Willbrand Ethan H, Maboudian Samira A, Elliott Matthew V, Kellerman Gabby M, Johnson Sheri L, Weiner Kevin S
Medical Scientist Training Program, School of Medicine and Public Health, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin.
Helen Wills Neuroscience Institute, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, California; Department of Neuroscience, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, California.
Biol Psychiatry Cogn Neurosci Neuroimaging. 2024 Nov 28. doi: 10.1016/j.bpsc.2024.11.015.
Impulsivity is a multidimensional construct reflecting poor constraint over one's behaviors. Clinical psychology research has identified separable impulsivity dimensions that are each unique transdiagnostic indicators for psychopathology. However, despite this apparent clinical importance, the shared and unique neuroanatomical correlates of these factors remain largely unknown. Concomitantly, neuroimaging research has identified variably present human brain structures implicated in cognition and disorder: the folds (sulci) of the cerebral cortex located in the latest-developing and most evolutionarily expanded hominoid-specific association cortices.
We tethered these 2 fields to test whether variability in one such structure in the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC)-the paracingulate sulcus (PCGS)-was related to individual differences in trait impulsivity. A total of 120 adult participants with internalizing or externalizing psychopathology completed a magnetic resonance imaging scan and the Three-Factor Impulsivity Index. Using precision imaging techniques, we manually identified the PCGS, when present, and acquired quantitative folding metrics (PCGS length and ACC local gyrification index).
Neuroanatomical-behavioral analyses revealed that participants with leftward or symmetrical PCGS patterns had greater severity of Lack of Follow Through (LFT)-which captures inattention and lack of perseverance-than those with rightward asymmetry. Neuroanatomical-functional analyses identified that the PCGS colocalized with a focal locus found in a neuroimaging meta-analysis on a feature underlying LFT. Neither quantitative folding metric related to any impulsivity dimension.
This study advances understanding of the neuroanatomical correlates of impulsivity and establishes the notion that the topographical organization of distinct, hominoid-specific cortical expanses underlies separable impulsivity dimensions with robust, transdiagnostic implications for psychopathology.
冲动性是一个多维度的概念，反映了对自身行为的约束不足。临床心理学研究已经确定了可分离的冲动性维度，每个维度都是精神病理学独特的跨诊断指标。然而，尽管这些因素具有明显的临床重要性，但其共同的和独特的神经解剖学相关性在很大程度上仍然未知。与此同时，神经影像学研究已经确定了在认知和疾病中不同程度存在的人类脑结构：位于最晚发育且在进化上扩展最多的类人猿特异性联合皮质中的大脑皮质褶皱（脑沟）。
我们将这两个领域联系起来，以测试前扣带回皮质（ACC）中这样一种结构——旁扣带回沟（PCGS）的变异性是否与特质冲动性的个体差异有关。共有120名患有内化或外化精神病理学的成年参与者完成了磁共振成像扫描和三因素冲动性指数测试。使用精确成像技术，我们在PCGS存在时手动识别它，并获取定量的褶皱指标（PCGS长度和ACC局部脑回指数）。
神经解剖学-行为分析显示，具有向左或对称PCGS模式的参与者比具有向右不对称的参与者在“缺乏坚持性”（LFT）方面的严重程度更高，“缺乏坚持性”反映了注意力不集中和缺乏毅力。神经解剖学-功能分析确定，PCGS与在一项关于LFT潜在特征的神经影像学荟萃分析中发现的一个焦点区域共定位。两个定量褶皱指标均与任何冲动性维度无关。
本研究推进了对冲动性神经解剖学相关性的理解，并确立了这样一种观念，即独特的、类人猿特异性皮质区域的地形组织是可分离的冲动性维度的基础，对精神病理学具有强大的、跨诊断的意义。
