Disrupted executive function is also implicated in the exaggerated bias toward immediate smaller rewards at the expense of larger delayed ones that occurs in addiction (60). Specifically, damage of the orbitofrontal cortex in humans (61) and in rodents (62) increases the tendency to choose immediate rewards over larger delayed rewards. This is likely to contribute to addicted subjects’ tendency to choose the immediate gratification expected from taking the drug over any greater but delayed gratification that could be derived from staying sober.
