Impulsive behaviour linked to brain connectivity

In what could help better understand behavioural problems and social adaptation difficulties in children, researchers have found that patterns of brain connectivity are linked with impulsive behaviour.

"We can confirm that the greater the level of impulsiveness in the children, the greater the alteration in the connections between the posterior cingulate cortex and the right angular gyrus, which is also observed in people with anti-social behaviour, and other cerebral areas that are usually activated when performing given cognitive tasks," said Luis Fuentes from the University of Murcia in Spain.

"Impulsiveness is a risk factor for the development of serious behavioural problems," Fuentes noted.

For the study, the experts asked a group of parents to respond to a series of questions related to their children's impulsive behaviour.

With their responses, the 24 children in the sample were classified according to their levels of impulsive behaviour.

Then, through neuroimaging techniques, the experts studied their patterns of brain connectivity. With this information, they analysed the patterns to see if they were related to the level of impulsiveness that the parents had noticed in their children.

Impulsiveness is a personality trait that is associated with difficulties in inhibiting a response in the face of a stimulus, leading to unplanned actions without considering the negative consequences.

The study appeared in the journal Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience.