There’s a famous experiment conducted in the 60′s that looked at delayed gratification.  The experiment put some marshmallows in front of a child.  They were told that they could eat the marshmallow now, but if they waited a bit they could receive extra marshmallows.  Around 1/3 of the children in the experiment managed to wait the 15 minutes asked of them before they gave in to temptation.  Research has linked the ability to delay gratification in the experiment to success later in life.

Could such decisions have their origins in our neurology though?  A study recently published in the Journal of Neuroscience set out to explore.

“Activity in one part of the brain, the anterior prefrontal cortex , seems to show whether you’re getting pleasure from thinking about the future reward you are about to receive,” explains study co-author Todd Braver, professor of psychology in at Washington University in St. Louis. “People can relate to this idea that when you know something good is coming, just that waiting can feel pleasurable.”

The study aimed to show whether impulsive people that found waiting for a reward very difficult saw different parts of the brain triggered when they were in the waiting state.

The study gave people a drink of fruit juice that they could either have right away, or after a minutes wait, so not a huge wait, but was it enough to trigger a shift in brain activity?

The results were fascinating, and showed that in impulsive people, an area of the brain called the Ventral Striatum (VS) saw a lot of activity as the delayed reward grew ever closer.  In people thought of as more patient however, this area remained much more constant.

The researchers suggested that the differences can be interpreted as an indication of how people perceived the reward.  In patient people they suggested that the reward remained just as enticing before they waited as when they actually received it.  In impulsive people however, they weren’t very excited to begin with, but became more so as the reward became closer.

“This gradual increase may reflect impatience or excessive anticipation of the upcoming reward in impulsive individuals,” says lead author Koji Jimura, a former postdoctoral scholar in Braver’s lab.

Are impulsive people bad innovators?

Another interesting finding concerned the anterior prefrontal cortex (aPFC).  This is believed to be the part of the brain concerned with thinking about the future.  As you might imagine, this part of the brain saw more activity in patient people than in impulsive ones, as they took pleasure from what was to come.  The wait was literally as exciting as the reward itself.

“The aPFC appears to allow you to create a mental simulation of the future. It helps you consider what it’ll be like getting the future reward. In this way, you can get access to the utility and satisfaction in the present,” says Braver.

It’s what economists refer to as anticipatory utility.  The study is kinda saying therefore that impulsive folks appear to have difficulty imagining the future because their brain prefers to receive rewards straight away.

Does this mean that impulsive people are not very good at innovation or the kind of thinking that requires them to look to the future rather than the present?  It kinda goes against the common perception of innovative people who are able to go with their gut feelings on things and act spontaneously.

Let me know your thoughts in the comments.

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On BBC Breakfast this morning they announced that the incredibly low interest rates after the credit crunch have cost savers around £45 billion over those two years. Of course, borrowers have gained, to the tune of around £52 billion.

This it should be remembered comes in the wake of a financial disaster caused by people borrowing more money than they could afford to pay back, and generally not having enough money tucked away for a rainy day.

So you would think encouraging growth by encouraging people to borrow more and save less would be folly enough. To add insult to injury however, as growth is slack the government look likely to print more money. More money = higher inflation = even less value for those poor, prudent souls that are bothering to save money.

It really does beggar belief.

For the past month or so Jitka and I have been beavering away raising money for The Winchester Project, a kids charity up in Camden. The culmination of these efforts will see us both leap from a plane tomorrow and hopefully float serenely to the ground somewhere in Sussex.

Our final, and biggest, fundraising push was at the annual Ride of the Falling Leaves sportive organised by Dulwich Paragon bike club. The ride holds a special place for me as the first sportive I ever did a few years ago. The rain that day was torrential and we were hoping the weather gods would be kinder to us this year.

I’d spoken to Bob, the organiser, about putting on some massages for the cyclists at the end of the ride, both to ease a bit of the inevitable pain and raise some cash for the Winch.

Paul Browne kindly helped us find a massage table for hire and turned up early on the day to help Jitka get setup.  We were fortunate enough to be able to call upon the expert services of Danielle Barnett, Liz Walker, Lynne Taylor (and her partner Tim Budd).

Tim and Lynne are qualified Sports & Remedial Massage Therapists, graduating from the respected North London School of Sports Massage (www.nlssm.com) earlier this year with the prestigious Level 5 BTEC Diploma. They’re both members of the Sports Massage Association (www.sportsmassageassociation.org). They’ve been involved in event work at the 2010 London Marathon, 5k & 10k Boutique runs in Battersea Park and now the Ride of the Falling Leaves.

The Ride

Initially when I set off the historic environs of Herne Hill Veledrome for the start of the event the weather seemed like it might be kind, and the first 90 minutes of the ride were done in sunshine, albeit with a pretty strong headwind making tough going of things.

I’d managed to complete the annual round the Island ride the weekend before in 3h 20mins so was hoping for a time of around 3h 40.  Alas the weather kinda put paid to that and achieving the gold time of 4hrs became the new target.

Much grunting up Toys Hill later and I was riding into London as quickly as my legs would carry me.  Despite battling cramp for the last 15 minutes the thought of getting back to Jitka and the massage girls as quick as poss drove me on and I managed to get home in 4h 5mins.  Just outside the gold time, but 10 minutes quicker than last year, so still pleasing.

The Massage

Rolling into Dulwich Sports Club it was lovely to be greeted by Jitka looking cheery under her umbrella.   She filled me in on the days events thus far. We’d been setup in the changing rooms to shelter from the rain and it was a wonderful sight to see the ladies (and Tim) doing their thing, with three weary cyclists already getting some relief on the table.

After a bit of food at the wonderfully stocked kitchen it was my turn on the table, as Tim gave my legs a much needed rub down.  Suffice to say that 20 minutes wasn’t really long enough to heal the damage done by the preceding 4 hours but they certainly felt better than they did.

I stayed around for an hour or so longer, chatting to fellow riders before wobbling off home for the recommended ice bath.  It was a really great day and we managed to raise over £200 for The Winch, so very worthwhile all round.

I would certainly recommend any of the people we worked with on the day, and you can contact all of them below:

Paul Broome massage tables

Lynne: 07985 251 185 / Tim: 07738 494 207 (or contact@globaltherapies.com )

Liz Walker lizziwalkerholistic@hotmail.co.uk

Danielle Barnett daniellebarnett@massagetherapyexpert.co.uk / 07533 212342