title: Frontostriatal White Matter Integrity Predicts Development of Delay of Gratification: A Longitudinal Study.
abstract: The ability to delay gratification increases considerably across development. Here, we test the hypothesis that this impulse control capacity is driven by increased maturation of frontostriatal circuitry using a fiber-tracking approach combined with longitudinal imaging. In total, 192 healthy volunteers between 8 and 26 years underwent diffusion tensor imaging scanning and completed a delay-discounting task twice, separated by a 2-year interval. We investigated dynamic associations between frontostriatal white matter (WM) integrity and delay of gratification skills. Moreover, we examined the predictive value of frontostriatal WM integrity for future delay of gratification skills. Results showed that delay discounting increases with age in a quadratic fashion, with greatest patience during late adolescence. Data also indicated nonlinear development of frontostriatal WM, with relative fast development during childhood and early adulthood and--on average--little change during mid-adolescence. Furthermore, the positive association between age and delay discounting was further increased in individuals with higher WM integrity of the frontostriatal tracts. Predictive analysis showed that frontostriatal WM development explained unique variance in current and future delay of gratification skills. This study adds to a descriptive relation between WM integrity and delay of gratification by showing that maturation of frontostriatal connectivity predicts changes in delay of gratification skills. These findings have implications for studies examining deviances in impulse control by showing that the developmental path between striatum and prefrontal cortex may be an important predictor for when development goes astray.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  During the transition from childhood to adulthood, individuals generally show increased patience and become better in delaying gratification. The exact neural correlates of delay of gratification, however, remain poorly understood. By measuring both frontostriatal white matter (WM) integrity and delay of gratification skills at two time points, we were able to provide links for our understanding of the neural mechanisms underlying this type of impulse regulation capacity. We demonstrate that the ability to delay gratification improves between childhood and young adulthood and this improvement is predicted by the integrity of frontostriatal WM connections. This study adds to a descriptive relation between WM quality and delay of gratification by showing that maturation of frontostriatal connectivity predicts improvements in delay of gratification skills.
authors: Institute of Psychology, Brain and Development Laboratory, and Leiden Consortium on Individual Development, Leiden University, Leiden 2333 AK, The Netherlands, Leiden Institute for Brain and Cognition, Leiden 2333 AK, The Netherlands.
authors: Michelle
authors: M
authors: Achterberg
authors: Institute of Psychology, Brain and Development Laboratory, and Leiden Institute for Brain and Cognition, Leiden 2333 AK, The Netherlands, J.S.Peper@fsw.leidenuniv.nl.
authors: Jiska S
authors: http://orcid.org/0000-0002-3627-5343
authors: JS
authors: Peper
authors: Institute of Psychology, Brain and Development Laboratory, and Leiden Institute for Brain and Cognition, Leiden 2333 AK, The Netherlands.
authors: Anna C K
authors: AC
authors: van Duijvenvoorde
authors: Brain Center Rudolf Magnus, University Medical Center Utrecht, Utrecht 3584 CX, The Netherlands, and Center for Neuropsychiatric Schizophrenia Research, Psychiatric Center Glostrup, Glostrup DK-2600, Denmark.
authors: René C W
authors: RC
authors: Mandl
authors: Institute of Psychology, Brain and Development Laboratory, and Leiden Consortium on Individual Development, Leiden University, Leiden 2333 AK, The Netherlands, Leiden Institute for Brain and Cognition, Leiden 2333 AK, The Netherlands.
authors: Eveline A
authors: EA
authors: Crone
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000375:Aging / Q000523:psychology; D002648:Child; D065786:Delay Discounting / Q000502:physiology*; D056324:Diffusion Tensor Imaging; D005260:Female; D005625:Frontal Lobe / Q000254:growth & development* / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D017072:Neostriatum / Q000254:growth & development* / Q000502:physiology*; D009415:Nerve Net / Q000254:growth & development / Q000502:physiology; D017711:Nonlinear Dynamics; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D012201:Reward; D014888:Wechsler Scales; D066127:White Matter / Q000254:growth & development* / Q000502:physiology*; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: adolescence; development; impulsivity; longitudinal; white matter