Gaining Control: Neural Basis of Proactive Inhibition

Abstract

The goal of this thesis was to investigate the neural underpinnings of proactive inhibition. Via a number of separate experiments, the key regions associated with this process have been identified. Furthermore, functional aspects of these regions have been linked to processes in daily life. These results add new insights on when we view a brain as fully matured, and how we deal with the trajectory leading up to adulthood. It has long been known that the regions of the brain dealing with impulse control, inhibition and learning do not fully develop in parallel. We have found indications in the brain that this imbalance may, for example, lead to an excess of risk-seeking behaviors we associate with adolescence. In this thesis a focus was put on brain activity during specific tasks. What may shed new light on these processes in the future is the ability to combine these findings together with a large amount of data from different modalities, to understand why some children experience more problems growing up than others into adulthood. Most importantly, the human brain is not a detached entity that can be fully understood in isolation. The increasing amount of data available allows us to investigate how individual factors, environmental processes, and their intricate interplay shape who we are.