The study by Todd A. Hare, Colin F. Camerer, and Antonio Rangel investigates the neurobiological mechanisms underlying self-control in decision-making. The researchers propose two hypotheses: (i) goal-directed decisions are based on a common value signal in the ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC), and (ii) self-control involves modulating this value signal by the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC). Using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), they examined brain activity in vmPFC and DLPFC while dieters made decisions about food consumption. The results show that vmPFC activity was correlated with goal values regardless of self-control, reflecting both taste and health in successful self-controllers but only taste in non-self-controllers. DLPFC activity increased during self-control trials and correlated with vmPFC activity. The study suggests that self-control problems arise when various factors must be integrated in vmPFC to compute goal values, and that DLPFC activity is crucial for incorporating higher-order factors like health into the vmPFC value signal. These findings have implications for understanding self-control in clinical practice, economic policy, and legal contexts.The study by Todd A. Hare, Colin F. Camerer, and Antonio Rangel investigates the neurobiological mechanisms underlying self-control in decision-making. The researchers propose two hypotheses: (i) goal-directed decisions are based on a common value signal in the ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC), and (ii) self-control involves modulating this value signal by the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC). Using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), they examined brain activity in vmPFC and DLPFC while dieters made decisions about food consumption. The results show that vmPFC activity was correlated with goal values regardless of self-control, reflecting both taste and health in successful self-controllers but only taste in non-self-controllers. DLPFC activity increased during self-control trials and correlated with vmPFC activity. The study suggests that self-control problems arise when various factors must be integrated in vmPFC to compute goal values, and that DLPFC activity is crucial for incorporating higher-order factors like health into the vmPFC value signal. These findings have implications for understanding self-control in clinical practice, economic policy, and legal contexts.