Cognitive neuroscience of self-regulation failure

Self-regulatory failure is a core feature of many social and mental health problems. Self-regulation can be undermined by failures to transcend overwhelming temptations, negative moods and resource depletion, and when minor lapses in self-control snowball into self-regulatory collapse. Cognitive neu...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Trends in cognitive sciences 2011-03, Vol.15 (3), p.132-139
Main Authors: Heatherton, Todd F, Wagner, Dylan D
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Anatomical correlates of behavior
Attitude
Behavioral psychophysiology
Biological and medical sciences
Brain Mapping
Cognition - physiology
Cognition. Intelligence
Cues
Diagnostic Imaging
Emotions - physiology
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
Humans
Miscellaneous
Models, Biological
Neurology
Neurosciences
Prefrontal Cortex - anatomy & histology
Prefrontal Cortex - physiology
Prejudice
Psychiatry
Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry
Psychology. Psychophysiology
Social Behavior
Social Control, Informal
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Self-regulatory failure is a core feature of many social and mental health problems. Self-regulation can be undermined by failures to transcend overwhelming temptations, negative moods and resource depletion, and when minor lapses in self-control snowball into self-regulatory collapse. Cognitive neuroscience research suggests that successful self-regulation is dependent on top-down control from the prefrontal cortex over subcortical regions involved in reward and emotion. We highlight recent neuroimaging research on self-regulatory failure, the findings of which support a balance model of self-regulation whereby self-regulatory failure occurs whenever the balance is tipped in favor of subcortical areas, either due to particularly strong impulses or when prefrontal function itself is impaired. Such a model is consistent with recent findings in the cognitive neuroscience of addictive behavior, emotion regulation and decision-making.
ISSN:1364-6613
1879-307X
DOI:10.1016/j.tics.2010.12.005