User:Emlew314/Externalization (psychology)

Neuroscience of Externalization

Problems with self-regulation, including impulsivity, violence, sensation-seeking, and rule-breaking, are indicative of an externalizing risk pathway. A discrepancy exists between bottom-up reward-related circuitry, such as the ventral striatum (VS), and top-down inhibitory control circuitry, which is located in the prefrontal cortex (PFC), linking externalizing behaviors. Externalization is often related to Substance Use Disorders. In particular Alcohol Use Disorder (AUD), is one of disorders that much externalization research has been dedicated to. Often, issues within the externalizing risk pathway, namely vulnerabilities in self-regulation, may impact the development of AUD differently across stages of the addiction cycle. Likewise, Marijuana use has been linked to an externalizing pathway that highlights aggressive and delinquent behavior. Another type of disorder that is linked to the externalizing pathway is Antisocial Personality Disorder due to it's tendency to relate by lack of constraint. In fact, much research has examined the similarities of Antisocial Personality Disorder and Substance Use Disorder in relation to externalizing behaviors.