, P01AG003991, RF1AG054409)
  • National Institute of Mental Health (RC2MH089983, P20MH071616, P50MH096891, R01-MH-107235, MH089983, P50MH071616, R01MH112070, AG014971, R01MH101111, K01MH102609, MH089924, RC2MH089924, MH098899, R01MH107703, R01MH098899, MH071616)
  • National Institute on Drug Abuse (R01DA029149)
  • National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (R01NS085211)
  • National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering (R01EB022573)
  • National Center for Research Resources (U24RR021382)
Topics
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Neural and Behavioral Psychology Studies
  • Social Sciences › Decision Sciences › General Decision Sciences › Decision-Making and Behavioral Economics
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience › Neurotransmitter Receptor Influence on Behavior
Keywords
impulsive choice, delay discounting, cortical thickness, adolescence, structural brain networks, ventromedial prefrontal cortex, orbitofrontal cortex, temporal pole, temporoparietal junction, value-based decision making, brain development, Philadelphia Neurodevelopmental Cohort, impulsivity, risk-taking
MeSH terms
Adolescent, Adolescent Behavior, Cerebral Cortex, Child, Cognition, Decision Making, Female, Humans, Image Processing, Computer-Assisted, Impulsive Behavior, Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Male, Nerve Net, Neuropsychological Tests, Psychomotor Performance, Reward, Prefrontal Cortex, Young Adult, Delay Discounting

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