The precursors to the urgency traits are recognizable in temperament research. Adolescence appears to be characterized by a developmentally limited increase in urgency; within that trend, individual differences in urgency among adolescents may be important for explaining both adolescent risky behavior and developmental trajectories following adolescence. Facilitative conditions for the emergence of the urgency traits are recognizable in a brain system relating the OFC to the amygdala, which has been shown to be involved in long-term planning in the face of intense emotion; high levels of urgency may be more likely among individuals with low levels of 5HT and high levels of DA operating in that brain system. Gene polymorphisms on the 5HT transporter gene and on three DA receptor genes (D2, D3, and D4) may influence the levels of the neurotransmitters. Figure 1 depicts the hypothesized process.
