When does your brain think something is worth the wait?

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BicyclingGreen

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Makes sense - the frontal cortex is often damaged or different in people with ADHD too (I have it myself) so we struggle with future prioritisation and managing varying commitments. Right now I'm meant to be meeting a friend for a drink soon but I may be slightly late as I'm getting distracted being online and writing this.

ADHD is usually caused by genetics but can also be caused by being born premature or low birth weight or other factors. I only weighed 1kg when I was born so am in the extremely low birth weight category plus there's ADHD elsewhere in my family and I'll likely never know how much each contributed.
 
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SisaIsMyCat

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...I only weighed 1kg when I was born so am in the extremely low birth weight category...
Friend, being born that premie, I'm glad you survived and I'm glad to be able to talk to you in the here and now, even if I'll never know you irl! Hope you have a prosperous New Year! 🎊
 
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Edgar Allan Esquire

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I wonder what influences susceptibility to the sunk cost fallacy
I thought that was people being more loss averse and it ironically making them refuse to turn the sunk cost into a "loss" despite it costing more in the long run.

Edit: There's the Prospect theory model. A little counterintuitively phrased, loss aversion leads to risk seeking because people are willing to gamble (risk) to have a chance to "not lose" rather than pick the guaranteed "lose less" option.
 
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lucubratory

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Makes sense - the frontal cortex is often damaged or different in people with ADHD too (I have it myself) so we struggle with future prioritisation and managing varying commitments. Right now I'm meant to be meeting a friend for a drink soon but I may be slightly late as I'm getting distracted being online and writing this.

ADHD is usually caused by genetics but can also be caused by being born premature or low birth weight or other factors. I only weighed 1kg when I was born so am in the extremely low birth weight category plus there's ADHD elsewhere in my family and I'll likely never know how much each contributed.

This was the first thing I thought of, reading this. Caring for someone with severe ADHD and other issues makes it very clear how much the tolerability of waiting is just on a totally different planet.
 
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Drizzt321

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Makes sense - the frontal cortex is often damaged or different in people with ADHD too (I have it myself) so we struggle with future prioritisation and managing varying commitments. Right now I'm meant to be meeting a friend for a drink soon but I may be slightly late as I'm getting distracted being online and writing this.
Huh. Fascinating. I really should just read the ADHD thread. And I've talked a bit with my therapist about it (and I love the neuro-spicy term, rather than neuro-divergent), and seems likely there's some of that in me. Maybe I should just seem out an official diagnoses. And while I'm generally the avoid medication sort by default...maybe it'd apply to me?
 
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Fatesrider

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The ventromedial prefrontal cortex is involved with action control, memory, and making decisions.
It's a LOT more nuanced than that. The ventromedial prefrontal cortex is broken up into several specific sections, with the overall demarcation still argued among anatomists. Each region has its own functions, but they aren't universally agreed upon as to what does what. Hence the different things it controls (action, memory and decision-making) are fairly diverse, and not necessarily completely inclusive.

So, while the article is pretty specific about what happens where, the reality is that the where is still very much in question in any given individual. When it comes to brain anatomy, and the fact it physiologically changes thanks to "thinking" thoughts of various kinds (it does in most mammals), it's difficult to predict the precise reasons behind behavior. And if you don't have a before and after, which is most indicative of brain function in an individual, knowing what part of the brain is causing specific behaviors in general is still very much a question mark. We get hints, but nothing clearly definitive on an individual basis.

One can add it to the general physiological/anatomical model of "the average human", but given the spectrum, there are damn few humans who qualify on that particular mark in the spectrum of human thinking and behavior. So what's learned for the "average human" probably won't be a perfect fit for most people.

I think the best way to think about it is that the brain is like a doctor's clinic. It has areas laid out for specialties, but you never know what specialist is there, how well they do their jobs and that sometimes, a specialist will operate from a different area in the clinic than it's supposed to be. It's a very plastic organ that unlike most of what we have as organs, does change physiologically based on a multitude of factors that mostly distill down to the development of the brain, what the individual is thinking, and what physical impacts to the brain the individual has experienced.
 
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Lorentz of Suburbia

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Are you saying people who go to DisneyWorld and wait in line for 3 hours at a time have a brain issue???

/s
Having enjoyed that spectacle back to back recently with casino hotel lobby lard-lording digital double-wide slot chairs, and your ads filled with mobile app moron-milking ads, absolutely there is some enculturated, possibly institutionalized theme here, right here, in America. Gen-u-wine bon-a-fide MORONRAIL.
 
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KingKrayola

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Huh. Fascinating. I really should just read the ADHD thread. And I've talked a bit with my therapist about it (and I love the neuro-spicy term, rather than neuro-divergent), and seems likely there's some of that in me. Maybe I should just seem out an official diagnoses. And while I'm generally the avoid medication sort by default...maybe it'd apply to me?
I'm on the waiting list for an ADHD assessment, and this article struck a chord as my Dad had a frontal lobe TIA last year after his anticoag therapy got knocked out of whack, and he (temporarily) lost words in a more severe way than I do when I'm tired.

Having a clear description and confirmation of my neuro-seasoning palate has been useful in terms of understanding difficulties I face and coping strategies that helped others with the same recipe/label. Choosing whether or not to medicate is only part of that process.

TBH I feel sorry for these folks where a brain injury puts them beyond having the option of medication.
 
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I thought that was people being more loss averse and it ironically making them refuse to turn the sunk cost into a "loss" despite it costing more in the long run.

Edit: There's the Prospect theory model. A little counterintuitively phrased, loss aversion leads to risk seeking because people are willing to gamble (risk) to have a chance to "not lose" rather than pick the guaranteed "lose less" option.
Is that why some people ask me, when I state I don't desire to take the same risk they do, "why do you fear success?". Like, I don't even think "fear of success" is a real thing, at all.
 
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Makes sense - the frontal cortex is often damaged or different in people with ADHD too (I have it myself) so we struggle with future prioritisation and managing varying commitments. Right now I'm meant to be meeting a friend for a drink soon but I may be slightly late as I'm getting distracted being online and writing this.

ADHD is usually caused by genetics but can also be caused by being born premature or low birth weight or other factors. I only weighed 1kg when I was born so am in the extremely low birth weight category plus there's ADHD elsewhere in my family and I'll likely never know how much each contributed.
Hello fellow ADH-Premie! :D
I got a sweet Harry Potter scar from being dropped onto a fireplace mantle as a child and I'm sure that didn't help my Prefrontal Cortex... but yeah Its SUCH an uphill battle seeking any kind of worthwhile reward with ADHD... whether it be excitement to get ready to see friends hanging out, women, or most tragically I used to love playing guitar writing music everyday for hours but now I don't see the point most days after constant bandmate failures and friends letting me down not showing anywhere near as much interest.

My preferred modus operandi for motivation is now either trying to juggle as many novel or nearby ideas & tasks as I can for several hours until I completely lose interest in all of them for a few days OR I simply wait around "staring at the unchanging wall/coin" doing nothing in a certain area or activity hoping something exciting happens around me when nothing usually does XD ramble over <3
 
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Hello fellow ADH-Premie! :D
I got a sweet Harry Potter scar from being dropped onto a fireplace mantle as a child and I'm sure that didn't help my Prefrontal Cortex... but yeah Its SUCH an uphill battle seeking any kind of worthwhile reward with ADHD... whether it be excitement to get ready to see friends hanging out, women, or most tragically I used to love playing guitar writing music everyday for hours but now I don't see the point most days after constant bandmate failures and friends letting me down not showing anywhere near as much interest.

My preferred modus operandi for motivation is now either trying to juggle as many novel or nearby ideas & tasks as I can for several hours until I completely lose interest in all of them for a few days OR I simply wait around "staring at the unchanging wall/coin" doing nothing in a certain area or activity hoping something exciting happens around me when nothing usually does XD ramble over <3
That's ADHD? Here I just thought I was lazy... For the record I've never been diagnosed with any mental disorder other than "disassociation from reality" because apparently some councilor when I was an 80's kid noticed I was talking about video games a lot.
 
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That's ADHD? Here I just thought I was lazy... For the record I've never been diagnosed with any mental disorder other than "disassociation from reality" because apparently some councilor when I was an 80's kid noticed I was talking about video games a lot.
Its super complicated because ADHD is commonly comorbid with things like depression.. thus im unqualified to say much here, but yes ADHD can affect one's motivation and persistence to achieve or even define goals. This can be a double-edged sword - like it was during my many years of playing guitar alone for hours lost in the creative magic. ADHD can allow you to hyperfocus on exciting tasks beyond the average person's ability but it also prevents you from functioning well in many administrative areas of life as these are boring and "unrewarding" in the short term. HENCE THE MAJOR APPEAL OF VIDEO GAMES ;)
 
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