Shanker – self-regulation, self-control and the brain

When we study self-control, when neuroscientists study self-control, we’re really interested in a fairly specific part of the prefrontal cortex, the medial prefrontal cortex. When we study self-regulation, what we’re really interested in is the sort of flow between the limbic system and various parts of the prefrontal cortex.  

It could be the medial prefrontal, it could also be the dorsal lateral prefrontal or the ventral medial. But we have one specific system when we’re looking at self-regulation which is the anterior cingulate cortex and by focusing on that it has two ends to it, two sides.  

And when the child is in a state where they can in fact exercise self-control, the one side lights up. It’s kind of blue on your imaging. When the child is in a dis-regulated state or what we call a “red brain state,” the other side is. So you can actually see, you can actually study self-regulation and whether what you’re doing is enhancing the child’s calmness by seeing which side of this ACC is lit up. It’s fascinating stuff to see.