Overlapping neural activations between trait self-control and cognitive inhibition during emotional stimuli processing

This study aimed to explore the neural basis of self-control and cognitive control by examining the brain activity during an inhibitory control task. Fifty-four participants (37 women) took part in this study. Their self-control was assessed through three psychometric scales, on the basis of which the general self-control Factor S has been extracted. Cognitive inhibition was measured using the Go / No Go task with social stimuli (emotionally significant faces), during which event-related functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) was used to capture the neural activity. We found that participants with high scores on Factor S showed stronger activation in the right and left Inferior Frontal Gyri, but only during trials when negative social stimuli served as inhibition cues. Medium self-control individuals showed greater Anterior Insula activity compared to other groups, in response to positive social cues. Overall, we found that strong self-control was associated with distinct and heightened neural activity during cognitive inhibition when the inhibition cue had a negative emotional valence. These findings bridge the gap between self-control and cognitive inhibitory control, emphasizing emotional context and neural mechanisms. The results align partially with previous studies while introducing structure and novelty for clinical implications and future research.