Acute Stress Impairs Self-Control in Goal-Directed Choice by Altering Multiple Functional Connections within the Brain’s Decision Circuits

• Published in: Neuron (Cambridge, Mass.) Mass.), 2015-08, Vol.87 (3), p.621-631
• Main Authors: Maier, Silvia U., Makwana, Aidan B., Hare, Todd A.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Anxiety; Behavior; Brain - metabolism; Brain research; Choice Behavior - physiology; Decision making; Decision Making - physiology; Exercise; Food; Goals; Humans; Hypotheses; Inventory; Magnetic Resonance Imaging - methods; Male; Nerve Net - metabolism; Neural Pathways - physiology; Neurosciences; Photic Stimulation - methods; Rodents; Self control; Stress; Stress, Psychological - metabolism; Stress, Psychological - psychology; Time Factors; Young Adult
• ISSN: 0896-6273; 1097-4199
• DOI: 10.1016/j.neuron.2015.07.005

Important decisions are often made under stressful circumstances that might compromise self-regulatory behavior. Yet the neural mechanisms by which stress influences self-control choices are unclear. We investigated these mechanisms in human participants who faced self-control dilemmas over food reward while undergoing fMRI following stress. We found that stress increased the influence of immediately rewarding taste attributes on choice and reduced self-control. This choice pattern was accompanied by increased functional connectivity between ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC) and amygdala and striatal regions encoding tastiness. Furthermore, stress was associated with reduced connectivity between the vmPFC and dorsolateral prefrontal cortex regions linked to self-control success. Notably, alterations in connectivity pathways could be dissociated by their differential relationships with cortisol and perceived stress. Our results indicate that stress may compromise self-control decisions by both enhancing the impact of immediately rewarding attributes and reducing the efficacy of regions promoting behaviors that are consistent with long-term goals. •Immediately rewarding attributes have more influence on decisions following stress•Stress increases immediate reward signaling in amygdala and striatum during choice•Cortisol and perceived stress have dissociable effects on decision networks Maier et al. demonstrate that, following stress, cortisol and perceived stress levels are specifically associated with effects on pathways that signal reward value and goal compatibility of choice options, respectively. Stronger immediate reward and reduced goal maintenance signaling combine to impair self-control.