Distinct cognitive mechanisms in a gambling task share neural mechanisms

Decision- and feedback-related brain potentials reveal risk processing mechanisms in patients with alcohol use disorder

Individuals with alcohol use disorder (AUD) are aware of the risks of alcohol abuse yet continue risky drinking. Research indicates that dysfunctional decision processes and trait variables such as impulsivity contribute to this awareness-behavior discrepancy. The present study focused on decision-related versus feedback-related processes as potential contributors to decision making in AUD by examining the relationship between decision choices and decision- and feedback-related ERP phenomena in the balloon analogue risk task (BART). N = 39 AUD and n = 35 healthy comparison participants (HC) performed the BART modified for EEG assessment. In each of 100 runs, participants made a series of choices about whether to pump up a virtual balloon, which popped pseudorandomly, ending the run. Alternatively, participants ended the run by pressing a "cash-out" button. Each pump not producing a pop provided .05 €; popping resulted in loss of the run's accumulated gain. Groups made similar choices, though AUD responded more slowly. The decision P3 200-400 ms after decision prompt (balloon) was larger in AUD than in HC, and decision P3 enhancement on high-risk trials predicted choices to pump. Feedback-related negativity (FRN) after loss (relative to cash out) feedback was smaller in AUD than in HC, suggesting indifference to negative feedback. In AUD, high impulsivity was associated with risk-modulated decision P3 but not FRN. Results indicate atypical decision- and feedback-related processes that could contribute to difficulties in engaging with daily challenges effectively.

ERP Correlates of Verbal and Numerical Probabilities in Risky Choices: A Two-Stage Probability Processing View

Two kinds of probability expressions, verbal and numerical, have been used to characterize the uncertainty that people face. However, the question of whether verbal and numerical probabilities are cognitively processed in a similar manner remains unresolved. From a levels-of-processing perspective, verbal and numerical probabilities may be processed differently during early sensory processing but similarly in later semantic-associated operations. This event-related potential (ERP) study investigated the neural processing of verbal and numerical probabilities in risky choices. The results showed that verbal probability and numerical probability elicited different N1 amplitudes but that verbal and numerical probabilities elicited similar N2 and P3 waveforms in response to different levels of probability (high to low). These results were consistent with a levels-of-processing framework and suggest some internal consistency between the cognitive processing of verbal and numerical probabilities in risky choices. Our findings shed light on possible mechanism underlying probability expression and may provide the neural evidence to support the translation of verbal to numerical probabilities (or vice versa).