Abstract
Impulsiveness is a central human personality trait and of high relevance for the development of several mental disorders. Impulsiveness is a multidimensional construct, yet little is known about dimension-specific neural correlates. Here, we address the question whether motor, attentional and non-planning components, as measured by the Barratt Impulsiveness Scale (BIS-11), are associated with distinct or overlapping neural network activity. In this study, we investigated brain activity at rest and its relationship to distinct dimensions of impulsiveness in 30 healthy young adults (m/f = 13/17; age mean/SD = 26.4/2.6 years) using resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging at 3T. A spatial independent component analysis and a multivariate model selection strategy were used to identify systems loading on distinct impulsivity domains. We first identified eight networks for which we had a-priori hypotheses. These networks included basal ganglia, cortical motor, cingulate and lateral prefrontal systems. From the eight networks, three were associated with impulsiveness measures (p < 0.05, FDR corrected). There were significant relationships between right frontoparietal network function and all three BIS domains. Striatal and midcingulate network activity was associated with motor impulsiveness only. Within the networks regionally confined effects of age and gender were found. These data suggest distinct and overlapping patterns of neural activity underlying specific dimensions of impulsiveness. Motor impulsiveness appears to be specifically related to striatal and midcingulate network activity, in contrast to a domain-unspecific right frontoparietal system. Effects of age and gender have to be considered in young healthy samples.
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We are grateful to all the participants and their families for their time and interest in this study.
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10548_2017_604_MOESM2_ESM.tif
Supplementary Figure 1. Spatiotemporal patterns of eight resting-state networks chosen for further multivariate analyses to investigate neural systems loadings on distinct domains of impulsiveness, as provided by the BIS-11 scale. The figures displays independent components (ICs) and their corresponding time courses, as identified by the group ICA. The color bars indicate Z-values, IC’s are thresholded above Z = 3.5. (TIF 13463 KB)
10548_2017_604_MOESM3_ESM.tif
Supplementary Figure 2. Univariate tests showing regional effects of age and gender over all resting-state networks, displayed as −sign(t)log10(p). Stereotaxic coordinates and Z-scores are provided in Table 1, supplementary data. Effects were considered significant at p < 0.01, uncorrected. The panels show bar plots of average beta-values for age and gender terms, respectively. Beta-values were averaged over significant clusters showing the same directionality. The color of the bar is proportional to the fraction of voxels within components that contribute to each of the effects. (TIF 102 KB)
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Kubera, K.M., Hirjak, D., Wolf, N.D. et al. Intrinsic Network Connectivity Patterns Underlying Specific Dimensions of Impulsiveness in Healthy Young Adults. Brain Topogr 31, 477–487 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10548-017-0604-9
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10548-017-0604-9