Bernhardt, Boris C., Smallwood, Jonathan orcid.org/0000-0002-7298-2459, Tusche, Anita et al. (4 more authors) (2014) Medial prefrontal and anterior cingulate cortical thickness predicts shared individual differences in self-generated thought and temporal discounting. Neuroimage. pp. 290-297. ISSN 1053-8119
Abstract
When deprived of compelling perceptual input, the mind is often occupied with thoughts unrelated to the immediate environment. Previous behavioral research has shown that this self-generated task-unrelated thought (TUT), especially under non-demanding conditions, relates to cognitive capacities such as creativity, planning, and reduced temporal discounting. Despite the frequency and importance of this type of cognition, little is known about its structural brain basis. Using MRI-based cortical thickness measures in 37 participants, we were able to show that individuals with a higher tendency to engage in TUT under low-demanding conditions (but not under high-demanding conditions) show an increased thickness of medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) and anterior/midcingulate cortex. Thickness of these regions also related to less temporal discounting (TD) of monetary rewards in an economic task, indicative of more patient decision-making. The findings of a shared structural substrate in mPFC and anterior/midcingulate cortex underlying both TUT and TD suggest an important role of these brain regions in supporting the self-generation of information that is unrelated to the immediate environment and which may be adaptive in nature.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. This is an author produced version of a paper accepted for publication in NeuroImage. Uploaded in accordance with the publisher's self-archiving policy. |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of York |
Academic Units: | The University of York > Faculty of Sciences (York) > Psychology (York) |
Depositing User: | Pure (York) |
Date Deposited: | 17 Nov 2015 13:20 |
Last Modified: | 16 Oct 2024 12:24 |
Published Version: | https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuroimage.2013.12.040 |
Status: | Published |
Refereed: | Yes |
Identification Number: | 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2013.12.040 |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:91760 |
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