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van Timmeren T, van de Vijver I, de Wit S. Cortico-striatal white-matter connectivity underlies the ability to exert goal-directed control. Eur J Neurosci 2024; 60:4518-4535. [PMID: 38973167 DOI: 10.1111/ejn.16456] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/25/2023] [Revised: 06/14/2024] [Accepted: 06/17/2024] [Indexed: 07/09/2024]
Abstract
The balance between goal-directed and habitual control has been proposed to determine the flexibility of instrumental behaviour, in both humans and animals. This view is supported by neuroscientific studies that have implicated dissociable neural pathways in the ability to flexibly adjust behaviour when outcome values change. A previous Diffusion Tensor Imaging study provided preliminary evidence that flexible instrumental performance depends on the strength of parallel cortico-striatal white-matter pathways previously implicated in goal-directed and habitual control. Specifically, estimated white-matter strength between caudate and ventromedial prefrontal cortex correlated positively with behavioural flexibility, and posterior putamen-premotor cortex connectivity correlated negatively, in line with the notion that these pathways compete for control. However, the sample size of the original study was limited, and so far, there have been no attempts to replicate these findings. In the present study, we aimed to conceptually replicate these findings by testing a large sample of 205 young adults to relate cortico-striatal connectivity to performance on the slips-of-action task. In short, we found only positive neural correlates of goal-directed performance, including striatal connectivity (caudate and anterior putamen) with the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex. However, we failed to provide converging evidence for the existence of a neural habit system that puts limits on the capacity for flexible, goal-directed action. We discuss the implications of our findings for dual-process theories of instrumental action.
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Affiliation(s)
- T van Timmeren
- The Habit Lab, Department of Clinical Psychology, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
- Amsterdam Brain and Cognition, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
- Department of Social Health and Organizational Psychology, Utrecht University, Utrecht, The Netherlands
| | - I van de Vijver
- The Habit Lab, Department of Clinical Psychology, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
- Amsterdam Brain and Cognition, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
- Experimental Psychology, Helmholtz Institute, Utrecht University, Utrecht, The Netherlands
| | - S de Wit
- The Habit Lab, Department of Clinical Psychology, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
- Amsterdam Brain and Cognition, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
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2
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Bender BN, Stringfield SJ, Torregrossa MM. Changes in dorsomedial striatum activity during expression of goal-directed vs. habit-like cue-induced cocaine seeking. ADDICTION NEUROSCIENCE 2024; 11:100149. [PMID: 38957402 PMCID: PMC11218864 DOI: 10.1016/j.addicn.2024.100149] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 07/04/2024]
Abstract
A preclinical model of cue exposure therapy, cue extinction, reduces cue-induced cocaine seeking that is goal-directed but not habit-like. Goal-directed and habitual behaviors differentially rely on the dorsomedial striatum (DMS) and dorsolateral striatum (DLS), but the effects of cue extinction on dorsal striatal responses to cue-induced drug seeking are unknown. We used fiber photometry in rats trained to self-administer cocaine paired with an audiovisual cue to examine how dorsal striatal intracellular calcium and extracellular dopamine activity differs between goal-directed and habit-like cue-induced cocaine seeking and how it is impacted by cue extinction. After minimal fixed-ratio training, rats showed enhanced DMS and DLS calcium responses to cue-reinforced compared to unreinforced lever presses. After rats were trained on goal-promoting fixed ratio schedules or habit-promoting second-order schedules of reinforcement, different patterns of dorsal striatal calcium and dopamine responses to cue-reinforced lever presses emerged. Rats trained on habit-promoting second-order schedules showed reduced DMS calcium responses and enhanced DLS dopamine responses to cue-reinforced lever presses. Cue extinction reduced calcium responses during subsequent drug seeking in the DMS, but not in the DLS. Therefore, cue extinction may reduce goal-directed behavior through its effects on the DMS, whereas habit-like behavior and the DLS are unaffected.
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Affiliation(s)
- Brooke N. Bender
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Pittsburgh, 450 Technology Drive, Pittsburgh, PA 15219, United States
- Center for Neuroscience, University of Pittsburgh, 4200 Fifth Ave, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, United States
| | - Sierra J. Stringfield
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Pittsburgh, 450 Technology Drive, Pittsburgh, PA 15219, United States
| | - Mary M. Torregrossa
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Pittsburgh, 450 Technology Drive, Pittsburgh, PA 15219, United States
- Center for Neuroscience, University of Pittsburgh, 4200 Fifth Ave, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, United States
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3
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Reilly EE, Wierenga CE, Grange DL. Testing the role of associative learning in evidence-based treatments for anorexia nervosa. Int J Eat Disord 2024; 57:1088-1095. [PMID: 38323377 PMCID: PMC11093706 DOI: 10.1002/eat.24161] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/02/2023] [Revised: 01/25/2024] [Accepted: 01/26/2024] [Indexed: 02/08/2024]
Abstract
Treatments for anorexia nervosa (AN) remain ineffective for many patients. Processes that can account for differential treatment outcomes remain mostly unknown. We propose that the field test the role of associative learning in current psychological treatments. We hold that this line of research could yield actionable information for understanding non-response and improving long-term outcomes. To make this argument, we define associative learning and outline its proposed role in understanding psychiatric disorders and their treatment. We then briefly review data exploring associative learning in AN. We argue that associative learning processes are implicitly implicated in existing treatments; by this rationale, baseline differences in learning may interfere with treatment response. Finally, we outline future research to test our hypotheses. Altogether, future research aimed at better understanding how associative learning may contribute to AN symptom persistence has the potential to inform novel directions in intervention research. PUBLIC SIGNIFICANCE: There is a pressing need to improve outcomes in treatments for anorexia nervosa (AN). We propose that individual differences in associative learning-the ability to form and update associations between cues, contexts, behaviors, and outcomes-may account for differential response to existing treatments. Undertaking this research could provide an understanding of how current treatments work and inform new approaches for those who may be at risk of poor outcomes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Erin E. Reilly
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of California, San Francisco, California, USA
| | | | - Daniel Le Grange
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of California, San Francisco, California, USA
- Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Neuroscience (Emeritus), The University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, USA
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Dougherty R, Thrailkill EA, Mohammed Z, VonDoepp S, Hilton-Vanosdall E, Charette S, Van Horn S, Quirk A, Kraus A, Toufexis DJ. Acute stress facilitates habitual behavior in female rats. Physiol Behav 2024; 275:114456. [PMID: 38181831 PMCID: PMC10842801 DOI: 10.1016/j.physbeh.2024.114456] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/11/2023] [Revised: 12/15/2023] [Accepted: 01/02/2024] [Indexed: 01/07/2024]
Abstract
Instrumental behavior can reflect the influence of goal-directed and habitual systems. Contemporary research suggests that stress may facilitate control by the habitual system under conditions where the behavior would otherwise reflect control by the goal-directed system. However, it is unclear how stress modulates the influence of these systems on instrumental responding to achieve this effect, particularly in females. Here, we examine whether a mild psychogenic stressor experienced before acquisition training (Experiment 1), or prior to the test of expression (Experiment 2) would influence goal-directed and habitual control of instrumental responding in female rats. In both experiments, rats acquired an instrumental nose-poke response for a sucrose reward. This was followed by a reinforcer devaluation phase in which half the rats in Stressed and Non-Stressed conditions received pairings of the sucrose pellet with illness induced by lithium chloride until they rejected the pellet when offered. The remaining rats received a control treatment consisting of pellets and illness on separate days (Unpaired). Control by goal-directed and habitual systems was evaluated in a subsequent nonreinforced test of nose poking. The results of Experiment 1 indicated that the Non-Stressed Paired group reduced nose-poking compared to the Unpaired controls, identifying the response as goal directed, whereas the Stressed Paired and Unpaired groups made a similar number of nose pokes identifying the response as habitual despite a similar amount of training. Results from Experiment 2 indicated habitual control of nose-poke responding was present when stress was experienced just prior to the test. Collectively, these data suggest that stress may facilitate habitual control by altering the relative influence of goal-directed and habitual processes underpinning instrumental behavior. These results may be clinically relevant for understanding the contributions of stress to dysregulated instrumental behavior in compulsive pathologies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Russell Dougherty
- Department of Psychological Science, University of Vermont, 2 Colchester Ave, Burlington VT 05405, United States.
| | - Eric A Thrailkill
- Department of Psychological Science, University of Vermont, 2 Colchester Ave, Burlington VT 05405, United States; Department of Psychiatry, The Robert Larner, M.D. College of Medicine, University of Vermont 1 South Prospect Street, MS 446AR6, Burlington, VT 05401, United States; Vermont Center on Behavior and Health, University of Vermont, 1 South Prospect Street, MS 482, Burlington, VT 05401, United States
| | - Zaidan Mohammed
- Department of Psychological Science, University of Vermont, 2 Colchester Ave, Burlington VT 05405, United States
| | - Sarah VonDoepp
- Department of Psychological Science, University of Vermont, 2 Colchester Ave, Burlington VT 05405, United States
| | - Ella Hilton-Vanosdall
- Department of Psychological Science, University of Vermont, 2 Colchester Ave, Burlington VT 05405, United States
| | - Sam Charette
- Department of Psychological Science, University of Vermont, 2 Colchester Ave, Burlington VT 05405, United States
| | - Sarah Van Horn
- Department of Psychological Science, University of Vermont, 2 Colchester Ave, Burlington VT 05405, United States
| | - Adrianna Quirk
- Department of Psychological Science, University of Vermont, 2 Colchester Ave, Burlington VT 05405, United States
| | - Adina Kraus
- Department of Psychological Science, University of Vermont, 2 Colchester Ave, Burlington VT 05405, United States
| | - Donna J Toufexis
- Department of Psychological Science, University of Vermont, 2 Colchester Ave, Burlington VT 05405, United States
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Nebe S, Kretzschmar A, Brandt MC, Tobler PN. Characterizing Human Habits in the Lab. COLLABRA. PSYCHOLOGY 2024; 10:92949. [PMID: 38463460 PMCID: PMC7615722 DOI: 10.1525/collabra.92949] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 03/12/2024]
Abstract
Habits pose a fundamental puzzle for those aiming to understand human behavior. They pervade our everyday lives and dominate some forms of psychopathology but are extremely hard to elicit in the lab. In this Registered Report, we developed novel experimental paradigms grounded in computational models, which suggest that habit strength should be proportional to the frequency of behavior and, in contrast to previous research, independent of value. Specifically, we manipulated how often participants performed responses in two tasks varying action repetition without, or separately from, variations in value. Moreover, we asked how this frequency-based habitization related to value-based operationalizations of habit and self-reported propensities for habitual behavior in real life. We find that choice frequency during training increases habit strength at test and that this form of habit shows little relation to value-based operationalizations of habit. Our findings empirically ground a novel perspective on the constituents of habits and suggest that habits may arise in the absence of external reinforcement. We further find no evidence for an overlap between different experimental approaches to measuring habits and no associations with self-reported real-life habits. Thus, our findings call for a rigorous reassessment of our understanding and measurement of human habitual behavior in the lab.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stephan Nebe
- Zurich Center for Neuroeconomics, Department of Economics, University of Zurich, Switzerland
| | - André Kretzschmar
- Individual Differences and Assessment, Department of Psychology, University of Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Maike C. Brandt
- Zurich Center for Neuroeconomics, Department of Economics, University of Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Philippe N. Tobler
- Zurich Center for Neuroeconomics, Department of Economics, University of Zurich, Switzerland
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Handel SN, Smith RJ. Making and breaking habits: Revisiting the definitions and behavioral factors that influence habits in animals. J Exp Anal Behav 2024; 121:8-26. [PMID: 38010353 PMCID: PMC10842199 DOI: 10.1002/jeab.889] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/22/2023] [Accepted: 10/26/2023] [Indexed: 11/29/2023]
Abstract
Habits have garnered significant interest in studies of associative learning and maladaptive behavior. However, habit research has faced scrutiny and challenges related to the definitions and methods. Differences in the conceptualizations of habits between animal and human studies create difficulties for translational research. Here, we review the definitions and commonly used methods for studying habits in animals and humans and discuss potential alternative ways to assess habits, such as automaticity. To better understand habits, we then focus on the behavioral factors that have been shown to make or break habits in animals, as well as potential mechanisms underlying the influence of these factors. We discuss the evidence that habitual and goal-directed systems learn in parallel and that they seem to interact in competitive and cooperative manners. Finally, we draw parallels between habitual responding and compulsive drug seeking in animals to delineate the similarities and differences in these behaviors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sophia N Handel
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas, USA
| | - Rachel J Smith
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas, USA
- Institute for Neuroscience, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas, USA
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Filipčíková M, Balleine B, Kumfor F, McDonald S. Action control and selection in social disinhibition following severe TBI: a pavlovian-to-instrumental transfer and outcome devaluation study. J Clin Exp Neuropsychol 2023; 45:825-839. [PMID: 38319159 DOI: 10.1080/13803395.2024.2313257] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/27/2023] [Accepted: 11/25/2023] [Indexed: 02/07/2024]
Abstract
INTRODUCTION Social disinhibition is a significant sequela of severe traumatic brain injury (TBI). Some research suggests that it could reflect a deficiency in goal-directed behavior. The current study aimed to test whether these inappropriate behaviors tend to be deficient in goal-directed control, that is, triggered more by environmental stimuli than by the known consequences of their actions. METHOD We used a between-group design with 25 adult participants with severe TBI, and 27 control participants. Social disinhibition was measured using Frontal Systems Behavior Scale and Social Disinhibition Interview. Changes in reward-related goal-directed behavior were evaluated using a computer-based task in which we assessed the influence of cues predicting reward and of reward devaluation on choice performance. RESULTS We found no difference in the levels of social disinhibition between the TBI and control groups and, using mixed two-way ANCOVAs, no overall effect of the stimuli or outcome devaluation. However, after combing these groups and splitting them based on their disinhibition levels, a significant interaction between group (High vs Low disinhibition) and reward type (Valued vs Devalued) in sensitivity to outcome devaluation test (F = 5.99, p = .01, ηp2 = .13) appeared. Comparing with the baseline rate of responding, the Low disinhibition group decreased their responding to devalued and increased their responding to still-valued outcomes. In contrast, the High disinhibition group showed the opposite pattern of choice performance. CONCLUSIONS It appears that people with clinical levels of social disinhibition are both prone to outcome-response priming effects and insensitive to changes in the value of the consequences of their actions, that is, despite evidence they were aware of the reduction in the value of their actions's outcomes, people with high-level disinhibition kept performing those actions. This pattern has the hallmarks of a habit suggesting their disinhibition reflects a loss of executive control.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Bernard Balleine
- School of Psychology, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW, Australia
| | - Fiona Kumfor
- School of Psychology, Brain and Mind Centre, University of Sydney, Camperdown, NSW, Australia
| | - Skye McDonald
- School of Psychology, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW, Australia
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van Timmeren T, de Wit S. Instant habits versus flexible tenacity: Do implementation intentions accelerate habit formation? Q J Exp Psychol (Hove) 2023; 76:2479-2492. [PMID: 36476147 PMCID: PMC10585941 DOI: 10.1177/17470218221147024] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/21/2022] [Revised: 11/23/2022] [Accepted: 12/07/2022] [Indexed: 10/19/2023]
Abstract
Implementation intentions (strategic "if-then" plans) have been shown to support behaviour change. This may be achieved by mentally forming stimulus-response associations, thereby promoting habit formation. Does this deliberate attempt to instal "strategic automaticity" only offer advantages, or does it also come at the cost of reduced flexibility that characterises learnt habits? To investigate this, we tested healthy, young participants on a computerised instrumental learning task. Critically, we introduced implementation intentions ("if I see stimulus X, then I will respond") versus goal intentions ("for outcome Z, I will respond)" during instrumental acquisition, and subsequently assessed behavioural flexibility in an outcome-revaluation test. In Experiment 1, we conducted a between-subjects manipulation of strategic planning, and in Experiment 2, a within-subject manipulation. We hypothesised that implementation intentions would lead to strong stimulus-response associations and consequently impair performance when the signalled outcome value changed and therefore required a different response, while benefitting performance when the outcome value (and required response) remained the same. We found that implementation intentions supported instrumental learning, but impaired test performance overall (most robustly in Experiment 2), irrespective of whether the signalled outcome value had changed. We argue that this general detrimental effect of implementation intentions on test performance is likely a consequence of their negative effect on stimulus-outcome learning. Our findings warrant caution when applying if-then plans to situations where the agent does not already possess perfect knowledge of behavioural contingencies.While implementation intentions may support efficient and fast behavioural execution, this may come at the expense of behavioural flexibility.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tim van Timmeren
- Habit Lab, Department of Clinical Psychology, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
- Amsterdam Brain and Cognition, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
- Department of Social, Health and Organisational Psychology, Utrecht University, Utrecht, The Netherlands
| | - Sanne de Wit
- Habit Lab, Department of Clinical Psychology, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
- Amsterdam Brain and Cognition, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
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den Daas C, Dixon D, Hubbard G, Allan J, Johnston M. Habits and Reflective Processes in COVID-19 Transmission-reducing Behaviors: Examining Theoretical Predictions in a Representative Sample of the Population of Scotland. Ann Behav Med 2023; 57:910-920. [PMID: 37319346 PMCID: PMC10578412 DOI: 10.1093/abm/kaad025] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/17/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Based on theory, COVID-19 transmission-reducing behaviors (TRBs) should become habitual because of their frequent performance. Habits have been hypothesized to develop through reflective processes and, to act in conjunction with them. PURPOSE We investigated the existence, development, and consequences of TRB habits, for physical distancing, handwashing, and wearing face coverings. METHODS A representative sample of the Scottish population (N = 1,003) was interviewed by a commercial polling company in August-October 2020 and half were re-interviewed later. Measures included adherence, habit, personal routine tendency, reflective processes, and action control for three TRBs. Data were analyzed using general linear modeling, regression, and mediation analyses. RESULTS Handwashing was most habitual; only face covering became more habitual over time. Routine tendencies predicted TRB habits, and adherence to handwashing and physical distancing. Those reporting greater habits reported better adherence, for physical distancing and handwashing, and this remained true after controlling for previous adherence. Reflective and habit processes independently predicted adherence for physical distancing and handwashing; only reflective processes were independently predictive for face covering. The relationship between planning and forgetting and adherence was partly direct, and partly mediated by habit. CONCLUSIONS The results confirm hypotheses from habit theory including the role of repetition and of personal routine tendency in developing habits. They are consistent with dual processing theory in finding that both reflective and habit processes predict adherence to TRBs. Action planning partly mediated the relation between reflective processes and adherence. The COVID-19 pandemic has enabled the testing and confirmation of several theoretical hypotheses about habit processes in the enactment of TRBs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chantal den Daas
- Health Psychology Group, Institute of Applied Health Sciences, School of Medicine, Medical Sciences and Nutrition, University of Aberdeen, Aberdeen, UK
| | - Diane Dixon
- Health Psychology Group, Institute of Applied Health Sciences, School of Medicine, Medical Sciences and Nutrition, University of Aberdeen, Aberdeen, UK
| | - Gill Hubbard
- Department of Nursing and Midwifery, University of the Highlands and Islands, Inverness, UK
| | - Julia Allan
- Health Psychology Group, Institute of Applied Health Sciences, School of Medicine, Medical Sciences and Nutrition, University of Aberdeen, Aberdeen, UK
| | - Marie Johnston
- Health Psychology Group, Institute of Applied Health Sciences, School of Medicine, Medical Sciences and Nutrition, University of Aberdeen, Aberdeen, UK
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Mizes KGC, Lindsey J, Escola GS, Ölveczky BP. Dissociating the contributions of sensorimotor striatum to automatic and visually guided motor sequences. Nat Neurosci 2023; 26:1791-1804. [PMID: 37667040 PMCID: PMC11187818 DOI: 10.1038/s41593-023-01431-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/13/2022] [Accepted: 08/14/2023] [Indexed: 09/06/2023]
Abstract
The ability to sequence movements in response to new task demands enables rich and adaptive behavior. However, such flexibility is computationally costly and can result in halting performances. Practicing the same motor sequence repeatedly can render its execution precise, fast and effortless, that is, 'automatic'. The basal ganglia are thought to underlie both types of sequence execution, yet whether and how their contributions differ is unclear. We parse this in rats trained to perform the same motor sequence instructed by cues and in a self-initiated overtrained, or 'automatic,' condition. Neural recordings in the sensorimotor striatum revealed a kinematic code independent of the execution mode. Although lesions reduced the movement speed and affected detailed kinematics similarly, they disrupted high-level sequence structure for automatic, but not visually guided, behaviors. These results suggest that the basal ganglia are essential for 'automatic' motor skills that are defined in terms of continuous kinematics, but can be dispensable for discrete motor sequences guided by sensory cues.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kevin G C Mizes
- Program in Biophysics, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA
- Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology and Center for Brain Science, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Jack Lindsey
- Zuckerman Mind Brain and Behavior Institute, Columbia University, New York City, NY, USA
| | - G Sean Escola
- Zuckerman Mind Brain and Behavior Institute, Columbia University, New York City, NY, USA
- Department of Psychiatry, Columbia University, New York City, NY, USA
| | - Bence P Ölveczky
- Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology and Center for Brain Science, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA.
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Wood KMJ, Seabrooke T, Mitchell CJ. Action slips in food choices: A measure of habits and goal-directed control. Learn Behav 2023; 51:295-307. [PMID: 36781822 DOI: 10.3758/s13420-023-00573-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 01/24/2023] [Indexed: 02/15/2023]
Abstract
We report a new, simple instrumental action-slip task, which sets goal-directed action against putative S-R associations. On each training trial, participants were presented with one of two stimuli (blue or green coloured screen). One stimulus (S1) signalled that one joystick response (R1-left or right push) would earn one of two rewards (O1-jellybeans or Pringles points). A second stimulus (S2) signalled a different instrumental relationship (S2:R2-O2). On each test trial, participants were told which outcome could be earnt (O1/O2) on that trial. They were required to withhold responding until the screen changed colour to S1 or S2. On congruent test trials, the stimulus presented (e.g., S1) was associated with the same response (R1) as the outcome available on that trial (O1). On incongruent test trials, in contrast, the outcome (e.g., O1) preceded a stimulus that was associated with a different response (e.g., S2). Hence, in order to obtain the outcome (O1) on incongruent trials, participants were required to suppress any tendency they might have to make the response associated with the stimulus (R2 in response to S2). In two experiments, participants made more errors on incongruent than congruent trials. This result suggests that, on incongruent trials, the stimulus drove responding (e.g., S2 increased R2 responding) in a manner that was inconsistent with goal-directed action (e.g., R1 responding to obtain O1)-an action slip. The results are discussed in terms of popular dual-process theories of instrumental action and a single-process alternative.
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Affiliation(s)
- Katie M J Wood
- School of Psychology, University of Plymouth, Devon, PL4 8AA, UK.
| | | | - Chris J Mitchell
- School of Psychology, University of Plymouth, Devon, PL4 8AA, UK
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12
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Watson P, Gladwin TE, Verhoeven AAC, de Wit S. Investigating habits in humans with a symmetrical outcome-revaluation task. Behav Res Methods 2023; 55:2687-2705. [PMID: 35867208 PMCID: PMC10439083 DOI: 10.3758/s13428-022-01922-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 06/27/2022] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Abstract
The translation of the outcome-devaluation paradigm to study habit in humans has yielded interesting insights but proven to be challenging. We present a novel, outcome-revaluation task with a symmetrical design, in the sense that half of the available outcomes are always valuable and the other half not-valuable. In the present studies, during the instrumental learning phase, participants learned to respond (Go) to certain stimuli to collect valuable outcomes (and points) while refraining to respond (NoGo) to stimuli signaling not-valuable outcomes. Half of the stimuli were short-trained, while the other half were long-trained. Subsequently, in the test phase, the signaled outcomes were either value-congruent with training (still-valuable and still-not-valuable), or value-incongruent (devalued and upvalued). The change in outcome value on value-incongruent trials meant that participants had to flexibly adjust their behavior. At the end of the training phase, participants completed the self-report behavioral automaticity index - providing an automaticity score for each stimulus-response association. We conducted two experiments using this task, that both provided evidence for stimulus-driven habits as reflected in poorer performance on devalued and upvalued trials relative to still-not-valuable trials and still-valuable trials, respectively. While self-reported automaticity increased with longer training, behavioral flexibility was not affected. After extended training (Experiment 2), higher levels of self-reported automaticity when responding to stimuli signaling valuable outcomes were related to more 'slips of action' when the associated outcome was subsequently devalued. We conclude that the symmetrical outcome-revaluation task provides a promising paradigm for the experimental investigation of habits in humans.
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Affiliation(s)
- P Watson
- The Habit Lab, Department of Clinical Psychology, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, Netherlands
- Amsterdam Brain and Cognition, University of Amsterdam, Nieuwe Achtergracht 129B, 1018, Amsterdam, WS, Netherlands
- School of Psychology, UNSW Sydney, Sydney, Australia
| | - T E Gladwin
- Institute for Lifecourse Development, University of Greenwich, London, UK
- Behavioural Science Institute, Radboud University Nijmegen, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
| | - A A C Verhoeven
- The Habit Lab, Department of Clinical Psychology, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, Netherlands
- Amsterdam Brain and Cognition, University of Amsterdam, Nieuwe Achtergracht 129B, 1018, Amsterdam, WS, Netherlands
| | - S de Wit
- The Habit Lab, Department of Clinical Psychology, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, Netherlands.
- Amsterdam Brain and Cognition, University of Amsterdam, Nieuwe Achtergracht 129B, 1018, Amsterdam, WS, Netherlands.
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13
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Bender BN, Stringfield SJ, Torregrossa MM. Changes in dorsomedial striatum activity mediate expression of goal-directed vs. habit-like cue-induced cocaine seeking. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2023:2023.07.24.550364. [PMID: 37546826 PMCID: PMC10402009 DOI: 10.1101/2023.07.24.550364] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 08/08/2023]
Abstract
A preclinical model of cue exposure therapy, cue extinction, reduces cue-induced cocaine seeking when drug seeking is goal-directed but not habitual. Goal-directed and habitual behaviors differentially rely on the dorsomedial striatum (DMS) and dorsolateral striatum (DLS), but the effects of cue extinction on dorsal striatal responses to cue-induced drug seeking are unknown. We used fiber photometry to examine how dorsal striatal intracellular calcium and extracellular dopamine activity differs between goal-directed and habitual cue-induced cocaine seeking and how it is impacted by cue extinction. Rats trained to self-administer cocaine paired with an audiovisual cue on schedules of reinforcement that promote goal-directed or habitual cocaine seeking had different patterns of dorsal striatal calcium and dopamine responses to cue-reinforced lever presses. Cue extinction reduced calcium and dopamine responses during subsequent drug seeking in the DMS, but not in the DLS. Therefore, cue extinction may reduce goal-directed behavior through its effects on the DMS, whereas habitual behavior and the DLS are unaffected.
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14
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Moore S, Wang Z, Zhu Z, Sun R, Lee A, Charles A, Kuchibhotla KV. Revealing abrupt transitions from goal-directed to habitual behavior. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2023:2023.07.05.547783. [PMID: 37461576 PMCID: PMC10349993 DOI: 10.1101/2023.07.05.547783] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 07/23/2023]
Abstract
A fundamental tenet of animal behavior is that decision-making involves multiple 'controllers.' Initially, behavior is goal-directed, driven by desired outcomes, shifting later to habitual control, where cues trigger actions independent of motivational state. Clark Hull's question from 1943 still resonates today: "Is this transition abrupt, or is it gradual and progressive?"1 Despite a century-long belief in gradual transitions, this question remains unanswered2,3 as current methods cannot disambiguate goal-directed versus habitual control in real-time. Here, we introduce a novel 'volitional engagement' approach, motivating animals by palatability rather than biological need. Offering less palatable water in the home cage4,5 reduced motivation to 'work' for plain water in an auditory discrimination task when compared to water-restricted animals. Using quantitative behavior and computational modeling6, we found that palatability-driven animals learned to discriminate as quickly as water-restricted animals but exhibited state-like fluctuations when responding to the reward-predicting cue-reflecting goal-directed behavior. These fluctuations spontaneously and abruptly ceased after thousands of trials, with animals now always responding to the reward-predicting cue. In line with habitual control, post-transition behavior displayed motor automaticity, decreased error sensitivity (assessed via pupillary responses), and insensitivity to outcome devaluation. Bilateral lesions of the habit-related dorsolateral striatum7 blocked transitions to habitual behavior. Thus, 'volitional engagement' reveals spontaneous and abrupt transitions from goal-directed to habitual behavior, suggesting the involvement of a higher-level process that arbitrates between the two.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sharlen Moore
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Krieger School of Arts and Sciences, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Zyan Wang
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Krieger School of Arts and Sciences, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Ziyi Zhu
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Krieger School of Arts and Sciences, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA
- The Solomon H. Snyder Department of Neuroscience, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland, USA
- Johns Hopkins Kavli Neuroscience Discovery Institute, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Ruolan Sun
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Whiting School of Engineering, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland, USA
| | - Angel Lee
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Krieger School of Arts and Sciences, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Adam Charles
- Johns Hopkins Kavli Neuroscience Discovery Institute, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Whiting School of Engineering, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland, USA
| | - Kishore V. Kuchibhotla
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Krieger School of Arts and Sciences, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA
- The Solomon H. Snyder Department of Neuroscience, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland, USA
- Johns Hopkins Kavli Neuroscience Discovery Institute, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Whiting School of Engineering, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland, USA
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15
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van de Vijver I, Verhoeven AAC, de Wit S. Individual Differences in Corticostriatal White-matter Tracts Predict Successful Daily-life Routine Formation. J Cogn Neurosci 2023; 35:571-587. [PMID: 36724394 DOI: 10.1162/jocn_a_01967] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/03/2023]
Abstract
Despite good intentions, people often fail to cross the "intention-behavior gap," especially when goal achievement requires repeated action. To bridge this gap, the formation of automatized routines may be crucial. However, people may differ in the tendency to switch from goal-directed toward habitual control. To shed light on why some people succeed in forming routines while others struggle, the present study related the automatization of a novel, daily routine to individual differences in white-matter connectivity in corticostriatal networks that have been implicated in goal-directed and habitual control. Seventy-seven participants underwent diffusion-weighted imaging and formed the daily routine of taking a (placebo) pill for 3 weeks. Pill intake was measured by electronic pill boxes, and participants filled out a daily online questionnaire on the subjective automaticity of this behavior. Automatization of pill intake was negatively related to striatal (mainly caudate) connectivity with frontal goal-directed and cognitive control regions, namely, ventromedial pFC and anterior cingulate gyrus. Furthermore, daily pill intake was positively related to individual differences in striatal (mainly caudate) connectivity with cognitive control regions, including dorsolateral and anterior pFC. Therefore, strong control networks may be relevant for implementing a new routine but may not benefit its automatization. We also show that habit tendency (assessed with an outcome-devaluation task), conscientiousness, and daily life regularity were positively related to routine automatization. This translational study moves the field of habit research forward by relating self-reported routine automatization to individual differences in performance on an experimental habit measure and to brain connectivity.
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16
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Guida P, Foffani G, Obeso I. The Supplementary Motor Area and Automatic Cognitive Control: Lack of Evidence from Two Neuromodulation Techniques. J Cogn Neurosci 2023; 35:439-451. [PMID: 36603037 DOI: 10.1162/jocn_a_01954] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/06/2023]
Abstract
The SMA is fundamental in planning voluntary movements and execution of some cognitive control operations. Specifically, the SMA has been known to play a dominant role in controlling goal-directed actions as well as those that are highly predicted (i.e., automatic). Yet, the essential contribution of SMA in goal-directed or automatic control of behavior is scarce. Our objective was to test the possible direct role of SMA in automatic and voluntary response inhibition. We separately applied two noninvasive brain stimulation (NIBS) inhibitory techniques over SMA: either continuous theta-burst stimulation using repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation or transcranial static magnetic field stimulation. Each NIBS technique was performed in a randomized, crossover, sham-controlled design. Before applying NIBS, participants practiced a go/no-go learning task where associations between stimulus and stopping behaviors were created (initiation and inhibition). After applying each NIBS, participants performed a go/no-go task with reversed associations (automatic control) and the stop signal task (voluntary control). Learning associations between stimuli and response initiation/inhibition was achieved by participants and therefore automatized during training. However, no significant differences between real and sham NIBS were found in either automatic (go/no-go learning task) or voluntary inhibition (stop signal task), with Bayesian statistics providing moderate evidence of absence. In conclusion, our results are compatible with a nondirect involvement of SMA in automatic control of behavior. Further studies are needed to prove a noncausal link between prior neuroimaging findings relative to SMA controlling functions and the observed behavior.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pasqualina Guida
- Hospital Universitario HM Puerta del Sur, HM Hospitales, Madrid, Spain.,Autonoma de Madrid University-Cajal Institute, Madrid, Spain
| | - Guglielmo Foffani
- Hospital Universitario HM Puerta del Sur, HM Hospitales, Madrid, Spain.,Instituto Carlos III, Madrid, Spain.,Hospital Nacional de Parapléjicos, SESCAM, Toledo, Spain
| | - Ignacio Obeso
- Hospital Universitario HM Puerta del Sur, HM Hospitales, Madrid, Spain.,Complutense University of Madrid, Spain
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17
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Smeets T, Ashton SM, Roelands SJ, Quaedflieg CW. Does stress consistently favor habits over goal-directed behaviors? Data from two preregistered exact replication studies. Neurobiol Stress 2023; 23:100528. [PMID: 36861028 PMCID: PMC9969070 DOI: 10.1016/j.ynstr.2023.100528] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/14/2022] [Revised: 01/26/2023] [Accepted: 02/14/2023] [Indexed: 02/22/2023] Open
Abstract
Instrumental learning is controlled by two distinct parallel systems: goal-directed (action-outcome) and habitual (stimulus-response) processes. Seminal research by Schwabe and Wolf (2009, 2010) has demonstrated that stress renders behavior more habitual by decreasing goal-directed control. More recent studies yielded equivocal evidence for a stress-induced shift towards habitual responding, yet these studies used different paradigms to evaluate instrumental learning or used different stressors. Here, we performed exact replications of the original studies by exposing participants to an acute stressor either before (cf. Schwabe and Wolf, 2009) or directly after (cf. Schwabe and Wolf, 2010) an instrumental learning phase in which they had learned that distinct actions led to distinct, rewarding food outcomes (i.e., instrumental learning). Then, following an outcome devaluation phase in which one of the food outcomes was consumed until participants were satiated, action-outcome associations were tested in extinction. Despite successful instrumental learning and outcome devaluation and increased subjective and physiological stress levels following stress exposure, the stress and no-stress groups in both replication studies responded indifferently to valued and devalued outcomes. That is, non-stressed participants failed to demonstrate goal-directed behavioral control, thereby rendering the critical test of a shift from goal-directed to habitual control in the stress group inapt. Several reasons for these replication failures are discussed, including the rather indiscriminate devaluation of outcomes that may have contributed to indifferent responding during extinction, which emphasize the need to further our understanding of the boundary conditions in research aimed at demonstrating a stress-induced shift towards habitual control.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tom Smeets
- Department of Medical and Clinical Psychology, Center of Research on Psychological disorders and Somatic diseases (CoRPS), Tilburg University, the Netherlands,Corresponding author.
| | - Stephanie M. Ashton
- Department of Medical and Clinical Psychology, Center of Research on Psychological disorders and Somatic diseases (CoRPS), Tilburg University, the Netherlands,Department of Neuropsychology & Neuropharmacology, Maastricht University, the Netherlands
| | - Simone J.A.A. Roelands
- Department of Medical and Clinical Psychology, Center of Research on Psychological disorders and Somatic diseases (CoRPS), Tilburg University, the Netherlands
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18
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Berner LA, Fiore VG, Chen JY, Krueger A, Kaye WH, Viranda T, de Wit S. Impaired belief updating and devaluation in adult women with bulimia nervosa. Transl Psychiatry 2023; 13:2. [PMID: 36604416 PMCID: PMC9816187 DOI: 10.1038/s41398-022-02257-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/12/2022] [Revised: 11/07/2022] [Accepted: 11/10/2022] [Indexed: 01/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Recent models of bulimia nervosa (BN) propose that binge-purge episodes ultimately become automatic in response to cues and insensitive to negative outcomes. Here, we examined whether women with BN show alterations in instrumental learning and devaluation sensitivity using traditional and computational modeling analyses of behavioral data. Adult women with BN (n = 30) and group-matched healthy controls (n = 31) completed a task in which they first learned stimulus-response-outcome associations. Then, participants were required to repeatedly adjust their responses in a "baseline test", when different sets of stimuli were explicitly devalued, and in a "slips-of-action test", when outcomes instead of stimuli were devalued. The BN group showed intact behavioral sensitivity to outcome devaluation during the slips-of-action test, but showed difficulty overriding previously learned stimulus-response associations on the baseline test. Results from a Bayesian learner model indicated that this impaired performance could be accounted for by a slower pace of belief updating when a new set of previously learned responses had to be inhibited (p = 0.036). Worse performance and a slower belief update in the baseline test were each associated with more frequent binge eating (p = 0.012) and purging (p = 0.002). Our findings suggest that BN diagnosis and severity are associated with deficits in flexibly updating beliefs to withhold previously learned responses to cues. Additional research is needed to determine whether this impaired ability to adjust behavior is responsible for maintaining automatic and persistent binge eating and purging in response to internal and environmental cues.
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Affiliation(s)
- Laura A Berner
- Department of Psychiatry, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA.
| | - Vincenzo G Fiore
- Department of Psychiatry, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA
| | - Joanna Y Chen
- Department of Psychology, Drexel University, Philadelphia, PA, USA
| | - Angeline Krueger
- Department of Psychiatry, University of California San Diego, San Diego, CA, USA
| | - Walter H Kaye
- Department of Psychiatry, University of California San Diego, San Diego, CA, USA
| | - Thalia Viranda
- Department of Psychiatry, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA
| | - Sanne de Wit
- Department of Clinical Psychology, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, Netherlands
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19
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Seidel M, King JA, Fürtjes S, Labitzke N, Wronski ML, Boehm I, Hennig J, Gramatke K, Roessner V, Ehrlich S. Increased Habit Frequency in the Daily Lives of Patients with Acute Anorexia Nervosa. Nutrients 2022; 14:nu14193905. [PMID: 36235556 PMCID: PMC9573582 DOI: 10.3390/nu14193905] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/08/2022] [Revised: 09/10/2022] [Accepted: 09/16/2022] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Strict eating routines and frequent rigid behavior patterns are commonly observed in patients with anorexia nervosa (AN). A recent theory proposes that while these behaviors may have been reinforced initially, they later become habitual. To date, however, research has been overly focused on eating-disorder (ED)-related habits. Over the course of seven days, we applied an ecological momentary assessment (EMA) to investigate the habit frequency and strength of ED-specific (food intake) and ED-unspecific (hygiene) habits in the daily lives of a sample of n = 57 AN and n = 57 healthy controls (HC). The results of the hierarchical models revealed that habits were significantly more likely in patients compared with HC for both categories, independently. Furthermore, a lower body mass index (BMI) was associated with increased habit frequency in AN. Our study strengthens the habit theory of AN by showing the relevance of habits beyond ED-specific behavioral domains. This also supports the development of innovative therapeutic interventions targeting habitual behavior in EDs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maria Seidel
- Translational Developmental Neuroscience Section, Division of Psychological and Social Medicine and Developmental Neurosciences, Faculty of Medicine, Technische Universität Dresden, 01307 Dresden, Germany
- Correspondence: ; Tel.: +49-(0)351-458-2244
| | - Joseph A. King
- Translational Developmental Neuroscience Section, Division of Psychological and Social Medicine and Developmental Neurosciences, Faculty of Medicine, Technische Universität Dresden, 01307 Dresden, Germany
| | - Sophia Fürtjes
- Translational Developmental Neuroscience Section, Division of Psychological and Social Medicine and Developmental Neurosciences, Faculty of Medicine, Technische Universität Dresden, 01307 Dresden, Germany
| | - Natalie Labitzke
- Translational Developmental Neuroscience Section, Division of Psychological and Social Medicine and Developmental Neurosciences, Faculty of Medicine, Technische Universität Dresden, 01307 Dresden, Germany
| | - Marie-Louis Wronski
- Translational Developmental Neuroscience Section, Division of Psychological and Social Medicine and Developmental Neurosciences, Faculty of Medicine, Technische Universität Dresden, 01307 Dresden, Germany
| | - Ilka Boehm
- Translational Developmental Neuroscience Section, Division of Psychological and Social Medicine and Developmental Neurosciences, Faculty of Medicine, Technische Universität Dresden, 01307 Dresden, Germany
| | - Julius Hennig
- Translational Developmental Neuroscience Section, Division of Psychological and Social Medicine and Developmental Neurosciences, Faculty of Medicine, Technische Universität Dresden, 01307 Dresden, Germany
| | - Katrin Gramatke
- Eating Disorder Treatment and Research Center, Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, Technische Universität Dresden, 01307 Dresden, Germany
| | - Veit Roessner
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Carl Gustav Carus University Hospital Dresden, 01307 Dresden, Germany
| | - Stefan Ehrlich
- Translational Developmental Neuroscience Section, Division of Psychological and Social Medicine and Developmental Neurosciences, Faculty of Medicine, Technische Universität Dresden, 01307 Dresden, Germany
- Eating Disorder Treatment and Research Center, Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, Technische Universität Dresden, 01307 Dresden, Germany
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20
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Making habits measurable beyond what they are not: A focus on associative dual-process models. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2022; 142:104869. [PMID: 36108980 DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2022.104869] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/21/2022] [Revised: 09/09/2022] [Accepted: 09/10/2022] [Indexed: 11/21/2022]
Abstract
Habits are the subject of intense international research. Under the associative dual-process model the outcome devaluation paradigm has been used extensively to classify behaviours as being either goal-directed (sensitive to shifts in the value of associated outcomes) or habitual (triggered by stimuli without anticipation of consequences). This has proven to be a useful framework for studying the neurobiology of habit and relevance of habits in clinical psychopathology. However, in recent years issues have been raised about this rather narrow definition of habits in comparison to habitual behaviour experienced in the real world. Specifically, defining habits as the absence of goal-directed control, the very specific set-ups required to demonstrate habit experimentally and the lack of direct evidence for habits as stimulus-response behaviours are viewed as problematic. In this review paper we address key critiques that have been raised about habit research within the framework of the associative dual-process model. We then highlight novel research approaches studying different features of habits with methods that expand beyond traditional paradigms.
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21
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Guida P, Michiels M, Redgrave P, Luque D, Obeso I. An fMRI meta-analysis of the role of the striatum in everyday-life vs laboratory-developed habits. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2022; 141:104826. [PMID: 35963543 DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2022.104826] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/24/2022] [Revised: 07/17/2022] [Accepted: 08/09/2022] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
The dorsolateral striatum plays a critical role in the acquisition and expression of stimulus-response habits that are learned in experimental laboratories. Here, we use meta-analytic procedures to contrast the neural circuits activated by laboratory-acquired habits with those activated by stimulus-response behaviours acquired in everyday-life. We confirmed that newly learned habits rely more on the anterior putamen with activation extending into caudate and nucleus accumbens. Motor and associative components of everyday-life habits were identified. We found that motor-dominant stimulus-response associations developed outside the laboratory primarily engaged posterior dorsal putamen, supplementary motor area (SMA) and cerebellum. Importantly, associative components were also represented in the posterior putamen. Thus, common neural representations for both naturalistic and laboratory-based habits were found in the left posterior and right anterior putamen. These findings suggest a partial common striatal substrate for habitual actions that are performed predominantly by stimulus-response associations represented in the posterior striatum. The overlapping neural substrates for laboratory and everyday-life habits supports the use of both methods for the analysis of habitual behaviour.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pasqualina Guida
- HM CINAC, Centro Integral de Neurociencias AC. Hospital Universitario HM Puerta del Sur, HM Hospitales, Madrid, Spain; CIBERNED, Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Madrid, Spain; Ph.D. Program in Neuroscience, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid Cajal Institute, Madrid 28029, Spain
| | - Mario Michiels
- HM CINAC, Centro Integral de Neurociencias AC. Hospital Universitario HM Puerta del Sur, HM Hospitales, Madrid, Spain; CIBERNED, Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Madrid, Spain; Ph.D. Program in Neuroscience, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid Cajal Institute, Madrid 28029, Spain
| | - Peter Redgrave
- Department of Psychology, University of Sheffield, Sheffield S10 2TN, UK
| | - David Luque
- Departamento de Psicología Básica, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Madrid, Spain; Departamento de Psicología Básica, Universidad de Málaga, Madrid, Spain
| | - Ignacio Obeso
- HM CINAC, Centro Integral de Neurociencias AC. Hospital Universitario HM Puerta del Sur, HM Hospitales, Madrid, Spain; CIBERNED, Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Madrid, Spain; Psychobiology department, Complutense University of Madrid, Madrid, Spain.
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22
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Attentional capture by signals of reward persists following outcome devaluation. LEARNING & MEMORY (COLD SPRING HARBOR, N.Y.) 2022; 29:181-191. [PMID: 35820792 DOI: 10.1101/lm.053569.122] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/26/2022] [Accepted: 06/20/2022] [Indexed: 12/17/2022]
Abstract
Attention, the mechanism that prioritizes stimuli in the environment for further processing, plays an important role in behavioral choice. In the present study, we investigated the automatic orienting of attention to cues that signal reward. Such attentional capture occurs despite negative consequences, and we investigated whether this counterproductive and reflexive behavior would persist following outcome devaluation. Thirsty participants completed a visual search task in which the color of a distractor stimulus in the search display signaled whether participants would earn water or potato chips for making a rapid eye movement to a diamond target, but looking at the colored distractor was punished by omission of the signaled reward. Nevertheless, participants looked at the water-signaling distractor more frequently than the chip-signaling distractor. Half the participants then drank water ad libitum before continuing with the visual search task. Although the water was now significantly less desirable for half of the participants, there was no difference between groups in the tendency for the water-signaling distractor to capture attention. These findings suggest that once established, counterproductive attentional bias to signals of reward persists even when those outcomes are no longer valuable. This suggests a "habit-like" attentional mechanism that prioritizes reward stimuli in the environment for further action, regardless of whether those stimuli are aligned with current goals or currently desired.
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23
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Brinkhof LP, Ridderinkhof KR, van de Vijver I, Murre JMJ, Krugers HJ, de Wit S. Psychological Coping and Behavioral Adjustment Among Older Adults in Times of COVID-19: Exploring the Protective Role of Working Memory and Habit Propensity. JOURNAL OF ADULT DEVELOPMENT 2022; 29:240-254. [PMID: 35637691 PMCID: PMC9132676 DOI: 10.1007/s10804-022-09404-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 04/23/2022] [Indexed: 12/15/2022]
Abstract
The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on mental health, well-being, and behavior is likely influenced by individual characteristics that determine one’s capacity for resilience. In this exploratory study, we examined whether individual differences in working memory (WM) capacity and habit propensity (HP), measured before the outbreak, could predict variation in subsequent psychological coping efficacy (as operationalized by measures of depression, mental well-being, perceived stress, and loneliness) and behavioral adjustment (by evaluating compliance and self-reported automaticity of four COVID-19 guidelines) among Dutch older adults (n = 36) during the pandemic (measured April 25 to May 6, 2020). While we found elevated levels of depression and emotional loneliness, overall mental well-being, and perceived stress were not affected by the pandemic. Contrary to our expectations, we found no robust evidence for a protective role of WM in predicting these outcomes, although our findings hint at a positive relationship with perceived change in mental well-being. Interestingly, WM and HP were found to affect the self-reported automaticity levels of adherence to behavioral COVID-19 guidelines (i.e., washing hands, physical distancing), where a strong HP appeared beneficial when deliberate resources were less available (e.g., low WM capacity). These novel and preliminary findings offer new potential avenues for investigating individual differences in resilience in times of major life events or challenges.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lotte P Brinkhof
- Department of Psychology, Faculty of Behavioural and Social Sciences, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.,Centre for Urban Mental Health, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.,Amsterdam Brain & Cognition (ABC), University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - K Richard Ridderinkhof
- Department of Psychology, Faculty of Behavioural and Social Sciences, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.,Centre for Urban Mental Health, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.,Amsterdam Brain & Cognition (ABC), University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Irene van de Vijver
- Department of Psychology, Faculty of Behavioural and Social Sciences, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.,Amsterdam Brain & Cognition (ABC), University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Jaap M J Murre
- Department of Psychology, Faculty of Behavioural and Social Sciences, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.,Centre for Urban Mental Health, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.,Amsterdam Brain & Cognition (ABC), University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Harm J Krugers
- Centre for Urban Mental Health, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.,Faculty of Science, Swammerdam Institute for Life Sciences, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.,Amsterdam Brain & Cognition (ABC), University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Sanne de Wit
- Department of Psychology, Faculty of Behavioural and Social Sciences, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.,Centre for Urban Mental Health, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.,Amsterdam Brain & Cognition (ABC), University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
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24
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Du Y, Krakauer JW, Haith AM. The relationship between habits and motor skills in humans. Trends Cogn Sci 2022; 26:371-387. [DOI: 10.1016/j.tics.2022.02.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/02/2021] [Revised: 02/01/2022] [Accepted: 02/06/2022] [Indexed: 12/18/2022]
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25
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Ibáñez de Aldecoa P, de Wit S, Tebbich S. Can Habits Impede Creativity by Inducing Fixation? Front Psychol 2021; 12:683024. [PMID: 34721137 PMCID: PMC8548374 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2021.683024] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/19/2021] [Accepted: 09/23/2021] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
In a competitive and ever-changing world, the ability to generate outstanding ideas is crucial. However, this process can be impeded by factors such as fixation on ideas that emerged through prior experience. The aim of the present study was to shed light on the fixating effect of habits on creativity. To this end, healthy young adults were asked to generate alternative uses for items that differed in their frequency of use in the Alternative Uses Task (a standardized test for divergent thinking). We predicted that frequent past use of an item would lead to the formation of stimulus-response associations between the item and its most frequent use(s) and thereby hinder idea generation. Indeed, individuals were less flexible (but more fluent) in generating ideas for frequently used items than for unknown items. Additionally, we found that subjective automaticity of idea generation was negatively related with flexibility. Finally, we investigated whether individual differences in general habit tendency influence creativity, by relating performance on the Slips-of-Action task (an outcome devaluation paradigm extensively used in habit research) to performance on the Alternative Uses Task, the Candle Problem (a classic convergent thinking task) and two puzzles (non-conventional problem-solving tasks). While we did not find a significant relationship between habit tendency and the Alternative Uses Task or the Candle Problem scores, the tendency to rely on habits predicted probability to succeed and latency to solve one of the puzzles: less habit-prone participants were more likely to solve it and to do so faster. In conclusion, our study provides evidence for the notion that habits can negatively impact creativity and opens promising future avenues of research in this field.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Sanne de Wit
- Department of Clinical Psychology, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, Netherlands
| | - Sabine Tebbich
- Department of Behavioural and Cognitive Biology, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
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26
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Ciria LF, Watson P, Vadillo MA, Luque D. Is the habit system altered in individuals with obesity? A systematic review. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2021; 128:621-632. [PMID: 34252472 DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2021.07.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/15/2021] [Revised: 05/27/2021] [Accepted: 07/06/2021] [Indexed: 12/15/2022]
Abstract
Habit-like eating behavior is repeatedly pointed to as a key cognitive mechanism contributing to the emergence and maintenance of obesity. Here, we conducted a systematic review of the literature to assess the existent behavioral evidence for the Habit Hypothesis for Overeating (HHO) which states that obesity is the consequence of an imbalance between the habit and goal-directed reward learning systems, leading to overconsumption of food. We found a total of 19 studies implementing a variety of experimental protocols (i.e., free operant paradigm, slips-of-action test, two-step task, Pavlovian-to-Instrumental paradigm, probabilistic learning task) and manipulations. Taken together, the studies on clinical (binge eating disorder) and non-clinical individuals with overweight or obesity do not support the HHO conclusively. While the scientific literature on HHO is still in its infancy, the heterogeneity of the extant studies makes it difficult to evaluate the degree of convergence of these findings. Uncovering the role of reward learning systems in eating behaviors might have a transformative impact on public health.
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Affiliation(s)
- Luis F Ciria
- Departamento de Psicología Básica, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Spain; Departamento de Psicología Básica, Universidad de Málaga, Spain.
| | - Poppy Watson
- School of Psychology, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia
| | - Miguel A Vadillo
- Departamento de Psicología Básica, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Spain
| | - David Luque
- Departamento de Psicología Básica, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Spain; Departamento de Psicología Básica, Universidad de Málaga, Spain.
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Augustine F, Nebel MB, Mostofsky SH, Mahone EM, Singer HS. Aberrant prefrontal cortical-striatal functional connectivity in children with primary complex motor stereotypies. Cortex 2021; 142:272-282. [PMID: 34303880 DOI: 10.1016/j.cortex.2021.05.022] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/18/2019] [Revised: 12/24/2020] [Accepted: 05/21/2021] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
Motor stereotypies are rhythmic, repetitive, prolonged, predictable, and purposeless movements that stop with distraction. Although once believed to occur only in children with neurodevelopmental disorders such as autism, the presence and persistence of complex motor stereotypies (CMS) in otherwise typically developing children (primary CMS) has been well-established. Little, however, is known about the underlying pathophysiology of these unwanted actions. The aim of the present study was to use resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging to evaluate functional connectivity within frontal-striatal circuits that are essential for goal-directed and habitual activity in children with primary complex motor stereotypies. Functional connectivity between prefrontal cortical and striatal regions, considered essential for developing goal-directed behaviors, was reduced in children with primary CMS compared to their typically developing peers. In contrast, functional connectivity between motor/premotor and striatal regions, critical for developing and regulating habitual behaviors, did not differ between groups. This documented alteration of prefrontal to striatal connectivity could provide the underlying mechanism for the presence and persistence of complex motor stereotypies in otherwise developmentally normal children.
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Affiliation(s)
- Farhan Augustine
- Department of Neurology, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, USA; Department of Biological Sciences, University of Maryland Baltimore County, USA.
| | - Mary B Nebel
- Center for Neurodevelopmental and Imaging Research, Kennedy Krieger Institute, USA; Department of Neurology, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, USA
| | - Stewart H Mostofsky
- Center for Neurodevelopmental and Imaging Research, Kennedy Krieger Institute, USA; Department of Neurology, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, USA; Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, USA
| | | | - Harvey S Singer
- Department of Neurology, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, USA; Department of Neurology, Kennedy Krieger Institute, Baltimore, MD, USA
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28
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Marchner JR, Preuschhof C. The influence of associative reward learning on motor inhibition. PSYCHOLOGICAL RESEARCH 2021; 86:125-140. [PMID: 33595706 PMCID: PMC8821474 DOI: 10.1007/s00426-021-01485-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/04/2020] [Accepted: 01/29/2021] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
Abstract
Stimuli that predict a rewarding outcome can cause difficulties to inhibit unfavourable behaviour. Research suggests that this is also the case for stimuli with a history of reward extending these effects on action control to situations, where reward is no longer accessible. We expand this line of research by investigating if previously reward-predictive stimuli promote behavioural activation and impair motor inhibition in a second unrelated task. In two experiments participants were trained to associate colours with a monetary reward or neutral feedback. Afterwards participants performed a cued go/no-go task, where cues appeared in the colours previously associated with feedback during training. In both experiments training resulted in faster responses in rewarded trials providing evidence of a value-driven response bias as long as reward was accessible. However, stimuli with a history of reward did not interfere with goal-directed action and inhibition in a subsequent task after removal of the reward incentives. While the first experiment was not conclusive regarding an impact of reward-associated cues on response inhibition, the second experiment, validated by Bayesian statistics, clearly questioned an effect of reward history on inhibitory control. This stands in contrast to earlier findings suggesting that the effect of reward history on subsequent action control is not as consistent as previously assumed. Our results show that participants are able to overcome influences from Pavlovian learning in a simple inhibition task. We discuss our findings with respect to features of the experimental design which may help or complicate overcoming behavioural biases induced by reward history.
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Affiliation(s)
- Janina Rebecca Marchner
- Department of Clinical Developmental Psychology, Institute of Psychology, Faculty of Natural Sciences, Otto-von-Guericke-University, Universitätsplatz 2, Gebäude 24, 39106, Magdeburg, Germany
- Center for Behavioral Brain Sciences, 39106, Magdeburg, Germany
| | - Claudia Preuschhof
- Department of Clinical Developmental Psychology, Institute of Psychology, Faculty of Natural Sciences, Otto-von-Guericke-University, Universitätsplatz 2, Gebäude 24, 39106, Magdeburg, Germany.
- Center for Behavioral Brain Sciences, 39106, Magdeburg, Germany.
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29
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Attentional focus modulates automatic finger-tapping movements. Sci Rep 2021; 11:698. [PMID: 33436938 PMCID: PMC7804157 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-020-80296-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/25/2020] [Accepted: 12/17/2020] [Indexed: 11/08/2022] Open
Abstract
The majority of human behaviors are composed of automatic movements (e.g., walking or finger-tapping) which are learned during nurturing and can be performed simultaneously without interfering with other tasks. One critical and yet to be examined assumption is that the attention system has the innate capacity to modulate automatic movements. The present study tests this assumption. Setting no deliberate goals for movement, we required sixteen participants to perform personalized and well-practiced finger-tapping movements in three experiments while focusing their attention on either different component fingers or away from movements. Using cutting-edge pose estimation techniques to quantify tapping trajectory, we showed that attention to movement can disrupt movement automaticity, as indicated by decreased inter-finger and inter-trial temporal coherence; facilitate the attended and inhibit the unattended movements in terms of tapping amplitude; and re-organize the action sequence into distinctive patterns according to the focus of attention. These findings demonstrate compelling evidence that attention can modulate automatic movements and provide an empirical foundation for theories based on such modulation in controlling human behavior.
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Bender BN, Torregrossa MM. Dorsolateral striatum dopamine-dependent cocaine seeking is resistant to pavlovian cue extinction in male and female rats. Neuropharmacology 2021; 182:108403. [PMID: 33197468 PMCID: PMC7740074 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropharm.2020.108403] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/27/2020] [Revised: 11/09/2020] [Accepted: 11/10/2020] [Indexed: 10/23/2022]
Abstract
Cue exposure therapy (CET) reduces craving induced by drug-associated cues in individuals with substance use disorders. A preclinical model of CET, cue extinction, similarly reduces cue-induced cocaine seeking in rodent self-administration models; however, those models may not capture the habitual or compulsive aspects of drug use. Thus, the effectiveness of cue extinction was tested in male and female rats trained to self-administer cocaine using second-order (SO) or fixed-ratio (FR) schedules of reinforcement to facilitate dorsolateral striatum (DLS) dopamine-dependent or -independent response strategies, respectively. Cue extinction significantly reduced drug seeking in FR-trained rats, replicating prior results, but was ineffective in SO-trained rats. SO-trained rats also showed increased indices of glutamate signaling in the DLS relative to FR-trained rats, despite comparable levels of cocaine intake. Furthermore, in SO-trained rats, antagonism of AMPA receptors in the DLS rescued the efficacy of cue extinction to reduce drug seeking. Finally, the effectiveness of cue extinction was also revealed in SO-trained rats when they were taught to perform a new, non-habitual response for cocaine cue presentation. Overall, our findings indicate that habit-like drug seeking leads to plasticity in the DLS and behavior that is resistant to cue extinction, but that the effects of cue extinction are restored when DLS glutamatergic signaling is blocked. These results have implications for the effectiveness of clinical cue exposure therapy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Brooke N Bender
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Pittsburgh, 450 Technology Drive, Pittsburgh, PA, 15219, United States; Center for Neuroscience, University of Pittsburgh, 4200 Fifth Ave, Pittsburgh, PA, 15213, United States
| | - Mary M Torregrossa
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Pittsburgh, 450 Technology Drive, Pittsburgh, PA, 15219, United States; Center for Neuroscience, University of Pittsburgh, 4200 Fifth Ave, Pittsburgh, PA, 15213, United States.
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Abstract
Most authors who discuss willpower assume that everyone knows what it is, but our assumptions differ to such an extent that we talk past each other. We agree that willpower is the psychological function that resists temptations - variously known as impulses, addictions, or bad habits; that it operates simultaneously with temptations, without prior commitment; and that use of it is limited by its cost, commonly called effort, as well as by the person's skill at executive functioning. However, accounts are usually not clear about how motivation functions during the application of willpower, or how motivation is related to effort. Some accounts depict willpower as the perceiving or formation of motivational contingencies that outweigh the temptation, and some depict it as a continuous use of mechanisms that interfere with re-weighing the temptation. Some others now suggest that impulse control can bypass motivation altogether, although they refer to this route as habit rather than willpower.It is argued here that willpower should be recognized as either or both of two distinct functions, which can be called resolve and suppression. Resolve is based on interpretation of a current choice as a test case for a broader set of future choices, which puts at stake more than the outcome of the current choice. Suppression is inhibiting valuation of (modulating) and/or keeping attention from (filtering) immediate alternatives to a current intention. Perception of current choices as test cases for broader outcomes may result in reliable preference for these outcomes, which is experienced as an effortless habit - a successful result of resolve, not an alternative method of self-control. Some possible brain imaging correlates are reviewed.
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Affiliation(s)
- George Ainslie
- Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Coatesville, PA19320; and School of Economics, University of Cape Town, Rondebosch 7710, South Africa. ; http://www.picoeconomics.org
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Luijten M, Gillan CM, de Wit S, Franken IHA, Robbins TW, Ersche KD. Goal-Directed and Habitual Control in Smokers. Nicotine Tob Res 2020; 22:188-195. [PMID: 30768206 PMCID: PMC7004226 DOI: 10.1093/ntr/ntz001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/04/2018] [Accepted: 01/21/2019] [Indexed: 12/04/2022]
Abstract
Introduction Harmful behavior such as smoking may reflect a disturbance in the balance of goal-directed and habitual control. Animal models suggest that habitual control develops after prolonged substance use. In this study, we investigated whether smokers (N = 49) differ from controls (N = 46) in the regulation of goal-directed and habitual behavior. It was also investigated whether individual differences in nicotine dependence levels were associated with habitual responding. Methods We used two different multistage instrumental learning tasks that consist of an instrumental learning phase, subsequent outcome devaluation, and a testing phase to measure the balance between goal-directed and habitual responding. The testing phases of these tasks occurred after either appetitive versus avoidance instrumental learning. The appetitive versus aversive instrumental learning stages in the two different tasks modeled positive versus negative reinforcement, respectively. Results Smokers and nonsmoking controls did not differ on habitual versus goal-directed control in either task. Individual differences in nicotine dependence within the group of smokers, however, were positively associated with habitual responding after appetitive instrumental learning. This effect seems to be due to impaired stimulus-outcome learning, thereby hampering goal-directed task performance and tipping the balance to habitual responding. Conclusions The current finding highlights the importance of individual differences within smokers. For future research, neuroimaging studies are suggested to further unravel the nature of the imbalance between goal-directed versus habitual control in severely dependent smokers by directly measuring activity in the corresponding brain systems. Implications Goal-directed versus habitual behavior in substance use and addiction is highly debated. This study investigated goal-directed versus habitual control in smokers. The findings suggest that smokers do not differ from controls in goal-directed versus habitual control. Individual differences in nicotine dependence within smokers, however, were positively associated with habitual responding after appetitive instrumental learning. This effect seems to be due to impaired stimulus-outcome learning, thereby hampering goal-directed task performance and tipping the balance to habitual responding. These findings add to the ongoing debate on habitual versus goal-directed control in addiction and emphasize the importance of individual differences within smokers.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maartje Luijten
- Behavioural Science Institute, Radboud University, Nijmegen, The Netherlands.,Department of Psychology, Education and Child Studies, Erasmus University Rotterdam, Rotterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Claire M Gillan
- Department of Psychology, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin 2, Ireland.,Global Brain Health Institute, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin 2, Ireland
| | - Sanne de Wit
- Department of Clinical Psychology, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.,Amsterdam Brain and Cognition, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Ingmar H A Franken
- Department of Psychology, Education and Child Studies, Erasmus University Rotterdam, Rotterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Trevor W Robbins
- Department of Psychology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom.,Behavioural and Clinical Neuroscience Institute, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom
| | - Karen D Ersche
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom
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33
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Kruglanski AW, Szumowska E. Habitual Behavior Is Goal-Driven. PERSPECTIVES ON PSYCHOLOGICAL SCIENCE 2020; 15:1256-1271. [DOI: 10.1177/1745691620917676] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/03/2023]
Abstract
We address the relation between goal-driven and habitual behaviors. Whereas in recent years the two have been juxtaposed, we suggest that habitual behavior is in fact goal-driven. To support this view, we show that habitual behavior is sensitive to changes in goal properties (reward contingencies), namely goal value and its expectancy of attainment. Whereas adjustment to these properties may be slower for habitual (or overlearned) than for nonhabitual behavior, this is likely due to the routinized (or automatic) nature of such behavior, characterized as it is by reduced attention to its consequences. Furthermore, we show that habitual behavior’s prolonged persistence despite its manifest detachment from the original goal likely stems from its attachment to a different goal. Thus, there is no need to postulate purposeless behavior. The view that habitual behavior is goal-driven offers an integrative account of a considerable body of evidence and is consistent with a functional account of psychological processes.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Ewa Szumowska
- Department of Psychology, University of Maryland, College Park
- Department of Philosophy, Institute of Psychology, Jagiellonian University
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34
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Ceceli AO, Myers CE, Tricomi E. Demonstrating and disrupting well-learned habits. PLoS One 2020; 15:e0234424. [PMID: 32530930 PMCID: PMC7292414 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0234424] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/30/2019] [Accepted: 05/26/2020] [Indexed: 12/31/2022] Open
Abstract
Researchers have exerted tremendous efforts to empirically study how habits form and dominate at the expense of deliberation, yet we know very little about breaking these rigid habits to restore goal-directed control. In a three-experiment study, we first illustrate a novel approach of studying well-learned habits, in order to effectively demonstrate habit disruption. In Experiment 1, we use a Go/NoGo task with familiar color-response associations to demonstrate outcome-insensitivity when compared to novel, more flexible associations. Specifically, subjects perform more accurately when the required mapping is the familiar association of green-Go/red-NoGo than when it is red-Go/green-NoGo, confirming outcome-insensitive, habitual control. As a control condition, subjects show equivalent performance with unfamiliar color-response mappings (using the colors blue and purple mapped to Go and NoGo responses). Next, in Experiments 2 and 3, we test a motivation-based feedback manipulation in varying magnitudes (i.e., performance feedback with and without monetary incentives) to break the well-established habits elicited by our familiar stimuli. We find that although performance feedback prior to the contingency reversal test is insufficient to disrupt outcome-insensitivity in Experiment 2, a combination of performance feedback and monetary incentive is able to restore goal-directed control in Experiment 3, effectively breaking the habits. As the first successful demonstration of well-learned habit disruption in the laboratory, these findings provide new insights into how we execute and modify habits, while fostering new and translational research avenues that may be applicable to treating habit-based pathologies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ahmet O. Ceceli
- Department of Psychology, Rutgers University-Newark, Newark, NJ, United States of America
| | - Catherine E. Myers
- Neurobehavioral Research Laboratory, VA New Jersey Health Care System, East Orange, NJ, United States of America
- Department of Pharmacology, Physiology & Neuroscience, New Jersey Medical School, Rutgers University, Newark, NJ, United States of America
| | - Elizabeth Tricomi
- Department of Psychology, Rutgers University-Newark, Newark, NJ, United States of America
- * E-mail:
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35
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Hartogsveld B, van Ruitenbeek P, Quaedflieg CWEM, Smeets T. Balancing Between Goal-Directed and Habitual Responding Following Acute Stress. Exp Psychol 2020; 67:99-111. [DOI: 10.1027/1618-3169/a000485] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/24/2022]
Abstract
Abstract. Instrumental learning is regulated by two memory systems: a relatively rigid but efficient habit system and a flexible but resource-demanding goal-directed system. Previous work has demonstrated that exposure to acute stress may shift the balance between these systems toward the habitual system. In the current study, we used a 2-day outcome devaluation paradigm with a 75% reward contingency rate and altered food reward categories to replicate and extend our previous findings. Participants learned neutral stimulus–response–reward associations on the first day. On the second day, rewards were devalued by eating to satiety. Subsequently, acute stress was induced in half of the participants using the Maastricht Acute Stress Test, while the other half engaged in a nonstressful control task. Finally, relative goal-directed versus habitual behavior was evaluated in a slips-of-action phase, where more slips-of-action indicate a shift toward the habitual system. Results showed that participants successfully acquired the stimulus–response–reward associations, that devaluation was effective, and that stressed participants displayed significant increases in cortisol and blood pressure. Stress led participants to commit more slips-of-action compared with nonstressed controls. The current study extends previous work, showing that the employed paradigm and outcome devaluation procedure are boundary conditions to the stress-induced shift in instrumental responding.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bart Hartogsveld
- Department of Clinical Psychological Science, Faculty of Psychology and Neuroscience, Maastricht University, Maastricht, The Netherlands
| | - Peter van Ruitenbeek
- Department of Clinical Psychological Science, Faculty of Psychology and Neuroscience, Maastricht University, Maastricht, The Netherlands
- Department of Neuropsychology & Psychopharmacology, Faculty of Psychology and Neuroscience, Maastricht University, Maastricht, The Netherlands
| | - Conny W. E. M. Quaedflieg
- Department of Neuropsychology & Psychopharmacology, Faculty of Psychology and Neuroscience, Maastricht University, Maastricht, The Netherlands
| | - Tom Smeets
- Department of Clinical Psychological Science, Faculty of Psychology and Neuroscience, Maastricht University, Maastricht, The Netherlands
- CoRPS – Center of Research on Psychological and Somatic disorders, Department of Medical and Clinical Psychology, Tilburg School of Social and Behavioral Sciences, Tilburg University, Tilburg, The Netherlands
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36
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Goldwater MB, Gershman SJ, Moul C, Ludowici C, Burton A, Killer B, Kuhnert RL, Ridgway K. Children's understanding of habitual behaviour. Dev Sci 2020; 23:e12951. [PMID: 32058673 DOI: 10.1111/desc.12951] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/09/2019] [Revised: 09/24/2019] [Accepted: 01/14/2020] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
Research into the development of Theory of Mind (ToM) has shown how children from a very early age infer other people's goals. However, human behaviour is sometimes driven not by plans to achieve goals, but by habits, which are formed over long periods of reinforcement. Habitual and goal-directed behaviours are often aligned with one another but can diverge when the optimal behavioural policy changes without being directly reinforced (thus specifically hobbling the habitual learning strategy). Unlike the flexibility of goal-directed behaviour, rigid habits can cause agents to persist in behaviour that is no longer adaptive. In the current study, all children predict agents will tend to behave consistently with their goals, but between the ages of 5 and 10, children showed an increasing understanding of how habits can cause agents to persistently take suboptimal actions. These findings stand out from the typical way the development of social reasoning is examined, which instead focuses on children's increasing appreciation of how others' beliefs or expectations affect how they will act in service of their goals. The current findings show that children also learn that under certain circumstances, people's actions are suboptimal despite potentially 'knowing better.'
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | | | - Amy Burton
- University of Sydney, Camperdown, NSW, Australia
| | | | | | - Kate Ridgway
- University of Sydney, Camperdown, NSW, Australia
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37
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Sun D, Custers R, Marien H, Aarts H. Ideomotor Action: Evidence for Automaticity in Learning, but Not Execution. Front Psychol 2020; 11:185. [PMID: 32116968 PMCID: PMC7033682 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2020.00185] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/16/2019] [Accepted: 01/27/2020] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Human habits are widely assumed to result from stimulus-response (S-R) associations that are formed if one frequently and consistently does the same thing in the same situation. According to Ideomotor Theory, a distinct but similar process could lead to response-outcome (R-O) associations if responses frequently and consistently produce the same outcomes. This process is assumed to occur spontaneously, and because these associations can operate in a bidirectional manner, merely perceiving or thinking of an outcome should automatically activate the associated action. In the current paper we test this automaticity feature of ideomotor learning. In four experiments, participants completed the same learning phase in which they could acquire associations, and were either explicitly informed about the contingency between actions and outcomes, or not. Automatic action selection and initiation were investigated using a free-choice task in Experiment 1 and forced-choice tasks in Experiment 2, 3a, and 3b. An ideomotor effect was only obtained in the free-choice, but not convincingly in the forced-choice tasks. Together, this suggests that action-outcome relations can be learned spontaneously, but that there may be limits to the automaticity of the ideomotor effect.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dan Sun
- Department of Psychology, Utrecht University, Utrecht, Netherlands
| | - Ruud Custers
- Department of Psychology, Utrecht University, Utrecht, Netherlands
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38
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Zhang K, Clark L. Loss-chasing in gambling behaviour: neurocognitive and behavioural economic perspectives. Curr Opin Behav Sci 2020. [DOI: 10.1016/j.cobeha.2019.10.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/17/2022]
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39
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Ehmer I, Feenstra M, Willuhn I, Denys D. Instrumental learning in a mouse model for obsessive-compulsive disorder: Impaired habit formation in Sapap3 mutants. Neurobiol Learn Mem 2020; 168:107162. [PMID: 31927083 DOI: 10.1016/j.nlm.2020.107162] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/21/2019] [Revised: 12/19/2019] [Accepted: 01/08/2020] [Indexed: 01/23/2023]
Abstract
It has been hypothesized that maladaptive habit formation contributes to compulsivity in psychiatric disorders such as obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). Here, we used an established animal model of OCD, Sapap3 knockout mice (SAPAP3-/-), to investigate the balance of goal-directed and habitual behavior in compulsive individuals and if altered habit formation is associated with compulsive-like behavior. We subjected 24 SAPAP3-/- and 24 wildtype littermates (WT) to two different schedules of reinforcement in a within-subjects design: a random-ratio (RR) schedule to promote goal-directedness, and a random-interval (RI) schedule, known to facilitate habitual responding. SAPAP3-/- acquired responding under both schedules, but showed lower response rates and fewer attempts to collect food pellets than WT, indicative of altered reward processing. As expected, WT were sensitive to sensory-specific satiety (outcome devaluation) following RR training, but not RI training, demonstrating schedule-specific acquisition of goal-directed and habitual responding, respectively. In contrast, SAPAP3-/- were sensitive to outcome devaluation after both RR and RI training, suggesting decreased engagement of a habitual response strategy. No linear relation was observed between increased grooming and behavior during the outcome devaluation test in SAPAP3-/-. Together, our findings demonstrate altered reward processing and impaired habit learning in SAPAP3-/-. We report a diminished propensity to form habits in these mice, which albeit inconsistent with the predominant idea of excessive habit formation in OCD, nonetheless points at dysregulation of behavioral automation in the context of compulsivity. Thus, the habit hypothesis of compulsivity should be updated to state that an imbalance of habitual and goal-directed responding in either direction can contribute to the development of compulsive behavior.
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Affiliation(s)
- I Ehmer
- Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience, Royal Academy of Arts and Sciences, Amsterdam, the Netherlands; Department of Psychiatry, Amsterdam UMC, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
| | - M Feenstra
- Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience, Royal Academy of Arts and Sciences, Amsterdam, the Netherlands; Department of Psychiatry, Amsterdam UMC, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
| | - I Willuhn
- Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience, Royal Academy of Arts and Sciences, Amsterdam, the Netherlands; Department of Psychiatry, Amsterdam UMC, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, the Netherlands.
| | - D Denys
- Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience, Royal Academy of Arts and Sciences, Amsterdam, the Netherlands; Department of Psychiatry, Amsterdam UMC, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
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40
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Eagle DM, Schepisi C, Chugh S, Desai S, Han SYS, Huang T, Lee JJ, Sobala C, Ye W, Milton AL, Robbins TW. Dissociable dopaminergic and pavlovian influences in goal-trackers and sign-trackers on a model of compulsive checking in OCD. Psychopharmacology (Berl) 2020; 237:3569-3581. [PMID: 32886158 PMCID: PMC7683452 DOI: 10.1007/s00213-020-05636-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/07/2020] [Accepted: 08/07/2020] [Indexed: 01/05/2023]
Abstract
RATIONALE Checking is a functional behaviour that provides information to guide behaviour. However, in obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), checking may escalate to dysfunctional levels. The processes underpinning the transition from functional to dysfunctional checking are unclear but may be associated with individual differences that support the development of maladaptive behaviour. We examined one such predisposition, sign-tracking to a pavlovian conditioned stimulus, which we previously found associated with dysfunctional checking. How sign-tracking interacts with another treatment with emerging translational validity for OCD-like checking, chronic administration of the dopamine D2 receptor agonist quinpirole, is unknown. OBJECTIVES We tested how functional and dysfunctional checking in the rat observing response task (ORT) was affected by chronic quinpirole administration in non-autoshaped controls and autoshaped animals classified as sign-trackers or goal-trackers. METHODS Sign-trackers or goal-trackers were trained on the ORT before the effects of chronic quinpirole administration on checking were assessed. Subsequently, the effects on checking of different behavioural challenges, including reward omission and the use of unpredictable reinforcement schedules, were tested. RESULTS Prior autoshaping increased checking. Sign-trackers and goal-trackers responded differently to quinpirole sensitization, reward omission and reinforcement uncertainty. Sign-trackers showed greater elevations in dysfunctional checking, particularly during uncertainty. By contrast, goal-trackers predominantly increased functional checking responses, possibly in response to reduced discrimination accuracy in the absence of cues signalling which lever was currently active. CONCLUSIONS The results are discussed in terms of how pavlovian associations influence behaviour that becomes compulsive in OCD and how this may be dependent on striatal dopamine D2 receptors.
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Affiliation(s)
- D. M. Eagle
- grid.5335.00000000121885934Department of Psychology, University of Cambridge, Downing Site, Cambridge, CB2 3EB UK
| | - C. Schepisi
- grid.5335.00000000121885934Department of Psychology, University of Cambridge, Downing Site, Cambridge, CB2 3EB UK ,grid.7841.aSapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy
| | - S. Chugh
- grid.5335.00000000121885934Department of Psychology, University of Cambridge, Downing Site, Cambridge, CB2 3EB UK
| | - S. Desai
- grid.5335.00000000121885934Department of Psychology, University of Cambridge, Downing Site, Cambridge, CB2 3EB UK
| | - S. Y. S. Han
- grid.5335.00000000121885934Department of Psychology, University of Cambridge, Downing Site, Cambridge, CB2 3EB UK
| | - T. Huang
- grid.5335.00000000121885934Department of Psychology, University of Cambridge, Downing Site, Cambridge, CB2 3EB UK
| | - J. J. Lee
- grid.5335.00000000121885934Department of Psychology, University of Cambridge, Downing Site, Cambridge, CB2 3EB UK ,grid.5337.20000 0004 1936 7603University of Bristol, Bristol, UK ,grid.83440.3b0000000121901201University College London, London, UK
| | - C. Sobala
- grid.5335.00000000121885934Department of Psychology, University of Cambridge, Downing Site, Cambridge, CB2 3EB UK
| | - W. Ye
- grid.5335.00000000121885934Department of Psychology, University of Cambridge, Downing Site, Cambridge, CB2 3EB UK ,grid.4991.50000 0004 1936 8948Oxford University Clinical Academic Graduate School, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
| | - A. L. Milton
- grid.5335.00000000121885934Department of Psychology, University of Cambridge, Downing Site, Cambridge, CB2 3EB UK
| | - T. W. Robbins
- grid.5335.00000000121885934Department of Psychology, University of Cambridge, Downing Site, Cambridge, CB2 3EB UK
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41
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Perales JC, King DL, Navas JF, Schimmenti A, Sescousse G, Starcevic V, van Holst RJ, Billieux J. Learning to lose control: A process-based account of behavioral addiction. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2019; 108:771-780. [PMID: 31846653 DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2019.12.025] [Citation(s) in RCA: 37] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/04/2019] [Revised: 12/13/2019] [Accepted: 12/13/2019] [Indexed: 12/24/2022]
Abstract
Learning psycho(bio)logy has developed a solid corpus of evidence and theory regarding behavior control modes. The present article briefly reviews that literature and its influence on recent models in which the transition from goal-directed to compulsive behavior is identified as the main process underlying substance use disorders. This literature is also relevant to non-substance addictive disorders, and serves as basis to propose a restricted definition of behavioral addiction relying on the presence of behavior-specific compulsivity. Complementarily, we consider whether some activities can become disordered while remaining mostly goal-driven. Based on reinforcement learning models, relative outcome utility computation is proposed as an alternative mechanism through which dysfunctional behaviors (even not qualifying as addictive) can override adaptive ones, causing functional impairment. Beyond issues of conceptual delimitation, recommendations are made regarding the importance of identifying individual etiological pathways to dysregulated behavior, the necessity of accurately profiling at-risk individuals, and the potential hazards of symptom-based diagnosis. In our view, the validity of these recommendations does not depend on the position one takes in the nosological debate.
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Affiliation(s)
- José C Perales
- Department of Experimental Psychology, Mind Brain and Behavior Research Center (CIMCYC), University of Granada, Spain
| | - Daniel L King
- College of Education, Psychology, & Social Work, Flinders University, Australia
| | - Juan F Navas
- Department of Basic Psychology, Autonomous University of Madrid, Spain; Universitat Oberta de Catalunya, Spain.
| | | | - Guillaume Sescousse
- Lyon Neuroscience Research Center - INSERM U1028 - CNRS UMR5292, PSYR2 Team, University of Lyon, France
| | - Vladan Starcevic
- University of Sydney, Faculty of Medicine and Health, Sydney Medical School, Nepean Clinical School, Discipline of Psychiatry, Australia
| | - Ruth J van Holst
- Amsterdam UMC, University of Amsterdam, Department of Psychiatry, Amsterdam Institute for Addiction Research, Netherlands
| | - Joël Billieux
- Addictive and Compulsive Behaviours Lab. Institute for Health and Behaviour, University of Luxembourg, Esch-sur-Alzette, Luxembourg; Institute of Psychology, University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland; Centre for Excessive Gambling, Lausanne University Hospitals (CHUV), Lausanne, Switzerland
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42
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De Houwer J. On How Definitions of Habits Can Complicate Habit Research. Front Psychol 2019; 10:2642. [PMID: 31849762 PMCID: PMC6895142 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2019.02642] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/14/2019] [Accepted: 11/08/2019] [Indexed: 12/03/2022] Open
Abstract
The core message of this paper is that many of the challenges of habit research can be traced back to the presence of causal elements within the definition of habits. For instance, the idea that habits are stimulus-driven implies that habitual behavior is not causally mediated by goal-representations. The presence of these causal elements in the definition of habits leads to difficulties in establishing empirically whether behavior is habitual. Some of these elements can also impoverish theoretical thinking about the mechanisms underlying habitual behavior. I argue that habit research would benefit from eliminating any reference to specific S-R association formation theories from the definition of habits. Which causal elements are retained in the definition of habits depends on the goals of researchers. However, regardless of the definition that is selected, it is good to be aware of the implications of the definition of habits for empirical and theoretical research on habits.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jan De Houwer
- Department of Experimental Clinical and Health Psychology, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium
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43
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Schreiner DC, Renteria R, Gremel CM. Fractionating the all-or-nothing definition of goal-directed and habitual decision-making. J Neurosci Res 2019; 98:998-1006. [PMID: 31642551 DOI: 10.1002/jnr.24545] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/27/2019] [Revised: 09/30/2019] [Accepted: 10/09/2019] [Indexed: 12/16/2022]
Abstract
Goal-directed and habitual decision-making are fundamental processes that support the ongoing adaptive behavior. There is a growing interest in examining their disruption in psychiatric disease, often with a focus on a disease shifting control from one process to the other, usually a shift from goal-directed to habitual control. However, several different experimental procedures can be used to probe whether decision-making is under goal-directed or habitual control, including outcome devaluation and contingency degradation. These different experimental procedures may recruit diverse behavioral and neural processes. Thus, there are potentially many opportunities for these disease phenotypes to manifest as alterations to both goal-directed and habitual controls. In this review, we highlight the examples of behavioral and neural circuit divergence and similarity, and suggest that interpretation based on behavioral processes recruited during testing may leave more room for goal-directed and habitual decision-making to coexist. Furthermore, this may improve our understanding of precisely what the involved neural mechanisms underlying aspects of goal-directed and habitual behavior are, as well as how disease affects behavior and these circuits.
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Affiliation(s)
- Drew C Schreiner
- Department of Psychology, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA
| | - Rafael Renteria
- Department of Psychology, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA
| | - Christina M Gremel
- Department of Psychology, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA.,Neurosciences Graduate Program, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA
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44
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Hinojosa-Aguayo I, González F. Affect-driven impulsivity impairs human action control and selection, as measured through Pavlovian instrumental transfer and outcome devaluation. Q J Exp Psychol (Hove) 2019; 73:537-554. [PMID: 31590606 DOI: 10.1177/1747021819883963] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
Two experiments were designed to study the role of emotional impulsiveness in action control and selection, involving healthy young women participants. In Experiment 1, the effects of both outcome devaluation and Pavlovian-to-instrumental transfer (PIT) were assessed on instrumental responding. In Experiment 2, we further explored the effect of outcome devaluation on outcome-specific PIT. The role of emotional impulsivity, specifically negative urgency (NU), was also evaluated in both experiments using a self-reported measure (UPPS-P scale, Spanish short version). Experiment 1 showed both outcome devaluation and outcome-specific PIT effects, which were positively inter-correlated and negatively correlated with scores in NU. Experiment 2 found an effect of outcome devaluation on outcome-specific PIT, which was negatively correlated with scores on NU. These results highlight the relevance of considering individual differences in affect-driven impulsivity, specifically NU, when addressing failures in action control and selection (proneness to habit). Moreover, these findings suggest that, at least with the procedure used in these experiments, outcome-specific PIT may be based on a goal-directed process that is under the participant's control.
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Affiliation(s)
- Irene Hinojosa-Aguayo
- Department of Experimental Psychology, Universidad de Granada, Granada, Spain.,Mind, Brain, and Behaviour Research Centre (CIMCYC), Universidad de Granada, Granada, Spain
| | - Felisa González
- Department of Experimental Psychology, Universidad de Granada, Granada, Spain.,Mind, Brain, and Behaviour Research Centre (CIMCYC), Universidad de Granada, Granada, Spain
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45
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Electrophysiology of goal-directed versus habitual control during outcome devaluation. Cortex 2019; 119:401-416. [DOI: 10.1016/j.cortex.2019.08.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/20/2019] [Revised: 07/16/2019] [Accepted: 08/02/2019] [Indexed: 01/08/2023]
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46
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Steding J, Boehm I, King JA, Geisler D, Ritschel F, Seidel M, Doose A, Jaite C, Roessner V, Smolka MN, Ehrlich S. Goal-directed vs. habitual instrumental behavior during reward processing in anorexia nervosa: an fMRI study. Sci Rep 2019; 9:13529. [PMID: 31537862 PMCID: PMC6753148 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-019-49884-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/21/2019] [Accepted: 08/30/2019] [Indexed: 12/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Previous studies have proposed that altered reward processing and elevated cognitive control underlie the etiology of anorexia nervosa (AN). A newly debated notion suggests altered habit learning and an overreliance on habits may contribute to the persistence of AN. In weight-recovered AN patients, we previously found neuroimaging-based evidence for unaltered reward processing, but elevated cognitive control. In order to differentiate between state versus trait factors, we here contrast the aforementioned hypotheses in a sample of acutely underweight AN (acAN) patients. 37 acAN patients and 37 closely matched healthy controls (HC) underwent a functional MRI while performing an established instrumental motivation task. We found no group differences with respect to neural responses during the anticipation or receipt of reward. However, the behavioral response data showed a bimodal distribution, indicative for a goal-directed (gAN) and a habit-driven (hAN) patient subgroup. Additional analyses revealed decreased mOFC activation during reward anticipation in hAN, which would be in line with a habit-driven response. These findings provide a new perspective on the debate regarding the notion of increased goal-directed versus habitual behavior in AN. If replicable, the observed dissociation between gAN and hAN might help to tailor therapeutic approaches to individual patient characteristics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Julius Steding
- Division of Psychological and Social Medicine and Developmental Neurosciences, Faculty of Medicine, TU Dresden, Dresden, Germany
| | - Ilka Boehm
- Division of Psychological and Social Medicine and Developmental Neurosciences, Faculty of Medicine, TU Dresden, Dresden, Germany
| | - Joseph A King
- Division of Psychological and Social Medicine and Developmental Neurosciences, Faculty of Medicine, TU Dresden, Dresden, Germany
| | - Daniel Geisler
- Division of Psychological and Social Medicine and Developmental Neurosciences, Faculty of Medicine, TU Dresden, Dresden, Germany
| | - Franziska Ritschel
- Division of Psychological and Social Medicine and Developmental Neurosciences, Faculty of Medicine, TU Dresden, Dresden, Germany
| | - Maria Seidel
- Division of Psychological and Social Medicine and Developmental Neurosciences, Faculty of Medicine, TU Dresden, Dresden, Germany
| | - Arne Doose
- Division of Psychological and Social Medicine and Developmental Neurosciences, Faculty of Medicine, TU Dresden, Dresden, Germany
| | - Charlotte Jaite
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Psychosomatics and Psychotherapy, Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, corporate member of Freie Universität Berlin, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin and Berlin Institute of Health, Berlin, Germany
| | - Veit Roessner
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, University Hospital Carl Gustav Carus, TU Dresden, Dresden, Germany
| | - Michael N Smolka
- Department of Psychiatry and Neuroimaging Center, TU Dresden, Dresden, Germany
| | - Stefan Ehrlich
- Division of Psychological and Social Medicine and Developmental Neurosciences, Faculty of Medicine, TU Dresden, Dresden, Germany. .,Translational Developmental Neuroscience Section, Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Eating Disorders Research and Treatment Center, University Hospital Carl Gustav Carus, TU Dresden, Dresden, Germany.
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47
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Killeen PR. Timberlake’s theories dissolve anomalies. Behav Processes 2019; 166:103894. [DOI: 10.1016/j.beproc.2019.103894] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/20/2018] [Revised: 06/10/2019] [Accepted: 06/24/2019] [Indexed: 12/25/2022]
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48
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Inflexible habitual decision-making during choice between cocaine and a nondrug alternative. Transl Psychiatry 2019; 9:109. [PMID: 30842406 PMCID: PMC6403316 DOI: 10.1038/s41398-019-0445-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/10/2018] [Revised: 02/12/2019] [Accepted: 02/16/2019] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
The concept of compulsive cocaine-seeking habits is difficult to reconcile with other evidence showing that humans and even rats remain able to shift their choice away from the drug and toward an alternative nondrug reward, when available. This paradox could dissolve if preference for the nondrug option reflected in fact inflexible habitual decision-making (i.e., fixed in a habitual control mode, with no return to a goal-directed control mode). Previous research in rats has shown that prior drug use can favor habit formation, but whether the resulting habits are inflexible or not is largely unknown. Here we addressed this question by manipulating the value of water in rats that chose between water and cocaine in a discrete-trials procedure. Rats preferred water when thirsty and maintained this preference despite water devaluation by satiation. Only with repeated daily testing under water satiation did they progressively reverse their preference toward cocaine. Additional evidence showed that this progressive reversal of preference reflected in fact new interoceptive discrimination learning. Overall, this study suggests that rats seem to be stuck in a habitual decision-making mode, unable to return to a goal-directed mode upon experiencing a change in options value. It also reveals that inflexible decision-making does not necessarily promote drug choice, but can also under some circumstances favor abstinence.
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49
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Quaedflieg CWEM, Stoffregen H, Sebalo I, Smeets T. Stress-induced impairment in goal-directed instrumental behaviour is moderated by baseline working memory. Neurobiol Learn Mem 2019; 158:42-49. [PMID: 30664942 DOI: 10.1016/j.nlm.2019.01.010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/29/2018] [Revised: 11/18/2018] [Accepted: 01/09/2019] [Indexed: 11/18/2022]
Abstract
Acute stress has been found to impair goal-directed instrumental behaviour, a cognitively flexible behaviour that requires cognitive control. The current study aimed to investigate the role of individual differences in baseline and stress-induced changes in working memory (WM) on the shift to less goal-directed responding under stress. To this end, 112 healthy participants performed an instrumental learning task. In phase 1, participants learned instrumental actions that were associated with two different food rewards. In phase 2, one of these food rewards was devalued by eating until satiety. Before the extinction test in phase 3, participants were subjected to the Maastricht Acute Stress Test or a no-stress control procedure. Results showed that the effect of stress on instrumental behaviour is modulated by baseline, but not stress-induced changes in WM capacity. Specifically, only at low baseline WM capacity did stress induce a shift to less goal-directed behaviour. These findings highlight that our cognitive resources are limited and for those who already have limited resources at baseline taking into account motivational value is impaired under stress.
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Affiliation(s)
- C W E M Quaedflieg
- Faculty of Psychology and Neuroscience, Maastricht University, the Netherlands; Department of Cognitive Psychology, Institute for Psychology, University of Hamburg, Germany.
| | | | - I Sebalo
- School of Psychology, University of Central Lancashire, UK
| | - T Smeets
- Faculty of Psychology and Neuroscience, Maastricht University, the Netherlands; Department of Medical and Clinical Psychology, Tilburg University, the Netherlands
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50
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Watson P, Wiers RW, Hommel B, de Wit S. Motivational sensitivity of outcome-response priming: Experimental research and theoretical models. Psychon Bull Rev 2018; 25:2069-2082. [PMID: 29468416 PMCID: PMC6267533 DOI: 10.3758/s13423-018-1449-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/22/2022]
Abstract
Outcome-response (O-R) priming is at the core of various associative theories of human intentional action. This is a simple and parsimonious mechanism by which activation of outcome representations (e.g. thinking about the light coming on) leads to activation of the associated motor patterns required to achieve it (e.g. pushing the light switch). In the current manuscript, we review the evidence for such O-R associative links demonstrated by converging (yet until now, separate) strands of research. While there is a wealth of evidence that both the perceptual and motivational properties of an outcome can be encoded in the O-R association and mediate O-R priming, we critically examine the integration of these mechanisms and the conditions under which motivational factors constrain the sensory O-R priming effect. We discuss the clinical relevance of this O-R priming mechanism, whether it can satisfactorily account for human goal-directed behaviour, and the implications for theories of human action control.
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Affiliation(s)
- Poppy Watson
- ADAPT lab, Department of Developmental Psychology, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, Netherlands
- Amsterdam Brain and Cognition, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, Netherlands
- Habit Lab, Department of Clinical Psychology, University of Amsterdam, Nieuwe Achtergracht 129-B, 1018 WS, Amsterdam, Netherlands
| | - Reinout W Wiers
- ADAPT lab, Department of Developmental Psychology, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, Netherlands
- Amsterdam Brain and Cognition, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, Netherlands
| | - Bernhard Hommel
- Cognitive Psychology Unit, Leiden University, Leiden, Netherlands
- Leiden Institute for Brain and Cognition, Leiden, Netherlands
| | - Sanne de Wit
- Amsterdam Brain and Cognition, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, Netherlands.
- Habit Lab, Department of Clinical Psychology, University of Amsterdam, Nieuwe Achtergracht 129-B, 1018 WS, Amsterdam, Netherlands.
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