A new study finds causal evidence that the lateral prefrontal cortex, implicated in executive function, is critical for making decisions in which forgoing a small immediate reward can lead to a better future outcome. These results suggest that this area provides a neural signal that biases behavior in favor of delaying gratification.
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Kable, J. Just a little (lateral prefrontal) patience. Nat Neurosci 13, 523–524 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1038/nn0510-523
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/nn0510-523