Brain regions found where serotonin boosts patience, impulse control.

ISLAMABAD -- New research suggests that two areas of the brain work together in response to serotonin to promote the ability to wait patiently and practice impulse control.

This finding may aid the development of targeted treatments for individuals who are less able to suppress impulsive and impatient behavior.

As the saying goes, 'Patience is considered a virtue.' However, for some people, this attribute is challenging to manage, causing issues with relationships, employment, finances, and educational pursuits.

Well- documented research already exists on the relationship between serotonin - a neurochemical responsible for feelings of well-being - and social and emotional behaviors, including impulsivity.

For instance, one study on mice, which the Columbia University Irving Medical Center and NewYork State Psychiatric Institute conducted, showed a possible link between a lack of serotonin receptors in the brain and impulsive behavior.

As experts do not fully understand the neurological process for regulating patience and impulse control, the researchers behind the new study aimed to look into how serotonin acts on specific regions of the brain to regulate the ability to wait for a desired reward.

The Neural Computation Unit at the Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology Graduate University (OIST) ran the study.

In the study, the researchers focused on three regions of the brain: a brain structure called the nucleus accumbens (NAc), regions of the frontal lobe called the orbit frontal cortex (OFC), and the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC).

The team chose these brain areas because research shows that damage to them leads to an increase in impulsive behaviors.

'Impulse behaviors are intrinsically linked to patience -- the more impulsive an individual is...