The functional connectivity between the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex and the medial prefrontal cortex underlying the association between self-control and delay discounting.

Abstract

Delay discounting is the tendency for people to devalue future rewards as the time required to obtain them increases over time. Self-control is the ability to regulate behavior, emotions and cognition to achieve goals or adhere to social norms despite temptations, impulses or distractions. Previous studies have found that self-control was negatively correlated with delay discounting. However, the neural mechanism underlying the relationship between self-control and delay discounting remains unclear. To address this question, we examined the neural basis of the relationship between self-control and delay discounting using voxel-based morphometry(VBM) and resting-state functional connectivity analysis(RSFC). The behavioral results demonstrated a negative correlation between delay discounting and self-control. Furthermore, the voxel-based morphometry results showed a positive correlation between self-control and gray matter volume in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex(dlPFC). Moreover, self-control was positively correlated with functional connectivity between the medial prefrontal cortex(mPFC) and the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex. More importantly, the association between self-control and delay discounting was shown to be partially mediated by the functional connectivity between the dlPFC and mPFC. These findings suggested that dlPFC-mPFC functional connectivity could be the neural basis underlying the association between self-control and delay discounting, which provided novel insights into how self-control affected delay discounting and offered new explanations from a neural perspective.