Right ventromedial prefrontal cortex: a neuroanatomical correlate of impulse control in boys

Abstract

Emerging data on the neural mechanisms of impulse control highlight brain regions involved in emotion and decision making, including the ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC), anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) and amygdala. Variation in the development of these regions may influence one's propensity for impulsivity and, by extension, one's vulnerability to disorders involving low impulse control (e.g. substance abuse). Here we test the hypothesis that lower impulse control is associated with structural differences in these regions, particularly on the right side, in 61 normal healthy boys aged 7-17. We assessed parent- and teacher-reported behavioral ratings of impulse control (motor impulsivity and non-planning behavior) in relation to vmPFC, ACC and amygdala volume, measured using structural magnetic resonance imaging and FreeSurfer. A regression analysis showed that the right vmPFC was a significant predictor of impulse control ratings. Follow-up tests showed (i) a significant correlation between low impulse control and decreased right vmPFC volume, especially the medial sector of the vmPFC and (ii) significantly lower right vmPFC volume in a subgroup of 20 impulsive boys relative to 20 non-impulsive boys. These results are consistent with the notion that right vmPFC provides a neuroanatomical correlate of the normal variance in impulse control observed in boys.

Fig. 1

This figure shows a medial (left) and ventral (right) view of the cerebral cortex demonstrating the regions of interest for the current study. The ventromedial prefrontal cortex is outlined in light blue and contains the mOFC in red and lOFC in dark green, according to the FreeSurfer terminology (also see description in ‘Materials and methods’ section). The anterior cingulate cortex is outlined in yellow and is composed of the rostral anterior cingulate (dark purple) and caudal anterior cingulate (light purple). The corpus callosum (in gray) was generated manually and included to illustrate a relevant landmark. The amygdala is shown in blue on a coronal image.