fMRI shows difference between patience, imagination in the brain

A group of neuroscientists used functional MRI (fMRI) to discover links between being patient and imagination in the brain. According to findings, imagining an outcome before acting upon an impulse may help increase patience without relying on increased willpower.

The study, published in Psychological Science, discusses a technique called “framing effects,” or making small changes to how options are presented or framed.

"People tend to pay attention to what is in their immediate vicinity, but there are benefits to imagining the possible consequences of their choices," said Adrianna Jenkins, a University of California, Berkeley postdoctoral researcher in a prepared statement. 

For the study, the researchers worked together and conducted two experiments. Participants had to choose when to receive different amounts of money depending on how the offer was framed, while the actual reward outcomes were the same.

In the first experiment, participants expressed preference for the larger, delayed reward when choices were framed as sequences. For the second experiment, participants in one group had to choose under an independent frame, while the other group chose under a sequenced frame.

Participants in the sequence frame reported imagining the consequences of their choices more than those in the independent frame. The participants exposed to the independent frame demonstrated less imagination. Researchers found that framing the options in the second experiment allowed participants to dig deep into their imagination. The more they imagined the outcome of their choices, the more they were able to be patient in order to receive the greater reward. 

During the fMRI portion of the experiment, brain activation was measured while the participants made a series of choices in both frames. Researchers found that the areas of the brain that processes imagination became more active when participants were more patient during sequence framing. In contrast, in the independent framing, the researchers found patience more strongly linked to brain regions associated with willpower. 

Researchers also noted that there are limitations when using fMRI to study human cognition mainly because it relies on assumptions about the links between brain regions and their functions. Due to this, the experiments conducted combined various methods, which all converge on a similar conclusion. 

"Our findings suggest that imagination is a possible route for attaining patience that may be more sustainable and practical than exerting willpower," said Jenkins.