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Zuo L, Ai K, Liu W, Qiu B, Tang R, Fu J, Yang P, Kong Z, Song H, Zhu X, Zhang X. Navigating Exploitative Traps: Unveiling the Uncontrollable Reward Seeking of Individuals With Internet Gaming Disorder. BIOLOGICAL PSYCHIATRY. COGNITIVE NEUROSCIENCE AND NEUROIMAGING 2024:S2451-9022(24)00138-1. [PMID: 38839035 DOI: 10.1016/j.bpsc.2024.05.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/16/2024] [Revised: 04/17/2024] [Accepted: 05/19/2024] [Indexed: 06/07/2024]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Internet gaming disorder (IGD) involves an imbalance in the brain's dual system, characterized by heightened reward seeking and diminished cognitive control, which lead to decision-making challenges. The exploration-exploitation strategy is key to decision making, but how IGD affects this process is unclear. METHODS To investigate the impact of IGD on decision making, a modified version of the 2-armed bandit task was employed. Participants included 41 individuals with IGD and 44 healthy control individuals. The study assessed the strategies used by participants in the task, particularly focusing on the exploitation-exploration strategy. Additionally, functional magnetic resonance imaging was used to examine brain activation patterns during decision-making and estimation phases. RESULTS The study found that individuals with IGD demonstrated greater reliance on exploitative strategies in decision making due to their elevated value-seeking tendencies and decreased cognitive control. Individuals with IGD also displayed heightened activation in the presupplementary motor area and the ventral striatum compared with the healthy control group in both decision-making and estimation phases. Meanwhile, the prefrontal cortex showed more inhibition in individuals with IGD than in the healthy control group during exploitative strategies. This inhibition decreased as cognitive control diminished. CONCLUSIONS The imbalance in the development of the dual system in individuals with IGD may lead to an overreliance on exploitative strategies. This imbalance, marked by increased reward seeking and reduced cognitive control, contributes to difficulties in decision making and value-related behavioral processes in individuals with IGD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lin Zuo
- Hefei National Research Center for Physical Sciences at the Microscale, and Department of Hematology, the First Affiliated Hospital of USTC, Division of Life Science and Medicine, University of Science and Technology of China, Anhui, China
| | - Kedan Ai
- Hefei National Research Center for Physical Sciences at the Microscale, and Department of Hematology, the First Affiliated Hospital of USTC, Division of Life Science and Medicine, University of Science and Technology of China, Anhui, China
| | - Weili Liu
- Hefei National Research Center for Physical Sciences at the Microscale, and Department of Hematology, the First Affiliated Hospital of USTC, Division of Life Science and Medicine, University of Science and Technology of China, Anhui, China
| | - Bensheng Qiu
- Centers for Biomedical Engineering, USTC, Anhui, China
| | - Rui Tang
- Hefei National Research Center for Physical Sciences at the Microscale, and Department of Hematology, the First Affiliated Hospital of USTC, Division of Life Science and Medicine, University of Science and Technology of China, Anhui, China
| | - Jiaxin Fu
- Hefei National Research Center for Physical Sciences at the Microscale, and Department of Hematology, the First Affiliated Hospital of USTC, Division of Life Science and Medicine, University of Science and Technology of China, Anhui, China
| | - Ping Yang
- Department of Psychology, School of Humanities & Social Science, USTC, Anhui, China
| | - Zhuo Kong
- Hefei National Research Center for Physical Sciences at the Microscale, and Department of Hematology, the First Affiliated Hospital of USTC, Division of Life Science and Medicine, University of Science and Technology of China, Anhui, China
| | - Hongwen Song
- Hefei National Research Center for Physical Sciences at the Microscale, and Department of Hematology, the First Affiliated Hospital of USTC, Division of Life Science and Medicine, University of Science and Technology of China, Anhui, China; Key Laboratory of Philosophy and Social Science of Anhui Province on Adolescent Mental Health and Crisis Intelligence Intervention, Anhui, China.
| | - Xiaoyu Zhu
- Department of Hematology, The First Affiliated Hospital of USTC, Division of Life Sciences and Medicine, USTC, Anhui, China.
| | - Xiaochu Zhang
- Hefei National Research Center for Physical Sciences at the Microscale, and Department of Hematology, the First Affiliated Hospital of USTC, Division of Life Science and Medicine, University of Science and Technology of China, Anhui, China; Department of Psychology, School of Humanities & Social Science, USTC, Anhui, China; Business School, Guizhou Education University, Guiyang, China; Institute of Health and Medicine, Hefei Comprehensive Science Center, Anhui, China.
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Luo X, Wang L, Zhou X. Volition motivates cognitive performance at the response-execution level by attenuating task-irrelevant motor activations. Cognition 2024; 245:105738. [PMID: 38340529 DOI: 10.1016/j.cognition.2024.105738] [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: 01/07/2023] [Revised: 02/02/2024] [Accepted: 02/04/2024] [Indexed: 02/12/2024]
Abstract
Humans express volition by making voluntary choices which, relative to forced choices, can motivate cognitive performance in a variety of tasks. However, a task that requires the generation of motor responses on the basis of external sensory stimulation involves complex underlying cognitive processes, e.g., pre-response processing, response selection, and response execution. The present study investigated how these underlying processes are facilitated by voluntary choice-making. In five experiments, participants were free or forced to choose a task-irrelevant picture from two alternatives, and then completed a conflict task, i.e., Flanker, Stroop, Simon, Stroop-Simon, or Flanker-Simon task, where the conflict effect could occur at different processing levels. Results consistently showed that responses in all tasks were generally faster after voluntary (vs. forced) choices. Importantly, the conflict effect at the response-execution level (i.e., the Simon effect), but not the conflict effect at the pre-response and response-selection levels (i.e., the Flanker and Stroop effects), was reduced by the voluntary choice-making. Model fitting revealed that the peak amplitude of automatic motor activations in the response-execution conflict was smaller after voluntary (vs. forced) choices. These findings suggest that volition motivates subsequent cognitive performance at the response-execution level by attenuating task-irrelevant motor activations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiaoxiao Luo
- Faculty of Education, Yunnan Normal University, Kunming, China; Shanghai Key Laboratory of Mental Health and Psychological Crisis Intervention, School of Psychology and Cognitive Science, East China Normal University, Shanghai, China.
| | - Lihui Wang
- Shanghai Key Laboratory of Psychotic Disorders, Shanghai Mental Health Center, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China; Institute of Psychology and Behavioral Science, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, China; Shanghai Center for Brain Science and Brain-Inspired Intelligence Technology, Shanghai, China
| | - Xiaolin Zhou
- Shanghai Key Laboratory of Mental Health and Psychological Crisis Intervention, School of Psychology and Cognitive Science, East China Normal University, Shanghai, China; Institute of Linguistics, Shanghai International Studies University, Shanghai, China.
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Kang G, Luo X, Chen L, Chen J, Chen J, Dai H, Zhou X. Reward delays quitting in visual search. PSYCHOLOGICAL RESEARCH 2024; 88:404-416. [PMID: 37498337 DOI: 10.1007/s00426-023-01860-6] [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: 03/19/2023] [Accepted: 07/19/2023] [Indexed: 07/28/2023]
Abstract
Reward motivates goal-directed behaviors, leading to faster reaction time (RT) and lower error rate in searching for a target in the reward condition than in the no-reward condition in target-discrimination tasks. However, it is unclear how reward influences target detection in which participants are required to judge whether a predesignated target is present or absent. Here, we asked participants to complete a target-detection search task in which the color of the search array indicated the reward availability of the current trial. Correct and faster (than a baseline) responses would be rewarded if the search array had the reward-related color. In Experiments 1A and 1B, the target was presented in 50% of the trials. Experiment 1B had the same design as Experiment 1A, except that different baselines were set for the target-present and target-absent conditions. In Experiment 2, the proportion of target presence was manipulated to be high (80%), moderate (50%), or low (20%) in different blocks of stimuli. Results showed that, across all the experiments, participants responded faster and made fewer errors in the reward than in the no-reward condition when the target was present. However, this facilitatory effect was reversed when the target was absent, showcasing a reward-induced interference. The signal detection analysis suggested that reward biased the report criterion to the "yes" response. These findings demonstrate that the impact of reward on goal-directed behavior can be detrimental and reward prolongs the search process by rendering participants reluctant to say "no" in visual search termination.
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Affiliation(s)
- Guanlan Kang
- School of Psychology, Laboratory of Sports Stress and Adaptation of General Administration of Sport, Beijing Sport University, Beijing, China
| | - Xiaoxiao Luo
- Shanghai Key Laboratory of Mental Health and Psychological Crisis Intervention, School of Psychology and Cognitive Science, East China Normal University, Shanghai, 200062, China
- Faculty of Education, Yunnan Normal University, Kunming, China
| | - Lihan Chen
- School of Psychological and Cognitive Sciences and Beijing Key Laboratory of Behavior and Mental Health, Peking University, Beijing, China
| | - Jialiang Chen
- Shanghai Key Laboratory of Mental Health and Psychological Crisis Intervention, School of Psychology and Cognitive Science, East China Normal University, Shanghai, 200062, China
| | - Jiahan Chen
- Shanghai Key Laboratory of Mental Health and Psychological Crisis Intervention, School of Psychology and Cognitive Science, East China Normal University, Shanghai, 200062, China
| | - Hengsen Dai
- Shanghai Key Laboratory of Mental Health and Psychological Crisis Intervention, School of Psychology and Cognitive Science, East China Normal University, Shanghai, 200062, China
| | - Xiaolin Zhou
- Shanghai Key Laboratory of Mental Health and Psychological Crisis Intervention, School of Psychology and Cognitive Science, East China Normal University, Shanghai, 200062, China.
- School of Psychological and Cognitive Sciences and Beijing Key Laboratory of Behavior and Mental Health, Peking University, Beijing, China.
- PKU-IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Peking University, Beijing, China.
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4
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Chen Z, Wang Z, Shen Y, Zeng S, Yang X, Kuang Y, Dou Z, Wang L, Li W. Face-specific negative bias of aesthetic perception in depression: Behavioral and EEG evidence. Front Psychiatry 2023; 14:1102843. [PMID: 36815191 PMCID: PMC9939764 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyt.2023.1102843] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/19/2022] [Accepted: 01/18/2023] [Indexed: 02/08/2023] Open
Abstract
INTRODUCTION Symptoms of depression are associated with the dysfunction of neural systems such as the emotion, reward system, and the default mode network. These systems were suggested by the model of neuroaesthetics as key contributions to aesthetic experience, leading to the prediction of atypical aesthetic orientation in depression. Here we investigated the aesthetic characteristics of depression and the corresponding neural underpinnings. METHODS Fifty-two (25 depression patients, 27 healthy controls) participants were asked to make aesthetic judgments on faces and landscapes in an electroencephalographic (EEG) experiment. RESULTS Our results indicate that relative to the controls, the depression tended to give ugly judgments and refrained from giving beautiful judgments, which was observed only for faces but not for landscapes. We also found that the face-induced component N170 was more negative in the depression group than the control group for ugly and neutral faces. Moreover, the aesthetic evaluation of ugly faces was associated with decreased N200 negativity in the depression group than in the control group, while the evaluation of beautiful faces was associated with decreased brain synchronization at the theta band. DISCUSSION These results suggested a face-specific negative aesthetic bias in depression which can help to design and develop aesthetics-oriented schemes in assisting the clinical diagnosis and therapy of depression.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhitang Chen
- Bio-X Institutes, Key Laboratory for the Genetics of Development and Neuropsychiatric Disorders, School of Life Sciences and Biotechnology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, China.,Institute of Psychology and Behavioral Science, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, China.,WLA Laboratories, World Laureates Association, Shanghai, China
| | - Zhenghua Wang
- The Fourth People's Hospital of Wuhu, Wuhu, Jiangsu, China
| | - Yuhua Shen
- The Fourth People's Hospital of Wuhu, Wuhu, Jiangsu, China
| | - Suhua Zeng
- Bio-X Institutes, Key Laboratory for the Genetics of Development and Neuropsychiatric Disorders, School of Life Sciences and Biotechnology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, China.,Institute of Psychology and Behavioral Science, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, China.,WLA Laboratories, World Laureates Association, Shanghai, China
| | - Xiangyu Yang
- Bio-X Institutes, Key Laboratory for the Genetics of Development and Neuropsychiatric Disorders, School of Life Sciences and Biotechnology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, China.,Institute of Psychology and Behavioral Science, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, China.,WLA Laboratories, World Laureates Association, Shanghai, China
| | - Yifang Kuang
- Bio-X Institutes, Key Laboratory for the Genetics of Development and Neuropsychiatric Disorders, School of Life Sciences and Biotechnology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, China.,Institute of Psychology and Behavioral Science, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, China.,WLA Laboratories, World Laureates Association, Shanghai, China
| | - Zheng Dou
- Bio-X Institutes, Key Laboratory for the Genetics of Development and Neuropsychiatric Disorders, School of Life Sciences and Biotechnology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, China.,Institute of Psychology and Behavioral Science, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, China.,WLA Laboratories, World Laureates Association, Shanghai, China
| | - Lihui Wang
- Institute of Psychology and Behavioral Science, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, China.,Shanghai Key Laboratory of Psychotic Disorders, Shanghai Mental Health Center, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China.,Shanghai Center for Brain Science and Brain-Inspired Intelligence Technology, Shanghai, China
| | - Weidong Li
- Bio-X Institutes, Key Laboratory for the Genetics of Development and Neuropsychiatric Disorders, School of Life Sciences and Biotechnology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, China.,Institute of Psychology and Behavioral Science, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, China.,WLA Laboratories, World Laureates Association, Shanghai, China.,Shanghai Key Laboratory of Psychotic Disorders, Shanghai Mental Health Center, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China.,Shanghai Center for Brain Science and Brain-Inspired Intelligence Technology, Shanghai, China
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The influence of reward in the Simon task: Differences and similarities to the Stroop and Eriksen flanker tasks. Atten Percept Psychophys 2022; 85:949-959. [PMID: 36316615 PMCID: PMC10066131 DOI: 10.3758/s13414-022-02563-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 08/25/2022] [Indexed: 11/21/2022]
Abstract
AbstractPrevious studies have suggested that performance-contingent reward can modulate cognitive control by biasing irrelevant location-response associations in the Simon task. However, the influence of reward in the case of irrelevant words (Stroop task) or irrelevant flankers (Eriksen Flanker task) remains unclear. Across two preregistered experiments, the present study investigated the influence of reward on conflict processing with different types of distractors. Conflict effects on mean reaction time (RT) were reduced in the Simon task (Experiments 1 and 2) when incongruent versus congruent trials were rewarded, and this modulating effect of reward on conflict processing was also observed in the Eriksen flanker task (Experiment 2), but not in the Stroop task (Experiment 1). We propose that cognitive control adjustments to distractor-specific reward contingencies can be generalized across distractor types producing both perceptual-related (Flanker task) and motor-related (Simon task) conflict, but, if any, to a limited degree when distractors produce additional higher-level task conflict (Stroop task). In addition, distributional RT analyses (delta plots) revealed that rewarded distractor-response associations modulate cognitive control not only via biasing the strength (Simon and Eriksen tasks) but also the time-course of suppressing distractor processing (Eriksen task). Overall, the present study dissociated distractor-general and distractor-specific effects of reward on cognitive control.
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6
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Making a saccade enhances Stroop and Simon conflict control. Atten Percept Psychophys 2022; 84:795-814. [PMID: 35304699 DOI: 10.3758/s13414-022-02458-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 02/09/2022] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Abstract
Cognitive control is an important ability instantiated in many situations such as conflict control (e.g., Stroop/Simon task) and the control of eye movements (e.g., saccades). However, it is unclear whether eye movement control shares a common cognitive control system with the conflict control. In Experiment 1, we asked participants to make a prosaccade or antisaccade and then to identify the color of a lateralized color word (i.e., a Stroop-Simon stimulus). The stimulus onset asynchrony (SOA) between the saccadic cue and the Stroop-Simon stimulus was manipulated to be either short (200 ms) or long (600 ms). Results showed that the Stroop effect at the response level and the (negative) Simon effect were smaller when the SOA was short than long, demonstrating a decline of response control over time after making a saccade. Moreover, this temporal change of the Simon effect was more pronounced in the antisaccade session than in the prosaccade session. Furthermore, individuals who had better performance in the antisaccade task performed better in the response control of Stroop interference. When the saccade task was removed in Experiment 2, the temporal declines of the response control observed in Experiment 1 were absent. Experiment 3 replicated the key results of Experiment 1 by replacing the Stroop-Simon task with a typical Simon task and separately testing the typical Stroop and Simon tasks. Overall, our findings suggest that a common system is shared between the control of eye movements and the conflict control at the response level.
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7
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Chen XJ, van den Berg B, Kwak Y. Reward and expectancy effects on neural signals of motor preparation and execution. Cortex 2022; 150:29-46. [DOI: 10.1016/j.cortex.2022.01.018] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/12/2021] [Revised: 11/01/2021] [Accepted: 01/27/2022] [Indexed: 11/03/2022]
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8
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Wang L, Luo X, Yuan TF, Zhou X. Reward facilitates response conflict resolution via global motor inhibition: Electromyography evidence. Psychophysiology 2021; 58:e13896. [PMID: 34231226 DOI: 10.1111/psyp.13896] [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: 09/29/2020] [Revised: 04/29/2021] [Accepted: 06/18/2021] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Abstract
It is crucial for humans to coordinate between behavioural tendencies that can lead to reward but are in conflict with each other. This response conflict can be measured in a reward-modulated Simon task, in which a discriminative response to the identity of a lateral target is required and the target is associated with either high- or low-reward. Critically, the lateral target is presented either congruent or incongruent with the location of the responding hand. It has been shown that relative to the low-reward target, the high-reward target induced a larger response conflict when the target was incongruent with the position of the task-required, reward-obtaining hand. Here we investigated how this response conflict is resolved by acquiring 24 healthy participants' electromyography (EMG) signals from both the task-required responding hand (i.e., goal-directed effector) and the alternative hand (i.e., inappropriate effector). During the coping with the response conflict, motor inhibition (indexed by reduction in EMG signals between conditions) was observed not only at the inappropriate effector but also at the goal-directed effector. Individuals who showed stronger inhibition on the inappropriate effector suffered less from the inhibition on the goal-directed effector, and had more efficient implementation of the reward-obtaining response. Our findings suggest a global motor inhibition that may function to increase the signal-noise ratio in the motor system so as to implement reward-guided behavior.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lihui Wang
- Institute of Psychology and Behavioral Science, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, China.,Shanghai Key Laboratory of Psychotic Disorders, Shanghai Mental Health Center, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China.,Department of Experimental Psychology, Otto-von-Guericke University, Magdeburg, Germany
| | - Xiaoxiao Luo
- School of Psychology and Cognitive Science, East China Normal University, Shanghai, China.,School of Psychological and Cognitive Sciences, Peking University, Beijing, China
| | - Ti-Fei Yuan
- Shanghai Key Laboratory of Psychotic Disorders, Shanghai Mental Health Center, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China
| | - Xiaolin Zhou
- School of Psychology and Cognitive Science, East China Normal University, Shanghai, China.,School of Psychological and Cognitive Sciences, Peking University, Beijing, China.,Beijing Key Laboratory of Behavior and Mental Health, Peking University, Beijing, China.,PKU-IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Peking University, Beijing, China
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9
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Walle A, Hübner R, Druey MD. Value Associations Modulate Visual Attention and Response Selection. Front Psychol 2021; 12:656185. [PMID: 34093346 PMCID: PMC8175643 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2021.656185] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/20/2021] [Accepted: 04/06/2021] [Indexed: 11/15/2022] Open
Abstract
Every day, we are confronted with a vast amount of information that all competes for our attention. Some of this information might be associated with rewards (e.g., gambling) or losses (e.g., insurances). To what extent such information, even if irrelevant for our current task, not only attracts attention but also affects our actions is still a topic under examination. To address this issue, we applied a new experimental paradigm that combines visual search and a spatial compatibility task. Although colored stimuli did not modulate the spatial compatibility effect more than gray stimuli, we found clear evidence that reward and loss associations attenuated this effect, presumably by affecting attention and response selection. Moreover, there are hints that differences in these associations are also reflected in a modulation of the spatial compatibility effect. We discuss theoretical implications of our results with respect to the influences of color, reward, and loss association on selective attention and response selection.
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Affiliation(s)
- Annabelle Walle
- Department of Psychology, University of Konstanz, Konstanz, Germany
| | - Ronald Hübner
- Department of Psychology, University of Konstanz, Konstanz, Germany
| | - Michel D Druey
- Department of Psychology, University of Konstanz, Konstanz, Germany
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10
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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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11
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Reward makes the rhythmic sampling of spatial attention emerge earlier. Atten Percept Psychophys 2021; 83:1522-1537. [PMID: 33442826 DOI: 10.3758/s13414-020-02226-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 12/02/2020] [Indexed: 02/02/2023]
Abstract
A growing body of evidence demonstrates a rhythmic characteristic of spatial attention, with the corresponding behavioral performance fluctuating periodically. Here, we investigate whether and how the rhythmic characteristic of spatial attention is affected by reward-an important factor in attentional selection. We adopted the classic spatial cueing paradigm with a time-resolved stimulus-onset-asynchrony (SOA) between the spatial cue and the target such that responses to the target in different phases could be examined. The color of the spatial cue was associated with either a high or low level of reward. Results showed that in the low-frequency band (<2 Hz) where classic exogenous spatial attention effects (i.e., facilitation and inhibition of return; IOR) appeared, reward enhanced the late IOR effect through facilitating behavioral responses to the target at the uncued location. Recurring lower alpha power (alpha inhibition) which fluctuated in a low-theta frequency (2-3 Hz) was observed at the cued location relative to the uncued location, irrespective of the reward level of the cue. Importantly, the recurring alpha inhibition emerged earlier (~120 ms) in the high-reward condition relative to the low-reward condition. We propose that the recurring alpha inhibition at the cued location implies a recurring attention sampling at the cued location and the expectation of a high reward makes the periodic attention sampling emerge earlier.
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12
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Kang G, Chang W, Wang L, Zhou X. Reward expectation modulates multiple stages of auditory conflict control. Int J Psychophysiol 2019; 146:148-156. [PMID: 31648025 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijpsycho.2019.09.009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/09/2019] [Revised: 09/25/2019] [Accepted: 09/26/2019] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
Although mounting evidence has shown that reward can improve conflict control in the visual domain, little is known about whether and how reward affects conflict processing in the auditory domain. In the present study, we adopted an auditory Stroop task in which the meaning of a sound word ('male' or 'female') could be either congruent or incongruent with the gender of the voice (male or female speaker), and the participants were asked to discriminate the gender of the voice (the phonetic task) or the meaning of the word (the semantic task). Importantly, an auditory cue signalling a potential reward or no-reward for the current trial was presented prior to the sound word. In both tasks, relative to the congruent sound word, response to the incongruent sound word was delayed, i.e., an auditory Stroop effect. However, this auditory Stroop effect was reduced following a reward cue relative to a no-reward cue. Event-related potentials (ERPs) showed a stronger contingent negativity variation (CNV, 1000-1500 ms) for the reward cue than for the no-reward cue. The conflict negativity Ninc (300-400 ms) was more negative-going for the incongruent word than for the congruent word, but this effect was significantly reduced in the reward condition. However, the late positive complex (LPC) showed at most a weak reward modulation. These findings suggest that reward expectation improves auditory conflict control by modulating different stages of conflict processing: promoting better attentional preparation for the upcoming target (CNV), and facilitating conflict detection (Ninc) on the presentation of the target.
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Affiliation(s)
- Guanlan Kang
- School of Psychology, Beijing Sport University, Beijing 100084, China; School of Psychological and Cognitive Sciences, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China
| | - Wenshuo Chang
- School of Psychological and Cognitive Sciences, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China
| | - Lihui Wang
- School of Psychological and Cognitive Sciences, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China
| | - Xiaolin Zhou
- School of Psychological and Cognitive Sciences, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China; Beijing Key Laboratory of Behavior and Mental Health, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China; PKU-IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China; Institute of Linguistics, Shanghai International Studies University, Shanghai 200083, China.
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