This Article Full Text (PDF) References Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Add to Saved Citations Download to citation manager Request Permissions Request Reprints Add to My Marked Citations Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Citing Articles via Scopus Google Scholar Articles by Ho, M.-Y. Articles by Szabadi, E. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Ho, M.-Y. Articles by Szabadi, E. Social Bookmarking                         What's this?

5-Hydroxytryptamine and impulse control: prospects for a behavioural analysis

Department of Psychiatry, University of Nottingham, Queen's Medical Centre, Nottingham NG7 2UH UK.

S.S.A. Al-Zahrani

Department of Psychiatry, University of Nottingham, Queen's Medical Centre, Nottingham NG7 2UH UK.

A.S.A. Al-Ruwaitea

Department of Psychiatry, University of Nottingham, Queen's Medical Centre, Nottingham NG7 2UH UK.

C.M. Bradshaw

Department of Psychiatry, University of Nottingham, Queen's Medical Centre, Nottingham NG7 2UH UK.

E. Szabadi

Department of Psychiatry, University of Nottingham, Queen's Medical Centre, Nottingham NG7 2UH UK.

Impulsiveness is a significant clinical problem associated with a variety of psychiatric and neuropsychiatric disorders. Clinical and experimental studies have provided evidence that individuals displaying impulsive behaviour tend to show signs of deficient functioning of the ascending 5-hydroxytryptaminergic (5-HTergic) pathways of the brain. A persistent problem in investigations of the biological basis of impulsive behaviour has been the lack of a satisfactory definition of 'impulsiveness', as distinct from other behavioural features, such as aggression, which are often apparent in 'impulsive' individuals. Research in the experimental analysis of behaviour suggests that two important characteristics of 'impulsiveness' are (i) deficient tolerance of delay of gratification and (ii) inability to inhibit or delay voluntary behaviour; both of these characteristics are amenable to study in laboratory animals. We describe some delayed reinforcement and delayed response paradigms which purport to capture these behavioural characteristics, and review recent evidence that manipulation of 5-HTergic function alters behaviour in these paradigms. It is argued that the two characteristics of 'impulsiveness' are themselves the product of disturbance of more fundamental behavioural processes; the nature of these processes is considered.

Key Words: 5-hydroxytryptamine • impulsiveness • self-control • timing

Journal of Psychopharmacology, Vol. 12, No. 1, 68-78 (1998)
DOI: 10.1177/026988119801200109


CiteULike    Complore    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati    Twitter    What's this?

This article has been cited by other articles:

				I. M. Anderson, R. A. Richell, and C. M. Bradshaw The effect of acute tryptophan depletion on probabilistic choice J Psychopharmacol, January 1, 2003; 17(1): 3 - 7. [Abstract] [PDF]

				A. J. Goudie What is the clinical significance of the discontinuation syndrome seen with clozapine? J Psychopharmacol, March 1, 2000; 14(2): 188 - 190. [PDF]

				J. Evenden Impulsivity: a discussion of clinical and experimental findings J Psychopharmacol, March 1, 1999; 13(2): 180 - 192. [Abstract] [PDF]