| Abstract | The inflammatory response involves a coordinated set of molecular and cellular events that promote defense against and recovery from current somatic threats. While a controlled inflammatory response is critical to survival, chronic, unresolved inflammation is associated with numerous long-term health problems. Growing evidence suggests that the effects of inflammation on human psychology follow a similar pattern. Here, I build on these insights by examining if inflammatory activity predicts impulsivity, a psychological characteristic that may complement tissue level defense and recovery efforts, but that contributes to problematic behavior over time. I found that higher levels of active inflammation predicted greater impulsivity. Further, results revealed an indirect effect of cellular inflammatory tendency (i.e., cytokine release in response to mitogen stimulation) on impulsivity, partially mediated through levels of active inflammation. In sum, inflammation appears to regulate impulsive tendencies, which may be adaptive in the context of somatic defense and recovery. |
