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We’ve all acted on impulse at least once in our lives. Maybe you accidentally overshared your entire life story to someone you just met or ran across the street without looking but when these behaviours start becoming persistent, they can be destructive towards one’s health, life and well-being. Impulsivity is broadly defined as the tendency of acting without thinking and the lack of ability to delay gratification. When presented with two choices, one of which provides a considerably smaller reward that is available immediately upon request and the other being a larger reward that is only available after a certain period of time, a person suffering from impulsivity would choose the first option without forethought or a conscious judgement. In this article, we are taking a deep dive into the role that the brain plays in the impulsive behaviour that we display.
(Rudzhan Nagiev, 2022)
What are Impulse control disorders
When an individual starts developing a pattern of constantly acting on their urges and exhibiting impulsive behaviour that is harmful to themselves or others, excessive or aren’t socially acceptable, it starts developing into what we call an impulse control disorder.
There are only 5 conditions formally recognised as impulse control disorders by the American Psychiatric Association.
Oppositional defiant disorder (ODD) :
ODD is a psychiatric disorder in childrens and adolescents that generally start to appear during preschool years. It is characterised by a pattern of uncooperative, hostile and defiant behaviour towards authoritative figures.
Intermittent explosive disorder (IED)
IED is a mental health condition characterised by frequent and impulsive outbursts of anger and aggression that are excessive and out of proportion to the reason it stems from. It more commonly affects males and are usually diagnosed before the individual is 40.
Kleptomania
Kleptomania is where an individual constantly has an impulsive and irresistible urge to steal things even when they are aware of the consequences. It can be diagnosed in people of all ages ranging from 4-77, and affects 3x more women than men.
Conduct disorder
Conduct disorder commonly affects children as early as age 10, and develops further in their adolescence. It is a mental health condition where the individual displays a consistent pattern of impulsive, disobedient and aggressive behaviours towards others.
Pyromania
Pyromania is an extremely rare mental health condition where an individual displays impulsive behaviour to intentionally set fires to relieve feelings of tension
Causes of impulsivity and impulse control disorders
Our prefrontal cortex is the part of our brain involved in executive function — affecting our personality, behaviour and most importantly impulse-control. It is one of the last places in our brain to fully mature, only to be accomplished at age 25. According to a study conducted in 2007, subjects which had previous damage to the prefrontal cortex displayed an increase in impulsive behaviours after the injury. The famous case of Phineas Gage who survived severe damage to the prefrontal cortex also displayed a great change in behaviour and had an increase in impulsive/rash actions.
Within the prefrontal cortex lies the orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) which is in charge of reward-focused decision making and the moderation of impulsive behaviour by providing information and according to Cyders and Smith, displays a “bias towards long-term goal-directed behaviour”. Therefore, with damage specifically to the OFC, an individual can be unable to resist the lure of an immediate reward for one that is more beneficial in the long-term with multiple studies having also supported this hypothesis. According to Berlin and colleagues in 2005, subjects with damage specifically to the OFC displayed higher levels of impulsive behaviour compared to people with damage in other areas of the brain.
Bibliography:
Weintraub, D. and Claassen, D.O. (2017). Impulse Control and Related Disorders in Parkinson’s Disease. International Review of Neurobiology, [online] pp.679–717. doi:https://doi.org/10.1016/bs.irn.2017.04.006.
Arce, Estíbaliz and Santisteban, Carmen (2006). Impulsivity: a review. Psicothema, vol. 18, [online] pp. 213-220. doi: https://www.redalyc.org/pdf/727/72718208.pdf
Harrison, K. (n.d.). Managing Impulsivity. [online] Available at: https://chadd.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/Managing-Impulsive-Behavior.pdf [Accessed 10 Mar. 2025].
https://www.facebook.com/WebMD (2023). Impulsivity: What Is It? WebMD. [online] doi:https://doi.org/1067450496.c356b080.
Schreiber, L., Odlaug, B.L. and Grant, J.E. (2011). Impulse Control Disorders: Updated Review of Clinical Characteristics and Pharmacological Management. Frontiers in Psychiatry, [online] 2. doi:https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyt.2011.00001.
Kim, S. and Lee, D. (2010). Prefrontal Cortex and Impulsive Decision Making. Biological Psychiatry, [online] 69(12), pp.1140–1146. doi:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biopsych.2010.07.005.
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