Dissociation between wanting and liking for coffee in heavy drinkers

The Role of Impulsivity and Reward Deficiency in "Liking" and "Wanting" of Potentially Problematic Behaviors and Substance Uses

A few studies have examined the changes in substance- and behavior-related "wanting" and "liking" of human subjects, the key properties of Incentive Sensitization Theory (IST). The aim of this study was to examine the dissociation between "wanting" and "liking" as a function of usage frequency, intensity, and subjective severity in individuals across four substances (alcohol, nicotine, cannabis, and other drugs) and ten behaviors (gambling, overeating, gaming, pornography use, sex, social media use, Internet use, TV-series watching, shopping, and work). Also, the potential roles of impulsivity and reward deficiency were investigated in "wanting," "liking," and wellbeing. The sex differences between "wanting" and "liking" were also examined. Based on our findings using structural equation modeling with 749 participants (503 women, M age = 35.7 years, SD = 11.84), who completed self-report questionnaires, "wanting" increased with the severity, frequency, and intensity of potentially problematic use, while "liking" did not change. Impulsivity positively predicted "wanting," and "wanting" positively predicted problem uses/behaviors. Reward deficiency positively predicted problem uses/behaviors, and both impulsivity and problem uses/behaviors negatively predicted wellbeing. Finally, women showed higher levels of "wanting," compared to men. These findings demonstrate the potential roles of incentive sensitization in both potentially problematic substance uses and behaviors.

Habituation as an underlying mechanism for Sensory Specific Satiety: An assessment using flavor consumption and preference in rats

Sensory specific satiety refers to a decline in the hedonic value of the sensory properties of a particular food as it is consumed. This phenomenon is characterized by a decrement in responding as a consequence of repeated exposure, is stimulus specific, and recovers after time. All these characteristics are shared with the habituation phenomenon and for this reason, habituation has been proposed as the underlying mechanism that explains this eating regulatory system. However, several studies conducted with human models have yielded mixed results. Using rats as experimental subjects, the present study tested the following three characteristics of habituation within a Sensory Specific Satiety (SSS) framework: spontaneous recovery, dishabituation and the distractor effect. Experiment 1 demonstrated the basic effect of SSS and its spontaneous recovery over time. In Experiment 2 we found that the presentation of a dishabituator after a pre-feeding procedure had no impact on the SSS effect. Finally, in Experiment 3 the presence of a distractor during a pre-feeding procedure did not alter the expression of SSS. These results challenge the idea that SSS constitutes a typical case of habituation, at least with the procedure used here.