Goal-Dependent Hippocampal Representations Facilitate Self-Control

J Neurosci. 2023 Nov 15;43(46):7822-7830. doi: 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.0951-22.2023. Epub 2023 Sep 15.

Abstract

Hippocampal activity linking past experiences and simulations of the future with current goals can play an important role in decision-making. The representation of information within the hippocampus may be especially critical in situations where one needs to overcome past rewarding experiences and exert self-control. Self-control success or failure may depend on how information is represented in the hippocampus and how effectively the representation process can be modified to achieve a specific goal. We test this hypothesis using representational similarity analyses of human (female/male) neuroimaging data during a dietary self-control task in which individuals must overcome taste temptations to choose healthy foods. We find that self-control is indeed associated with the way individuals represent taste information (valance) in the hippocampus and how taste representations there adapt to align with different goals/contexts. Importantly, individuals who were able to shift their hippocampal representations to a larger degree to align with the current motivation were better able to exert self-control when facing a dietary challenge. These results suggest an alternative or complementary neurobiological pathway leading to self-control success and indicate the need to update the classical view of self-control to continue to advance our understanding of its behavioral and neural underpinnings.SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT The paper provides a new perspective on what leads to successful self-control at the behavioral and neurobiological levels. Our data suggest that self-control is enhanced when individuals adjust hippocampal processing to align with current goals.

Keywords: brain imaging; decision making; memory; multivariate RSA; self-control.

Publication types

  • Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S.
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Female
  • Goals
  • Hippocampus
  • Humans
  • Magnetic Resonance Imaging / methods
  • Male
  • Motivation*
  • Self-Control*