Lee Ka Eun, Elsey Jacob, Hwang Jaewon, Emeric Erik E, Stuphorn Veit
Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Johns Hopkins University; Baltimore, MD 21218-2685, USA.
The Zanvyl Krieger Mind/Brain Institute, Baltimore, MD 21218-2685, USA.
bioRxiv. 2025 Aug 2:2024.02.07.578652. doi: 10.1101/2024.02.07.578652.
Self-control is the capacity to inhibit self-defeating behavior in the face of temptation. The neural basis of self-control remains elusive, due to the difficulty of disentangling self-control from value-based economic choice. To overcome this problem, we designed a novel task for monkeys that allows to identify states of high and low self-control. We found that neurons in the Supplementary Eye Field encode self-control and predict whether and when monkeys give in to temptation. This neuronal activity was present early in the trial, even preceding presentation of choice options. Our findings suggest that Supplementary Eye Field is part of a neuronal circuit exerting proactive self-control, which is crucial for selecting and maintaining the pursuit of costly goals that are beneficial in the long run.
自我控制是指在面对诱惑时抑制自我挫败行为的能力。由于难以将自我控制与基于价值的经济选择区分开来，自我控制的神经基础仍然难以捉摸。为了克服这个问题，我们为猴子设计了一项新颖的任务，该任务能够识别自我控制程度高和低的状态。我们发现，辅助眼区的神经元编码自我控制，并预测猴子是否以及何时会屈服于诱惑。这种神经元活动在试验早期就出现了，甚至在选择选项出现之前。我们的研究结果表明，辅助眼区是一个发挥主动自我控制作用的神经回路的一部分，这对于选择和维持对长远有益但代价高昂的目标的追求至关重要。
