Citation

Kelley WM, Wagner DD, Heatherton TF. Annu. Rev. Neurosci. 2015; 38: 389-411.

Affiliation

Department of Psychology and Brain Sciences, Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH 03755; email: william.kelley@dartmouth.edu.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2015, Annual Reviews)

DOI

10.1146/annurev-neuro-071013-014243

PMID

25938728

Abstract

The capacity for self-regulation allows people to control their thoughts, behaviors, emotions, and desires. In spite of this impressive ability, failures of self-regulation are common and contribute to numerous societal problems, from obesity to drug addiction. Such failures frequently occur following exposure to highly tempting cues, during negative moods, or after self-regulatory resources have been depleted. Here we review the available neuroscientific evidence regarding self-regulation and its failures. At its core, self-regulation involves a critical balance between the strength of an impulse and an individual's ability to inhibit the desired behavior. Although neuroimaging and patient studies provide consistent evidence regarding the reward aspects of impulses and desires, the neural mechanisms that underlie the capacity for control have eluded consensus, with various executive control regions implicated in different studies. We outline the necessary properties for a self-regulation control system and suggest that the use of resting-state functional connectivity analyses may be useful for understanding how people regulate their behavior and why they sometimes fail in their attempts. Expected final online publication date for the Annual Review of Neuroscience Volume 38 is July 08, 2015. Please see http://www.annualreviews.org/catalog/pubdates.aspx for revised estimates.

Language: en