Researchers Kaya T. Ishizawa, Hiroaki Kumano and Atsushi Sato writing for the BioPsychoSocial Medicine Journal showed in a recent study that type 2 diabetes may reduce certain neuro-psychological inhibition functions that lower ones ability to control himself. Patients with diabetes showed lower scores in inhibitory control and control of impulsive responses.

Most importantly is the fact that these deficient characteristics, that do not appear in healthy patients, are not related to the obesity of the patients but are direct consequences of type 2 diabetes.

        The Pre-Frontal Cortex(PFC) of the brain is divided in many parts, but for this story we have to know that the dorso-lateral pre-frontal cortex is responsible for regulating executive functions that relate to planning, delayed outcome and specialized cognitive functions, whereas the ventral part of the pre-frontal cortex is responsible with immediate rewards, punishments and inhibition of certain impulsive thoughts. The study tried and managed to show how the interaction of the ventral and dorso-lateral parts of the PFC in the patients with type 2 diabetes resulted in lower self-control scores that, by the nature of the disease that caused these, scores, is in itself a major factor in aggravating type 2 diabetes.

Abnormal behavior in the PFC of the 27 patients with type 2 diabetes show deficits in ones ability to inhibit impulsive responses generated by impulsive thoughts and to control them through planning and delaying gratification with the help of the dorso-lateral PFC complex neural networks.

       What these teaches us is that type 2 diabetes patients need proper behavior change training to resist the temptations that may aggravate the disease at a life threatening level. Consumption of high levels of saturated fats and high calorie foods combined with no exercise and an unhealthy lifestyle should be eliminated through proper and professional behavior change that will help the patient regulate properly his decision making capabilities that are so important in fighting diabetes.

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References:
- Decreased response inhibition in middle-aged male patients with type 2 diabetes