Neural correlates of preferred activities: development of an interest-specific go/nogo task.

TitleNeural correlates of preferred activities: development of an interest-specific go/nogo task.
Publication TypeJournal Article
Year of Publication2017
AuthorsBos DJ, Ajodan EL, Silverman MR, Dyke JP, Durston S, Power JD, Jones RM
JournalSoc Cogn Affect Neurosci
Volume12
Issue12
Pagination1890-1901
Date Published2017 12 01
ISSN1749-5024
KeywordsAdolescent, Adult, Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity, Autism Spectrum Disorder, Cognition, Cues, Facial Expression, Female, Frontal Lobe, Hobbies, Humans, Impulsive Behavior, Leisure Activities, Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Male, Neostriatum, Neural Pathways, Neuropsychological Tests, Photic Stimulation, Reproducibility of Results, Young Adult
Abstract

The activities we choose to spend our leisure time with are intrinsically motivating and vary across individuals. Yet it is unknown how impulse control or neural activity changes when processing a preferred stimulus related to a hobby or interest. Developing a task that assesses the response to preferred interests is of importance as it would be relevant to a range of psychiatric disorders that have hyper- or hypo-arousal to such cues. During functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI), 39 healthy adults completed a novel task to test approach behavior and cognitive control to cues that were personalized to the participants' interests compared to stimuli the participants identified as being of non-interest and colored shapes. fMRI results showed that cues of one's interest elicited activation in the anterior insula compared to colored shapes. Interests did not change inhibition compared to non-interests and colored shapes and all stimuli equally engaged a frontostriatal circuit. Together the results suggest that adults were sensitive to their interests but were effective at regulating their impulses towards these cues, a skill that is critical for navigating the temptations and distractions in our daily environment.

DOI10.1093/scan/nsx127
Alternate JournalSoc Cogn Affect Neurosci
PubMed ID29077964
PubMed Central IDPMC5716102
Related Institute: 
MRI Research Institute (MRIRI)

Weill Cornell Medicine
Department of Radiology
525 East 68th Street New York, NY 10065