The orbitofrontal cortex represents advantageous choice in the Iowa gambling task

Decision-making using the Iowa gambling test in unaffected first-degree relatives of obsessive-compulsive disorder: Comparison with healthy controls and patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder

Decision-making has been suggested as an endophenotype candidate for obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). However, few studies have examined whether decision-making under ambiguity is an endophenotype of OCD. This study aimed to investigate decision-making under ambiguity, as assessed by the Iowa Gambling Task (IGT), in patients with OCD and unaffected first-degree relatives (UFDR). Forty-seven non-medicated, non-co-morbid patients with OCD, 30 UFDR, and 47 healthy controls (HC) were compared in terms of decision-making using the IGT. The correlation between obsessive-compulsive symptoms and IGT performance was also investigated. Patients with OCD and UFDR performed worse than HC on the IGT. No correlation was found between obsessive-compulsive symptoms and IGT performance. A deficit in decision-making under ambiguity may be a trait and an endophenotype candidate for OCD.

Comparative analysis of cortical anatomy in male participants with internet gaming disorder or tobacco use disorder: Insights from normative modeling

Background

Research on individual differences in brain structural features of internet gaming disorder (IGD) and established addictions such as tobacco use disorder (TUD) is currently limited. This study utilized normative modeling to analyze the cortical thickness (CT) development patterns of male patients with IGD and TUD, aiming to provide further insights into whether IGD qualifies as an addiction.

Methods

Surface-based brain morphometry (SBM) was used to calculate CT from T1-weighted magnetic resonance imaging data of 804 male participants (665 healthy individuals, 68 IGD and 71 TUD). Gaussian process regression was employed to generate normative models of CT development. Deviation maps were produced to depict deviations of IGD and TUD participants from the typical developmental patterns.

Results

Both addiction groups exhibited widespread cortical thinning, particularly in regions such as the bilateral temporal pole and medial orbitofrontal cortex. The TUD group demonstrated a higher degree of individualization and limited spatial overlap compared to the IGD group. Opposite trends in CT changes were observed between the two groups in the bilateral pericalcarine cortex and pars triangularis.

Conclusions

These findings regarding the similarities and differences between IGD and TUD provide support for the idea that IGD shares common features with substance-related addictions and contribute to a deeper understanding of the neural mechanisms underlying IGD.

Dorsal and ventral fronto-amygdala networks underlie risky decision-making in age-related cognitive decline

Older adults often have difficulty in making decisions under uncertainty, increasing the risk of financial exploitation. However, it is still under investigation about the extent to which cognitive decline influences risky decision-making and the underlying neural correlates. We hypothesized that the individual differences of risk-taking behavior depend on cognitive integrity, in which the dorsal and ventral fronto-amygdala connectivity would play dissociable roles. In the current study, thirty-six young and 51 older adults were tested with the Iowa gambling task combing resting-state and task-related functional magnetic resonance imaging. The results showed significant changes in behaviors and the fronto-amygdala network in older adults relative to young adults. More importantly, age-effect on risk-taking behaviors was remarkably different in cognitively normal and impaired older adults. In resting-state analysis, task performance was positively correlated with the ventral fronto-amygdala connectivity and negatively correlated with the dorsal fronto-amygdala connectivity in cognitively impaired older adults, compared with cognitively normal individuals. Furthermore, task-related analysis confirmed the relationships between dorsal/ventral fronto-amygdala network and risk-taking behaviors depending on cognitive integrity. These findings indicate that the fronto-amygdala network is crucial for understanding altered risky decision-making in aging, suggesting dissociable contributions of the dorsal and ventral pathways in the context of cognitive decline.

Endorsement of psychotic-like experiences and problematic cannabis use associated with worse executive functioning performance in undergraduates

BACKGROUND

Emerging adults who endorse more positive psychotic-like experiences (PLEs; bizarre experiences, delusional ideations) may experience greater cannabis-related impairments in executive function. Negative and depressive PLEs are also associated with cannabis use, however, less is known about their relation to executive functioning. Here, we hypothesize that high positive PLEs and cannabis use are associated with worse performance on computerized versions of the Iowa Gambling Task (IGT) and the Card Sorting Task (CST); exploratory analyses are conducted with negative and depressive PLEs.

METHODS

We recruited university students (N = 543) who completed an online study consisting of self-report measures of problematic cannabis use (Cannabis Use Disorder Identification Test; CUDIT-R) and PLEs (Community Assessment of Psychotic Experiences; CAPE). Of these, n=270 completed the CST and n=251 completed the IGT.

RESULTS

Problematic cannabis use and high endorsement of positive PLEs related to significantly worse performance on the IGT and greater perseverative errors on the CST. In addition, people who endorsed high levels of positive PLEs were also significantly more likely to complete the IGT with less money relative to those who endorsed fewer PLEs, regardless of cannabis use. Further analyses based on negative PLEs revealed a similar pattern for perseverative errors on the CST; depressive PLEs were not related to task performance.

CONCLUSION

Findings highlight that problematic cannabis use and more frequent and distressing positive PLEs are associated with poorer executive functioning. Thus, executive functioning may have implications for intervention among those high on both attributes, who are at high risk of onset of psychosis.

Postnatal Phencyclidine-Induced Deficits in Decision Making Are Ameliorated by Optogenetic Inhibition of Ventromedial Orbitofrontal Cortical Glutamate Neurons

Background

The orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) is essential for decision making, and functional disruptions within the OFC are evident in schizophrenia. Postnatal phencyclidine (PCP) administration in rats is a neurodevelopmental manipulation that induces schizophrenia-relevant cognitive impairments. We aimed to determine whether manipulating OFC glutamate cell activity could ameliorate postnatal PCP-induced deficits in decision making.

Methods

Male and female Wistar rats (n = 110) were administered saline or PCP on postnatal days 7, 9, and 11. In adulthood, we expressed YFP (yellow fluorescent protein) (control), ChR2 (channelrhodopsin-2) (activation), or eNpHR 3.0 (enhanced halorhodopsin) (inhibition) in glutamate neurons within the ventromedial OFC (vmOFC). Rats were tested on the probabilistic reversal learning task once daily for 20 days while we manipulated the activity of vmOFC glutamate cells. Behavioral performance was analyzed using a Q-learning computational model of reinforcement learning.

Results

Compared with saline-treated rats expressing YFP, PCP-treated rats expressing YFP completed fewer reversals, made fewer win-stay responses, and had lower learning rates. We induced similar performance impairments in saline-treated rats by activating vmOFC glutamate cells (ChR2). Strikingly, PCP-induced performance deficits were ameliorated when the activity of vmOFC glutamate cells was inhibited (halorhodopsin).

Conclusions

Postnatal PCP-induced deficits in decision making are associated with hyperactivity of vmOFC glutamate cells. Thus, normalizing vmOFC activity may represent a potential therapeutic target for decision-making deficits in patients with schizophrenia.

Not all bad decisions are alike: approach and avoidant bad decisions are associated with distinct network organization

Introduction

Decisions under ambiguity occurs daily for everyone. Subsequently, we all deliberate upon options to initiate an action most appropriate for current goal demands. Researchers has attempted to identify factors which contribute to risk taking, alongside the neurocircuitry underpinning it. Empirically, uncertain decision making is frequently assessed using the Iowa Gambling Task (IGT). Research have reliably identified varying regions implicating two broader circuits known as the reward and salience networks. However, considerable work has focused on contrasting "good" versus "bad" decisions.

Methods

The present investigation attempted a unique approach to analyzing the modified IGT acquired during fMRI (n = 24) and focused on active and passive bad decisions to identify potential internetwork connectivity, dissociable connectivity patterns between approach and avoidant bad decisions, and their relationship with personality traits, which can be linked with behavioral approach styles.

Results

Network cluster analyses revealed general internetwork connectivity when passing (avoiding) good decks; however, the OFC was functionally disconnected from the rest of the selected brain regions when playing (approaching) bad decks. Decreased reward responsiveness was linked to increased functional connectivity between the lateral OFC and aSMG, while drive was associated with increased functional connectivity between dACC and aINS.

Discussion

We report evidence that approach and avoidant bad decisions are associated with distinct neural communication patterns. Avoidant decisions were marked by substantial network integration and coherence, contrasted with the general scarcity of internetwork communication observed for approach decisions. Furthermore, the present investigation observed preliminary evidence of personality traits linked with neural communication between salience and reward evaluative networks.

Decision-making under ambiguity and risk and executive functions in Parkinson's disease patients: A scoping review of the studies investigating the Iowa Gambling Task and the Game of Dice

Evidence shows that patients affected by Parkinson's disease (PD) display the tendency toward making risky choices. This is due, at least in part, to the pathophysiological characteristics of the disease that affects neural areas underlying decision making (DM), in which a pivotal role is played by nonmotor corticostriatal circuits and dopamine. Executive functions (EFs), which can be impaired by PD as well, may sustain optimal choices in DM processes. However, few studies have investigated whether EFs can support PD patients to make good decisions. Adopting the scoping review approach, the present article is designed to deepen the cognitive mechanisms of DM under conditions of ambiguity and risk (that are conditions common to everyday life decisions) in PD patients without impulse control disorders. We focused our attention on the Iowa Gambling Task and the Game of Dice Task, because they are the most commonly used and reliable tasks to assess DM under ambiguity and under risk, respectively, and analyzed the performances in such tasks and their relationships with EFs tests in PD patients. The analysis supported the relationships between EFs and DM performance, especially when a higher cognitive load is required to make optimal decisions, as it happens under conditions of risk. Possible knowledge gaps and further research directions are suggested to better understand DM mechanisms in PD sustaining patients' cognitive functioning and preventing negative consequences in everyday life derived from suboptimal decisions.

Decision-making deficits in obsessive-compulsive disorder are associated with abnormality of recency and response consistency parameter in prospect valence learning model

Background

Patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) have deficits in decision-making in the Iowa Gambling Task (IGT). However, no study has investigated the parameters of the prospect valence learning (PVL) model in the IGT for OCD.

Aims

This study aimed to investigate deficits in decision-making in OCD using the PVL model and identify whether the parameters of the PVL model were associated with obsessive-compulsive severity.

Methods

Forty-seven medication-free patients with OCD were compared with 47 healthy controls (HCs). Decision-making was measured using the total net and block net scores of the IGT. A PVL model with a decay-reinforcement learning rule (PVL-DecayRI) was used to investigate the parameters of the model. Correlation analysis was conducted between each parameter of the PVL-DecayRL and obsessive-compulsive symptoms.

Results

The total net score of patients with OCD was significantly lower than that of the HCs. The block net scores of the OCD group did not differ across the five blocks, whereas in the HCs, the fifth block net score was significantly higher than the block net scores of the first and second blocks. The values of the recency and response consistency parameters of the PVL-DecayRI in patients with OCD were significantly lower than those in HCs. The recency parameter positively correlated with the Y-BOCS obsessive score. Meanwhile, there was no correlation between consistency parameter values and symptom severity in OCD.

Conclusion

Our detailed analysis of the decision-making deficit in OCD suggests that the most recent outcome has a small influence on the expectancy of prospect valence, as indicated by the lower recency parameter, and is characterized by more impulsive choices, as indicated by the lower consistency parameter.

Internet gaming disorder and tobacco use disorder share neural connectivity patterns between the subcortical and the motor network

Internet gaming disorder (IGD) and tobacco use disorder (TUD) are globally common, non-substance-related disorders and substance-related disorders worldwide, respectively. Recognizing the commonalities between IGD and TUD will deepen understanding of the underlying mechanisms of addictive behavior and excessive online gaming. Using node strength, 141 resting-state data were collected in this study to compute network homogeneity. The participants included participants with IGD (PIGD: n = 34, male = 29, age: 15-25 years), participants with TUD (PTUD: n = 33, male = 33, age: 19-42 years), and matched healthy controls (control-for-IGD: n = 41, male = 38, age: 17-32 years; control-for-TUD: n = 33, age: 21-27 years). PIGD and PTUD exhibited common enhanced node strength between the subcortical and motor networks. Additionally, a common enhanced resting-state functional connectivity (RSFC) was found between the right thalamus and right postcentral gyrus in PIGD and PTUD. Node strength and RSFC were used to distinguish PIGD and PTUD from their respective healthy controls. Interestingly, models trained on PIGD versus controls could classify PTUD versus controls and vice versa, suggesting that these disorders share common neurological patterns. Enhanced connectivity may indicate a greater association between rewards and behaviors, inducing addiction behaviors without flexible and complex regulation. This study discovered that the connectivity between the subcortical and motor networks is a potential biological target for developing addiction treatment in the future.

Aging-related changes in reward-based decision-making depend on punishment frequency: An fMRI study

Introduction

Aging is often accompanied by significant cognitive decline and altered decision making. Previous studies have found that older adults have difficulty in processing reward/risk information, leading to suboptimal decision strategy. However, it is still under investigated about the neural substrates of risky decision-making under ambiguity in aging.

Methods

Using the Iowa Gambling Task, the current study investigated inter-individual differences of risk-taking behaviors in healthy older adults with task-related functional magnetic resonance imaging.

Results

It was found that participants were able to improve their decisions in advantageous decks, but failed to avoid disadvantageous decks during task performance. The task-related activations within multiple brain regions were observed significantly different across the four decks, and showed negative correlations with age in disadvantageous decks but not in advantageous decks. Consistently, age-related whole brain analyses confirmed the negative age-effect on brain activations in disadvantageous decks, especially in high punishment frequency. In addition, the relationship between age and task performance in high punishment frequency was mediated by activation in the frontal subregions such as the middle frontal cortex and superior medial frontal cortex.

Discussion

Our findings shed light on the neural substrates of altered risk-taking behaviors in aging, suggesting a greater sensitivity to high punishment frequency in older adults.

The moderating role of sex in the relationship between executive functions and academic procrastination in undergraduate students

The objective of the study was to determine if sex plays a moderating role in the relationship between executive functions and academic procrastination in 106 university students of both genders (28.3% male and 71.7% female) between the ages of 18 and 30 years (M = 19.7; SD = 2.7). The Academic Procrastination Scale and the Neuropsychological Battery of Executive Functions and Frontal Lobes (BANFE-2) were used to measure the variables. The results of the study showed that the degree of prediction of the tasks linked to the orbitomedial cortex (involves the orbitofrontal cortex [OFC] and the medial prefrontal cortex [mPFC]) on academic procrastination is significantly moderated by the sex of the university students (β₃ = 0.53; p < 0.01). For men, the estimated effect of the tasks linked to the orbitomedial cortex on the degree of academic procrastination is −0.81. For women, the estimated effect of the tasks linked to the orbitomedial cortex on the degree of academic procrastination is −0.28. In addition, it was shown that sex does not play a moderating role in the relationship between the tasks linked to the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (dlPFC) and academic procrastination (β₃ = 0.12; p > 0.05). It was also determined that sex does not play a moderating role in the relationship between the tasks linked to the anterior prefrontal cortex (aPFC) and academic procrastination (β₃ = 0.05; p > 0.05). It is concluded that only the executive functions associated with the orbitomedial cortex are moderated by the sex of the university students, where the impact of the tasks linked to the orbitomedial cortex on academic procrastination in men is significantly greater than in women.