The effects of age on the neural correlates of feedback processing in a naturalistic gambling game

Age-related differences in ERP correlates of value-based decision making

This study evaluates age-related differences in the temporal dynamics underlying neural processing of value for decision-making in younger and older adults. We applied a lottery-choice task with event-related potentials to determine how and when brain activity during choice and outcome processing diverge between younger and older adults. Behaviorally, older adults accepted more losing stakes than younger adults. During choice, younger adults evinced higher P2 ERP-response positivity with a later P3 positivity that monotonically increased with low to middle to high win probability. Older adults evinced lower P2 responses and P3 amplitudes with more positivity for high and low relative to middle win probability. Both age groups showed similar feedback-related negativity and late parietal positivity, indicating intact reward prediction error representations and salience integration. Feedback-P3 showed more complex sensitivity to expectancy violations in older than younger adults, suggesting subjective uncertainty about reward expectations. Reduced early general neural processing of objective stimulus value with greater contribution of downstream subjective processes might underlie older adult risk-taking behaviors.

Subjective Memory Complaints and Decision Making in Young and Older Adults: An Event-Related Potential Study

Subjective memory complaints (SMCs) may affect decision-making processes. This study aimed to investigate the neuronal correlates of feedback processing during a decision-making task in young and older adults with and without SMCs. Event-related potentials and behavioral performance during the Iowa gambling task were recorded in a total of 136 participants (65 young adults, 71 older adults). The participants were divided into two groups according to their SMCs (with SMCs: n = 60, without SMCs: n = 76). Feedback-related negativity (FRN) and P3 were analyzed in the feedback stage of the decision-making process. Older adults with SMCs scored worse in the ambiguity phase than older adults without SMCs. The FRN latency was longer for losses in older people with SMCs than in older people without SMCs in the first block. No significant differences between young and older adults with and without SMCs were observed in the other ERP measures. Compared to young adults, older adults showed delayed latency in the FRN component and reduced amplitudes and delayed latency in the P3 component. In conclusion, older people with SMCs present deficits in the decision-making process. These deficits are observed at the behavioral level, but also in neural mechanisms of early feedback processing of negative outcomes.

Electrophysiological Examination of Feedback-Based Learning in 8-11-Year-Old Children

The study aimed at evaluating the extent to which the feedback related negativity (FRN), an ERP component associated with feedback processing, is related to learning in school-age children. Eighty typically developing children between the ages of 8 and 11 years completed a declarative learning task while their EEG was recorded. The study evaluated the predictive value of the FRN on learning retention as measured by accuracy on a follow-up test a day after the session. The FRN elicited by positive feedback was found to be predictive of learning retention in children. The relationship between the FRN and learning was moderated by age. The P3a was also found to be associated with learning, such that larger P3a to negative feedback was associated with better learning retention in children.

Electrophysiological Measurement of Emotion and Somatic State Affecting Ambiguity Decision: Evidences From SCRs, ERPs, and HR

Twenty-three years ago, the Somatic Marker Hypothesis (SMH) proposed by Damasio was introduced to explain the role of emotion in decision-making, and provided a unique neuroanatomical framework for decision-making and its influence by emotion. The core idea of the SMH is that decision-making is a process that is affected by somatic state signals, including those that express themselves in emotion and feeling. In order to verify the SMH, the Iowa Gambling Task (IGT) was originally designed by Bechara et al. and the skin conductance responses (SCRs) was recorded during the IGT. The initial confirmatory results showed that normal subjects would generate anticipatory SCRs when they received reward or punishment, but patients of the VMPFC lesion entirely failed to generate anticipatory SCRs prior to their selection of a card. With the further development of the SMH–related researches, other electrophysiological methods of measuring somatic state was gradually used to test the SMH, including event-related potentials (ERPs), and heart rate (HR). In this mini review article, we summarize the extant electrophysiological research on the SMH and decision-making under ambiguity, propose an integrative perspective for employing different electrophysiological measurement methods, and indicate the application of electrophysiological measurement based on the SMH in daily social decision-making.

Presence of problematic and disordered gambling in older age and validation of the South Oaks Gambling Scale

The use of instruments originally developed for measuring gambling activity in younger populations may not be appropriate in older age individuals. The aim of this study was to examine the presence of problematic and disordered gambling in seniors aged 50 or over, and study the reliability and validity properties of the SOGS (a screening measure to identify gambling related problems). Two independent samples were recruited: a clinical group of n = 47 patients seeking treatment at a Pathological Gambling Outpatient Unit, and a population-based group of n = 361 participants recruited from the same geographical area. Confirmatory factor analysis verified the bifactor structure for the SOGS with two correlated underlying dimensions [measuring the impact of gambling on the self primarily (Cronbach's alpha α = 0.87) or on both the self and others also (α = 0.82)], and a global dimension of gambling severity (also with excellent internal consistency, α = 0.90). The SOG obtained excellent accuracy/validity for identifying gambling severity based on the DSM-5 criteria (area under the ROC curve AUC = 0.97 for discriminating disordered gambling and AUC = 0.91 for discriminating problem gambling), and good convergent validity with external measures of gambling (Pearson's correlation R = 0.91 with the total number of DSM-5 criteria for gambling disorder, and R = 0.55 with the debts accumulated due to gambling) and psychopathology (R = 0.50, 0.43 and 0.44 with the SCL-90R depression, anxiety and GSI scales). The optimal cutoff point for identifying gambling disorder was 4 (sensitivity Se = 92.3% and specificity Sp = 98.6%) and 2 for identifying problem gambling (Se = 78.8% and Sp = 96.7%). This study provides empirical support for the reliability and validity of the SOGS for assessing problem gambling in elders, and identifies two specific factors that could help both research and clinical decision-making, based on the severity and consequences of the gambling activity.

Dimensions of Impulsivity in Gambling Disorder

Impulsivity is a multidimensional construct. Although gambling disorder (GD) has been associated with high impulsivity, impulsivity across multiple domains has not been thoroughly investigated in this population. We first aimed to examine whether associations between three facets of impulsivity (response impulsivity, choice impulsivity and impulsive tendency) varied between GD patients and healthy controls (HC). We next aimed to evaluate relationships between these three types of impulsivity, as proposed by theoretical models of impulsivity, and their associations with GD severity. The sample included 97 treatment-seeking adult men with GD, diagnosed according to DSM-5 criteria, and 32 male HCs recruited from the general population. Greater impulsivity in all three domains was found in men with GD in comparison to men without GD. Associations between impulsivity facets were found in both groups, with response impulsivity being the only domain associated with GD severity. Our findings confirm that multiple domains of impulsivity are relevant in GD. Future studies should examine the extent to which treatments aimed at targeting specific aspects of impulsivity improve outcomes.

The Effect of Aging on the ERP Correlates of Feedback Processing in the Probabilistic Selection Task

Feedback processing contributes to efficient learning, decision making, and social interaction. Studies using event-related brain potentials (ERPs) reveal that feedback processing is associated with transient ERP components over the medial frontal and posterior regions of the scalp that distinguish between positive and negative feedback. There is some evidence indicating that aging has differential effects on the ERP correlates of feedback processing in a gambling task, and the current study was designed to extend these findings to a reinforcement learning paradigm. Younger and older adults performed the probabilistic selection task while ERPs elicited by feedback cues indicating a correct or incorrect choice were recorded during the learning phase. The ERPs revealed that the amplitude of the feedback negativity and frontal P3 were attenuated in older adults relative to younger adults. The amplitude of a temporal positivity was also attenuated in older adults; in contrast, the amplitude of an occipital negativity was insensitive to the effects of aging. These findings indicate that aging may be associated with the disruption of both local activity and long-range connectivity between neural structures related to feedback processing.

Effect of Aging on Change of Intention

Decision making often requires making arbitrary choices ("picking") between alternatives that make no difference to the agent, that are equally desirable, or when the potential reward is unknown. Using event-related potentials we tested the effect of age on this common type of decision making. We compared two age groups: ages 18-25, and ages 41-67 on a masked-priming paradigm while recording EEG and EMG. Participants pressed a right or left button following either an instructive arrow cue or a neutral free-choice picking cue, both preceded by a masked arrow or neutral prime. The prime affected the behavior on the Instructed and the Free-choice picking conditions both in the younger and older groups. Moreover, electrophysiological "Change of Intention" (ChoI) was observed via lateralized readiness potential (LRP) in both age groups - the polarity of the LRP indicated first preparation to move the primed hand and then preparation to move the other hand. However, the older participants were more conservative in responding to the instructive cue, exhibiting a speed-accuracy trade-off, with slower response times, less errors in incongruent trials, and reduced probability of EMG activity in the non-responding hand. Additionally, "Change of Intention" was observed in both age groups in slow RT trials with a neutral prime as a result of an endogenous early intention to respond in a direction opposite the eventual instructing arrow cue. We conclude that the basic behavioral and electrophysiological signatures of implicit ChoI are common to a wide range of ages. However, older subjects, despite showing a similar dynamic decision trajectory as younger adults, are slower, more prudent and finalize the decision making process before letting the information affect the peripheral motor system. In contrast, the flow of information in younger subjects occurs in parallel to the decision process.

Event-Related Potentials in Relation to Risk-Taking: A Systematic Review

Event-related potentials (ERPs) have been used to investigate neural mechanisms underlying risk-related decisions over the last 16 years. We aimed to systematically evaluate associations between risk-taking and ERP components elicited during decisions and following feedback. A total of 79 articles identified from PsychINFO and PubMed databases met the inclusion criteria. Selected articles assessed early ERP components (feedback-related negativity/FRN, error-related negativity/ERN, and medial frontal negativity/MFN) and the mid-latency P3 component, all using gambling paradigms that involved selecting between choices of varying risk (e.g., Iowa Gambling Task, Balloon Analogue Risk Task, and two-choice gambling tasks). The P3 component was consistently enhanced to the selection of risky options and when positive feedback (as compared to negative feedback) was provided. Also consistently, the early negative components were found to be larger following feedback indicating monetary losses as compared to gains. In the majority of studies reviewed here, risk was conceptualized in the context of simple economical decisions in gambling tasks. As such, this narrow concept of risk might not capture the diversity of risky decisions made in other areas of everyday experience, for example, social, health, and recreational risk-related decisions. It therefore remains to be seen whether the risk-sensitivity of the ERP components reviewed here generalizes to other domains of life.

Age differences in neural correlates of feedback processing after economic decisions under risk

This study examines age-related differences in behavioral responses to risk and in the neurophysiological correlates of feedback processing. Our sample was composed of younger, middle-aged, and older adults, who were asked to decide between 2 risky options, in the gain and loss domains, during an EEG recording. Results evidenced group-related differences in early and later stages of feedback processing, indexed by differences in the feedback-related negativity (FRN) and P3 amplitudes. Specifically, in the loss domain, younger adults showed higher FRN amplitudes after non-losses than after losses, whereas middle-aged and older adults had similar FRN amplitudes after both. In the gain domain, younger and middle-aged adults had higher P3 amplitudes after gains than after non-gains, whereas older adults had similar P3 amplitudes after both. Behaviorally, older adults had higher rates of risky decisions than younger adults in the loss domain, a result that was correlated with poorer performance in memory and executive functions. Our results suggest age-related differences in the outcome-related expectations, as well as in the affective relevance attributed to the outcomes, which may underlie the group differences found in risk-aversion.

Aging and risky decision-making: New ERP evidence from the Iowa Gambling Task

Several pieces of evidence have highlighted the presence of an age-related decline in risky decision-making (DM), but the reason of this decline is still unclear. The aim of the present study was to investigate the neural correlates of feedback processing in risky DM. Twenty-one younger (age <50 years) and 15 older (age >50 years) adults were tested with the Iowa Gambling Task (IGT) during Event Related Potentials (ERP) recording. The analysis was focused on the feedback-related negativity (FRN) and P3, two ERP components that represent different stages of feedback processing. Behavioral results revealed that older adults, despite showing a significant learning trend, completed the IGT with a gain of a smaller amount of money compared to the younger ones. ERP results revealed that while the FRN response was comparable in the two groups, the P3 amplitude was significantly reduced after negative feedback in older adults, compared with the younger ones. Furthermore, the difference in the P3 amplitude evoked by positive and negative feedback was significantly correlated with age. Hence, the present findings suggest that older adults seem to be less willing to shift attention from positive to negative information, and that this relevant change in the later stages of feedback processing could be the cause of a poor performance in risky DM contexts.

The aging brain: Movement speed and spatial control

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES

With aging, people commonly develop motor slowing (bradykinesia). Although this slowness with aging may be entirely related to degradation of the cerebral networks important in motor programing, it is possible that, at least in part, it may be a learned procedure for enhancing the accuracy and/or precision of movements. The goal of this study is to test these contradictory hypotheses.

METHODS

Twenty-four healthy adults, 12 younger than age 26 and 12 older than age 65 were asked to make alternative marks with a pen between a card centered in front of them and a series of circles distributed across a page. Performance was timed, and participants were instructed to complete the task as quickly as possible while not sacrificing accuracy for speed. The circle sizes and hand used varied by trial.

RESULTS

The older adults performed the task more slowly for all target circle diameters. As the circles decreased in size, the younger adults performed the task more rapidly than did the older participants, but the younger participants also had a greater decline in accuracy.

CONCLUSIONS

During this aiming task, healthy older adults were less likely than younger adults to sacrifice accuracy for speed. Thus, at least in part, their slowing may be a learned adaptive strategy.

Escalating risk and the moderating effect of resistance to peer influence on the P200 and feedback-related negativity

Young people frequently socialize together in contexts that encourage risky decision making, pointing to a need for research into how susceptibility to peer influence is related to individual differences in the neural processing of decisions during sequentially escalating risk. We applied a novel analytic approach to analyze EEG activity from college-going students while they completed the Balloon Analogue Risk Task (BART), a well-established risk-taking propensity assessment. By modeling outcome-processing-related changes in the P200 and feedback-related negativity (FRN) sequentially within each BART trial as a function of pump order as an index of increasing risk, our results suggest that analyzing the BART in a progressive fashion may provide valuable new insights into the temporal neurophysiological dynamics of risk taking. Our results showed that a P200, localized to the left caudate nucleus, and an FRN, localized to the left dACC, were positively correlated with the level of risk taking and reward. Furthermore, consistent with our hypotheses, the rate of change in the FRN was higher among college students with greater self-reported resistance to peer influence.

Cognition and emotional decision-making in chronic low back pain: an ERPs study during Iowa gambling task

Previous reports documented abnormalities in cognitive functions and decision-making (DM) in patients with chronic pain, but these changes are not consistent across studies. Reasons for these discordant findings might include the presence of confounders, variability in chronic pain conditions, and the use of different cognitive tests. The present study was aimed to add evidence in this field, by exploring the cognitive profile of a specific type of chronic pain, i.e., chronic low back pain (cLBP). Twenty four cLBP patients and 24 healthy controls underwent a neuropsychological battery and we focused on emotional DM abilities by means of Iowa gambling task (IGT). During IGT, behavioral responses and the electroencephalogram (EEG) were recorded in 12 patients and 12 controls. Event-related potentials (ERPs) were averaged offline from EEG epochs locked to the feedback presentation (4000 ms duration, from 2000 ms before to 2000 ms after the feedback onset) separately for wins and losses and the feedback-related negativity (FRN) and P300 peak-to-peak amplitudes were calculated. Among cognitive measures, cLBP patients scored lower than controls in the modified card sorting test (MCST) and the score in this test was significantly influenced by pain duration and intensity. Behavioral IGT results documented worse performance and the absence of a learning process during the test in cLBP patients compared to controls, with no effect of pain characteristics. ERPs findings documented abnormal feedback processing in patients during IGT. cLBP patients showed poor performance in the MCST and the IGT. Abnormal feedback processing may be secondary to impingement of chronic pain in brain areas involved in DM or suggest the presence of a predisposing factor related to pain chronification. These abnormalities might contribute to the impairment in the work and family settings that often cLBP patients report.