(Press-News.org) Impulsive behaviour can be improved with training and the improvement is marked by specific brain changes, according to a new Queen's University study.
A research team led by neuroscience PhD student Scott Hayton has pinpointed the area of the brain that controls impulsive behavior and the mechanisms that affect how impulsive behavior is learned. The findings could have a significant impact on the diagnosis and treatment of several disorders and addictions, including ADHD and alcoholism.
"In the classroom, kids often blurt out answers before they raise their hand. With time, they learn to hold their tongue and put up their hand until the teacher calls them. We wanted to know how this type of learning occurs in the brain," says Mr. Hayton, a PhD student at the Centre for Neuroscience Studies at Queen's. "Our research basically told us where the memory for this type of inhibition is in the brain, and how it is encoded."
The team trained rats to control impulsive responses until a signal was presented. Electrical signals between cells in the brain's frontal lobe grew stronger as they learned to control their impulses. This showed that impulsivity is represented, in a specific brain region, by a change in communication between neurons.
Impulsivity is often thought of as a personality trait, something that makes one person different from another.
Children who have difficulty learning to control a response often have behavioral problems which continue into adulthood, says Professor Cella Olmstead, the principal investigator on the study. She notes that impulsivity is a primary feature of many disorders including addiction, ADHD, obsessive compulsive disorder and gambling. Identifying the brain region and mechanism that controls impulsivity is a critical step in the diagnosis and treatment of these conditions.
"In conditions where learning does not occur properly, it is possible that it is this mechanism that has been impaired," adds co-investigator neuroscience Professor Eric Dumont.
INFORMATION:
The findings were recently published in The Journal of Neuroscience.
Queen's University researchers locate impulse control center in brain
2010-09-22
ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:
GOES-11 catches quick birth of Tropical Storm Georgette already moving into Baja California
2010-09-22
Tropical Storm Georgette formed pretty quickly and the GOES-11 satellite captured her clouds extending over extreme southern Baja California and western Mexico today. Georgette formed just south of Cabo San Lucas this morning and is headed for a Baja landfall.
The Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite or GOES-11 is stationary in its position in space, watching over the weather in the western U.S. GOES-11 captured an infrared image of Tropical Storm Georgette's rounded cloud cover stretching north into Baja California, Mexico at 13:15 UTC 9:15 a.m. EDT today, ...
NASA infrared imagery sees tropical depression 14 becomes 12th tropical storm: Lisa
2010-09-22
This Atlantic hurricane season has now spawned 14 tropical depressions and 12 of them have strengthened into tropical storms. The latest is now called Tropical Storm Lisa and is in the Eastern Atlantic Ocean. NASA's Aqua satellite flew over Lisa when she was still a low pressure area, but showed a center of circulation and banding of thunderstorms circling it, indicating the storm was getting organized.
The Atmospheric Infrared Sounder (AIRS) instrument that flies aboard NASA's Aqua satellite captured "Lisa" when she was still a low pressure area yesterday, Sept. 20 at ...
Hurricane watches up in Canada as the GOES-13 Satellite sees Hurricane Igor still expanding
2010-09-22
Hurricane Igor may be changing into an extra tropical storm and losing his warm core of energy, but he hasn't lost his punch as hurricane watches are up today in eastern Canada. The GOES-13 satellite captured a look at Hurricane Igor this morning, and noticed the storm continues to grow larger and part of that expansion is likely a result of absorbing Julia's remnants.
The Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite or GOES-13 is stationary in its position in space, watching over the weather in the eastern U.S. GOES-13 captured a visible satellite image of Hurricane ...
High-dose aspirin reduces pain for severe headache and migraine
2010-09-22
An inexpensive, hundred-year-old therapy for pain – aspirin – is effective in high doses for the treatment of severe headache and migraine caused by drug withdrawal, according to a new study by researchers with the UCSF Headache Center. Study participants were administered aspirin through an IV and 25 percent of the time they reported a significant reduction in pain – three points on the 10-point pain scale. (A difference of three points downgrades a headache from severe to moderate, moderate to mild, or from mild to pain-free). Participants reported a more modest pain ...
Research shows child rearing practices of distant ancestors foster morality, compassion in kids
2010-09-22
Ever meet a kindergartener who seemed naturally compassionate and cared about others' feelings? Who was cooperative and didn't demand his own way? Chances are, his parents held, carried and cuddled him a lot; he most likely was breastfed; he probably routinely slept with his parents; and he likely was encouraged to play outdoors with other children, according to new research findings from the University of Notre Dame.
Three new studies led by Notre Dame Psychology Professor Darcia Narvaez show a relationship between child rearing practices common in foraging hunter-gatherer ...
Scientists using lasers to cool and control molecules
2010-09-22
New Haven, Conn.—Ever since audiences heard Goldfinger utter the famous line, "No, Mr. Bond; I expect you to die," as a laser beam inched its way toward James Bond and threatened to cut him in half, lasers have been thought of as white-hot beams of intensely focused energy capable of burning through anything in their path.
Now a team of Yale physicists has used lasers for a completely different purpose, employing them to cool molecules down to temperatures near what's known as absolute zero, about -460 degrees Fahrenheit. Their new method for laser cooling, described ...
Doctor's health habits affect patient counseling
2010-09-22
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- Physician's confidence in their abilities to counsel patients on a healthy diet and exercise may be related to their own personal habits, according to a study by the University of Michigan Cardiovascular Center.
Confidence in counseling depended on a doctor's own exercise time, being overweight, and if the doctor had adequate training in talking to patients about diet and exercise.
The study, published online ahead of print Oct. 1 in Preventive Cardiology, shows doctors' own health habits matter when it comes to patient counseling.
"Living a healthy ...
Neanderthals more advanced than previously thought
2010-09-22
Denver (September 21, 2010) – For decades scientists believed Neanderthals developed `modern' tools and ornaments solely through contact with Homo sapiens, but new research from the University of Colorado Denver now shows these sturdy ancients could adapt, innovate and evolve technology on their own.
The findings by anthropologist Julien Riel-Salvatore challenge a half-century of conventional wisdom maintaining that Neanderthals were thick-skulled, primitive `cavemen' overrun and outcompeted by more advanced modern humans arriving in Europe from Africa.
"Basically, ...
Study offers first explanation of how cells rapidly repair and maintain structure
2010-09-22
SALT LAKE CITY—Researchers at Huntsman Cancer Institute (HCI) at the University of Utah have discovered that a protein, zyxin, is necessary for the maintenance and repair of the cell's cytoskeleton, or internal framework, which serves as the muscle and bone of the cell. The research has implications for cancer, as well as other diseases, since alterations in the cytoskeleton are often associated with disease. The research was published in the Sep. 14, 2010, issue of the journal Developmental Cell.
"Just like people, the cells in our bodies are exposed to all kinds of ...
Freshman weight gain: Women with heavy roommates gain less
2010-09-22
ANN ARBOR, Mich.---A new University of Michigan study finds that college women with roommates who weigh more than average gain less weight during their freshman year than women with slimmer roommates: half a pound versus 2.5 pounds.
That compares to the typical freshman weight gain of 2.5-to-6 pounds---much less than the mythical "Freshman 15."
"This finding seems counterintuitive, but there are some good explanations for why it may be happening," said Kandice Kapinos, an assistant research scientist at the U-M Institute for Social Research.
According to Kapinos, ...