Moriguchi Yusuke, Shinohara Ikuko, Yanaoka Kaichi
Graduate School of Education, Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan.
Department of Education, Joetsu University of Education, Joetsu, Japan.
Dev Psychobiol. 2018 Dec;60(8):989-998. doi: 10.1002/dev.21791. Epub 2018 Oct 11.
Delay of gratification refers to the ability to forgo a small immediate reward to obtain a larger delayed reward. Cognitive mechanisms underlying the delay of gratification in young children have been examined extensively. However, the neural mechanism of this process is largely unknown. The present study examined whether inferior prefrontal regions play an important role in the delay of gratification choice paradigm in young children. Preschool children were given a choice version of a delay of gratification task, and their neural activation during the task was assessed using near-infrared spectroscopy in cross-sectional (Study 1) and longitudinal designs (Study 2). Results revealed the activation of the right inferior prefrontal regions of children during the task in both studies. Specifically, the inferior prefrontal regions of the children were activated during immediate choices but not during delay choices. This study is the first to demonstrate the neural correlates of the delay of gratification in young children. We discuss how the right inferior prefrontal regions of preschool children are activated during the delay of gratification.
延迟满足是指为了获得更大的延迟奖励而放弃小的即时奖励的能力。幼儿延迟满足背后的认知机制已得到广泛研究。然而，这一过程的神经机制在很大程度上尚不清楚。本研究探讨了前额叶下部区域在幼儿延迟满足选择范式中是否发挥重要作用。研究人员让学龄前儿童完成一个延迟满足任务的选择版本，并在横断面研究（研究1）和纵向研究（研究2）中使用近红外光谱技术评估他们在任务过程中的神经激活情况。结果显示，在两项研究中，儿童在任务过程中右侧前额叶下部区域均被激活。具体而言，儿童的前额叶下部区域在即时选择时被激活，而在延迟选择时未被激活。本研究首次证明了幼儿延迟满足的神经关联。我们讨论了学龄前儿童的右侧前额叶下部区域在延迟满足过程中是如何被激活的。
