Dipartimento di Psicologia, Università di Bologna, 40127 Bologna, Italy.
Rev Neurosci. 2011;22(5):565-74. doi: 10.1515/RNS.2011.046.
People are frequently faced with intertemporal choices, i.e., choices differing in the timing of their consequences, preferring smaller rewards available immediately over larger rewards delivered after a delay. The inability to forgo sooner gratification to favor delayed reward (e.g., impulsivity) has been related to several pathological conditions characterized by poor self-control, including drug addiction and obesity. Comparative and functional human studies have implicated a network of brain areas involved in intertemporal choice, including the medial portion of the orbitofrontal cortex (mOFC). Moreover, damage to this cortical area increases preference for immediate gratification in intertemporal decisions. Here, we review recent neuroscientific studies concerning intertemporal choice, suggesting that the mOFC contributes to preference for delayed rewards, either by computing the value of future outcomes (i.e., valuation), or by enabling people to imagine and represent future rewards and their consequences (e.g., prospection).
人们经常面临跨期选择，即选择结果在时间上有所不同，他们更喜欢立即获得较小的奖励，而不是延迟获得较大的奖励。无法放弃即时满足而倾向于延迟奖励（例如，冲动）与几种以自我控制能力差为特征的病理状况有关，包括药物成瘾和肥胖。比较和功能性人类研究表明，涉及跨期选择的大脑区域网络包括眶额皮质的内侧部分（mOFC）。此外，该皮质区域的损伤会增加对跨期决策中即时满足的偏好。在这里，我们回顾了最近关于跨期选择的神经科学研究，表明 mOFC 通过计算未来结果的价值（即估值），或者通过使人们能够想象和代表未来的奖励及其后果（例如，预期），有助于对延迟奖励的偏好。
