Neuroanatomical foundations of delayed reward discounting decision making

Owens, Max M.; Gray, Joshua C.; Amlung, Michael; Oshri, Assaf; Sweet, Lawrence H.; MacKillop, James

doi:10.1016/j.neuroimage.2017.08.045

Cited by 74 publications

(75 citation statements)

References 59 publications

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“…Another contribution of the current study is linking neural correlates of memory with temporal discounting. Structural integrity in the MTL has previously been associated with temporal discounting in adolescents (Pehlivanova et al, 2018) and young and middle-aged adults (Owens et al, 2017). Here we found in older adults, who are more likely to have atrophy in MTL, that entorhinal cortical thickness was associated with temporal discounting.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 61%

“…Perhaps surprisingly, hippocampal volume was not associated with temporal discounting, despite the importance of this region for the formation of context-rich episodic memories. The entorhinal cortex, however, was the region that was associated with temporal discounting in one previous study (Owens et al, 2017). It is also one of the earliest deposition sites for the neurofibrillary tangle pathology associated with aging and Alzheimer's Disease (Braak and Braak, 1991).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 85%

“…In younger adults, MTL gray matter volume (Owens et al, 2017;Pehlivanova et al, 2018) and white matter integrity (Olson et al, 2009;Yu, 2012) significantly predict temporal discounting rates. However, this association has not been examined in older adults.…”

Section: Significance Statementmentioning

confidence: 95%

“…However, a clear association between declarative memory abilities and temporal discounting across individualshas not yet been established. Here we related performance on a composite measure of declarative memory -including measures of episodic retrieval and semantic fluency -to temporal discounting.In younger adults, MTL gray matter volume (Owens et al, 2017;Pehlivanova et al, 2018) and white matter integrity (Olson et al, 2009;Yu, 2012) significantly predict temporal discounting rates. However, this association has not been examined in older adults.…”

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confidence: 95%

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Neural and behavioral correlates of episodic memory are associated with temporal discounting in older adults

Lempert

Mechanic‐Hamilton

Xie

et al. 2019

Preprint

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When facing intertemporal choices, or decisions involving trade-offs between smaller, sooner and larger, delayed rewards, people tend to discount the value of future rewards. There are substantial individual differences in this tendency toward temporal discounting, however.The neurocognitive mechanisms underlying these individual differences remain unclear. One possibility is that individual differences in declarative memory ability underlie individual differences in temporal discounting. Here we tested this hypothesis in older adults (both cognitively normal and with mild cognitive impairment), given that declarative memory declines with age, at rates that vary across individuals. We related temporal discounting to performance on neuropsychological measures of declarative memory, as well as to structural measures of medial temporal lobe regions that are critical for memory. Performance on episodic and semantic memory retrieval tasks was associated with temporal discounting, such that people with better declarative memory discounted delayed rewards less. This relationship held even when controlling for executive function abilities that might influence memory retrieval. Underlining the specificity of this association, performance on measures of executive function (Trail Making Test, Digit Span Backwards, lexical fluency) was unrelated to temporal discounting, and declarative memory ability was unrelated to risk preferences. Finally, cortical thickness in the entorhinal cortex was associated with reduced temporal discounting, with declarative memory ability partially mediating this association. These findings suggest that individual differences in temporal discounting are primarily driven by memory ability, and not executive function, and that a decline in medial temporal lobe structural integrity with aging may impact time preferences. Significance statementDespite the large body of literature supporting the role of both declarative memory and executive function in choices between immediate and delayed rewards (intertemporal choices), no study has examined which of these neurocognitive mechanisms underlies individual differences in the tendency to discount future rewards (temporal discounting). This has been challenging given the limited variability in, and high correlation between, these abilities in young adults. Here we show that older adults with better declarative memory discount delayed rewards less, even when controlling for executive function. Moreover, cortical thickness in entorhinal cortex, a region integral to memory processes, is also associated with temporal discounting. This knowledge will aid in the development of interventions to increase patience, especially as memory declines with aging. decrease temporal discounting in young adults (Peters and Büchel, 2010;Benoit et al., 2011;Lempert et al., 2017). The critical memory processes may not be specific to episodic memory, since individuals with semantic dementia, a disorder characterized by a loss of semantic memory, show increased temporal discount...

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 61%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 85%

Section: Significance Statementmentioning

confidence: 95%

mentioning

confidence: 95%

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Neural and behavioral correlates of episodic memory are associated with temporal discounting in older adults

Lempert

Mechanic‐Hamilton

Xie

et al. 2019

Preprint

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“…A secondary, exploratory aim of this study was to examine, in a subset of participants who had structural neuroimaging data, how different categories of autobiographical details, as well as temporal discounting, are associated with the structure of different subregions of the medial temporal lobe (MTL). We were especially interested in interrelationships between entorhinal cortex (ERC) thickness, autobiographical details, and temporal discounting, since ERC thickness is correlated with temporal discounting 31,56 . The extent to which ERC thickness is associated with perception-based vs. gist-based details may reveal how ERC contributes to more patient choice.…”

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confidence: 99%

Links between autobiographical memory richness and temporal discounting in older adults

Lempert¹,

MacNear²,

Wolk³

et al. 2020

Sci Rep

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When making choices between smaller, sooner rewards and larger, later ones, people tend to discount future outcomes. Individual differences in temporal discounting in older adults have been associated with episodic memory abilities and entorhinal cortical thickness. the cause of this association between better memory and more future-oriented choice remains unclear, however. one possibility is that people with perceptually richer recollections are more patient because they also imagine the future more vividly. Alternatively, perhaps people whose memories focus more on the meaning of events (i.e., are more "gist-based") show reduced temporal discounting, since imagining the future depends on interactions between semantic and episodic memory. We examined which categories of episodic details-perception-based or gist-based-are associated with temporal discounting in older adults. older adults whose autobiographical memories were richer in perception-based details showed reduced temporal discounting. furthermore, in an exploratory neuroanatomical analysis, both discount rates and perception-based details correlated with entorhinal cortical thickness. Retrieving autobiographical memories before choice did not affect temporal discounting, however, suggesting that activating episodic memory circuitry at the time of choice is insufficient to alter discounting in older adults. These findings elucidate the role of episodic memory in decision making, which will inform interventions to nudge intertemporal choices. Throughout our lives, we face many intertemporal choices that involve trade-offs between smaller, immediate gains and larger, long-term benefits 1. For example, an individual may have to decide whether or not it is worth paying a fee to withdraw retirement funds early. People generally tend to prefer immediate rewards to delayed ones, and they discount the value of delayed rewards to a greater extent as the delay to receiving them increases. This tendency towards temporal discounting is nearly universal, but the rate at which people discount future rewards varies widely 2,3. Steep temporal discounting, or overvaluing the present at one's long-term expense, is associated with risky behaviors such as alcohol use 4 , gambling 5 , smoking 6,7 , and excessive credit card borrowing 8. Given the substantial negative impact of steep temporal discounting, it is important to understand the neurocognitive mechanisms that underlie intertemporal choices, and to use this knowledge to develop interventions that could reduce impatience. The literature on the neural correlates of temporal discounting points to the involvement of valuation regions 9-11 , executive control regions 12-15 and episodic memory regions 16,17 in this choice process. It remains unclear, however, which of these neurocognitive systems underlies individual differences in the tendency to discount future rewards. One neurocognitive system that may support future-oriented intertemporal choices is episodic memory, or context-rich memory for autobiographical events 1...

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Brain gray matter structures associated with trait impulsivity: A systematic review and voxel‐based meta‐analysis

Pan

Wang

Zhao

et al. 2021

Human Brain Mapping

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Trait impulsivity is a multifaceted personality characteristic that contributes to maladaptive life outcomes. Although a growing body of neuroimaging studies have investigated the structural correlates of trait impulsivity, the findings remain highly inconsistent and heterogeneous. Herein, we performed a systematic review to depict an integrated delineation of gray matter (GM) substrates of trait impulsivity and a meta‐analysis to examine concurrence across previous whole‐brain voxel‐based morphometry studies. The systematic review summarized the diverse findings in GM morphometry in the past literature, and the quantitative meta‐analysis revealed impulsivity‐related volumetric GM alterations in prefrontal, temporal, and parietal cortices. In addition, we identified the modulatory effects of age and gender in impulsivity‐GM volume associations. The present study advances understanding of brain GM morphometry features underlying trait impulsivity. The findings may have practical implications in the clinical diagnosis of and intervention for impulsivity‐related disorders.

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Neuroanatomical foundations of delayed reward discounting decision making

Cited by 74 publications

References 59 publications

Neural and behavioral correlates of episodic memory are associated with temporal discounting in older adults

Neural and behavioral correlates of episodic memory are associated with temporal discounting in older adults

Links between autobiographical memory richness and temporal discounting in older adults

Brain gray matter structures associated with trait impulsivity: A systematic review and voxel‐based meta‐analysis

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