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Pertl SM, Srirangarajan T, Urminsky O. A multinational analysis of how emotions relate to economic decisions regarding time or risk. Nat Hum Behav 2024:10.1038/s41562-024-01927-3. [PMID: 39210027 DOI: 10.1038/s41562-024-01927-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/29/2022] [Accepted: 06/13/2024] [Indexed: 09/04/2024]
Abstract
Emotions have been theorized to be important drivers of economic choices, such as intertemporal or risky decisions. Our systematic review and meta-analysis of the previous literature (378 results and 50,972 participants) indicates that the empirical basis for these claims is mixed and the cross-cultural generalizability of these claims has yet to be systematically tested. We analysed a dataset with representative samples from 74 countries (n = 77,242), providing a multinational test of theoretical claims that individuals' ongoing emotional states predict their economic preferences regarding time or risk. Overall, more positive self-reported emotions generally predicted a willingness to wait for delayed rewards or to take favourable risks, in line with some existing theories. Contrary to the assumption of a universal relationship between emotions and decision-making, we show that these relationships vary substantially and systematically across countries. Emotions were stronger predictors of economic decisions in more economically developed and individualistic countries.
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Affiliation(s)
- Samuel M Pertl
- Stanford Graduate School of Business, Stanford, CA, USA.
| | | | - Oleg Urminsky
- University of Chicago Booth School of Business, Chicago, IL, USA
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2
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Cosme D, Mobasser A, Pfeifer JH. If you're happy and you know it: neural correlates of self-evaluated psychological health and well-being. Soc Cogn Affect Neurosci 2023; 18:nsad065. [PMID: 37930824 PMCID: PMC10684270 DOI: 10.1093/scan/nsad065] [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: 11/11/2022] [Revised: 07/17/2023] [Accepted: 10/24/2023] [Indexed: 11/08/2023] Open
Abstract
Psychological health and well-being have important implications for individual and societal thriving. Research underscores the subjective nature of well-being, but how do individuals intuit this subjective sense of well-being in the moment? This pre-registered study addresses this question by examining the neural correlates of self-evaluated psychological health and their dynamic relationship with trial-level evaluations. Participants (N = 105) completed a self-evaluation task and made judgments about three facets of psychological health and positive functioning-self-oriented well-being, social well-being and ill-being. Consistent with pre-registered hypotheses, self-evaluation elicited activity in the default mode network, and there was strong spatial overlap among constructs. Trial-level analyses assessed whether and how activity in a priori regions of interest-perigenual anterior cingulate cortex (pgACC), ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC) and ventral striatum-were related to subjective evaluations. These regions explained additional variance in whether participants endorsed or rejected items but were differentially related to evaluations. Stronger activity in pgACC was associated with a higher probability of endorsement across constructs, whereas stronger activity in vmPFC was associated with a higher probability of endorsing ill-being items, but a lower probability of endorsing self-oriented and social well-being items. These results add nuance to neurocognitive accounts of self-evaluation and extend our understanding of the neurobiological basis of subjective psychological health and well-being.
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Affiliation(s)
- Danielle Cosme
- Department of Psychology, University of Oregon, Eugene, OR 97403, USA
- Annenberg School for Communication, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA
| | - Arian Mobasser
- Department of Psychology, University of Oregon, Eugene, OR 97403, USA
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3
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Ting CC, Salem-Garcia N, Palminteri S, Engelmann JB, Lebreton M. Neural and computational underpinnings of biased confidence in human reinforcement learning. Nat Commun 2023; 14:6896. [PMID: 37898640 PMCID: PMC10613217 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-42589-5] [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: 03/08/2023] [Accepted: 10/16/2023] [Indexed: 10/30/2023] Open
Abstract
While navigating a fundamentally uncertain world, humans and animals constantly evaluate the probability of their decisions, actions or statements being correct. When explicitly elicited, these confidence estimates typically correlates positively with neural activity in a ventromedial-prefrontal (VMPFC) network and negatively in a dorsolateral and dorsomedial prefrontal network. Here, combining fMRI with a reinforcement-learning paradigm, we leverage the fact that humans are more confident in their choices when seeking gains than avoiding losses to reveal a functional dissociation: whereas the dorsal prefrontal network correlates negatively with a condition-specific confidence signal, the VMPFC network positively encodes task-wide confidence signal incorporating the valence-induced bias. Challenging dominant neuro-computational models, we found that decision-related VMPFC activity better correlates with confidence than with option-values inferred from reinforcement-learning models. Altogether, these results identify the VMPFC as a key node in the neuro-computational architecture that builds global feeling-of-confidence signals from latent decision variables and contextual biases during reinforcement-learning.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chih-Chung Ting
- General Psychology, Universität Hamburg, Von-Melle-Park 11, 20146, Hamburg, Germany.
- CREED, Amsterdam School of Economics (ASE), Universiteit van Amsterdam, Roetersstraat 11, 1018 WB, Amsterdam, the Netherlands.
| | - Nahuel Salem-Garcia
- Swiss Center for Affective Science, Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, University of Geneva, Chem. des Mines 9, 1202, Genève, Switzerland
| | - Stefano Palminteri
- Département d'Études Cognitives, École Normale Supérieure, PSL Research University, 29 rue d'Ulm, 75230, Paris cedex 05, France
- Laboratoire de Neurosciences Cognitives et Computationnelles, Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale, 29 rue d'Ulm 75230, Paris cedex 05, France
| | - Jan B Engelmann
- CREED, Amsterdam School of Economics (ASE), Universiteit van Amsterdam, Roetersstraat 11, 1018 WB, Amsterdam, the Netherlands.
- The Tinbergen Institute, Gustav Mahlerplein 117, 1082 MS, Amsterdam, the Netherlands.
| | - Maël Lebreton
- Swiss Center for Affective Science, Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, University of Geneva, Chem. des Mines 9, 1202, Genève, Switzerland.
- Economics of Human Behavior group, Paris-Jourdan Sciences Économiques UMR8545, Paris School of Economics, 48 Boulevard Jourdan, 75014, Paris, France.
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4
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Barretto-García M, de Hollander G, Grueschow M, Polanía R, Woodford M, Ruff CC. Individual risk attitudes arise from noise in neurocognitive magnitude representations. Nat Hum Behav 2023; 7:1551-1567. [PMID: 37460762 DOI: 10.1038/s41562-023-01643-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/23/2022] [Accepted: 05/25/2023] [Indexed: 09/23/2023]
Abstract
Humans are generally risk averse, preferring smaller certain over larger uncertain outcomes. Economic theories usually explain this by assuming concave utility functions. Here, we provide evidence that risk aversion can also arise from relative underestimation of larger monetary payoffs, a perceptual bias rooted in the noisy logarithmic coding of numerical magnitudes. We confirmed this with psychophysics and functional magnetic resonance imaging, by measuring behavioural and neural acuity of magnitude representations during a magnitude perception task and relating these measures to risk attitudes during separate risky financial decisions. Computational modelling indicated that participants use similar mental magnitude representations in both tasks, with correlated precision across perceptual and risky choices. Participants with more precise magnitude representations in parietal cortex showed less variable behaviour and less risk aversion. Our results highlight that at least some individual characteristics of economic behaviour can reflect capacity limitations in perceptual processing rather than processes that assign subjective values to monetary outcomes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Miguel Barretto-García
- Zurich Center for Neuroeconomics, Department of Economics, University of Zürich, Zurich, Switzerland.
- Department of Neuroscience, School of Medicine, Washington University in St Louis, St. Louis, MO, USA.
| | - Gilles de Hollander
- Zurich Center for Neuroeconomics, Department of Economics, University of Zürich, Zurich, Switzerland
- University Research Priority Program 'Adaptive Brain Circuits in Development and Learning' (URPP AdaBD), University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Marcus Grueschow
- Zurich Center for Neuroeconomics, Department of Economics, University of Zürich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Rafael Polanía
- Decision Neuroscience Laboratory, Department of Health Sciences and Technology, ETH Zürich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | | | - Christian C Ruff
- Zurich Center for Neuroeconomics, Department of Economics, University of Zürich, Zurich, Switzerland.
- University Research Priority Program 'Adaptive Brain Circuits in Development and Learning' (URPP AdaBD), University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland.
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5
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Cui F, Huang X, Liu J, Luo YJ, Gu R. Threat-induced anxiety and selfishness in resource sharing: Behavioral and neural evidence. Hum Brain Mapp 2023; 44:3859-3872. [PMID: 37086449 DOI: 10.1002/hbm.26318] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/13/2022] [Revised: 03/28/2023] [Accepted: 04/11/2023] [Indexed: 04/24/2023] Open
Abstract
In real life, it is not unusual that we face potential threats (i.e., physical stimuli and environments that may cause harm or danger) with other individuals together, yet it remains largely unknown how threat-induced anxious feelings influence prosocial behaviors such as resource sharing. In this study, we investigated this question by combining functional magnetic resonance imaging and a novel paradigm. Together with an anonymous partner, each participant faced the possibility of receiving a 10-s noise administration, which had a low or high probability to be a threat (i.e., the intensity of noise can induce a high level of unpleasantness). Each participant first reported her/his immediate feeling of anxiety about the current situation (being threatened by the unpleasant noise), then decided how to split a number of resources (which could relieve the noise) between her/him and the partner. Behavioral results revealed that the participants showed a selfish bias in the threat conditions than in the safe conditions, and that self-reported anxiety feeling significantly predicted this bias. Functional magnetic resonance imaging results revealed that: (1) the activation level of the anterior insula was correlated with self-reported anxiety and (2) the connectivity between the anterior insula and the temporoparietal junction was sensitive to the modulating effect of anxiety on the selfish bias. These findings indicate the neural correlates of the association between threat-induced anxiety and prosocial tendencies in social interactions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fang Cui
- School of Psychology, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, China
- Magnetic Resonance Imaging Center, Center for Brain Disorders and Cognitive Sciences, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, China
| | - Xiaoxuan Huang
- School of Psychology, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, China
| | - Jie Liu
- School of Psychology, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, China
- Magnetic Resonance Imaging Center, Center for Brain Disorders and Cognitive Sciences, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, China
| | - Yue-Jia Luo
- School of Psychology, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, China
- Magnetic Resonance Imaging Center, Center for Brain Disorders and Cognitive Sciences, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, China
| | - Ruolei Gu
- CAS Key Laboratory of Behavioral Science, Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
- Department of Psychology, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
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6
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Hoven M, Hirmas A, Engelmann J, van Holst RJ. The role of attention in decision-making under risk in gambling disorder: An eye-tracking study. Addict Behav 2023; 138:107550. [PMID: 36444787 DOI: 10.1016/j.addbeh.2022.107550] [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: 06/30/2022] [Revised: 09/14/2022] [Accepted: 11/03/2022] [Indexed: 11/18/2022]
Abstract
Gambling disorder (GD) is a behavioural addiction characterized by impairments in decision-making, favouring risk- and reward-prone choices. One explanatory factor for this behaviour is a deviation in attentional processes, as increasing evidence indicates that GD patients show an attentional bias toward gambling stimuli. However, previous attentional studies have not directly investigated attention during risky decision-making. 26 patients with GD and 29 healthy matched controls (HC) completed a mixed gambles task combined with eye-tracking to investigate attentional biases for potential gains versus losses during decision-making under risk. Results indicate that compared to HC, GD patients gambled more and were less loss averse. GD patients did not show a direct attentional bias towards gains (or relative to losses). Using a recent (neuro)economics model that considers average attention and trial-wise deviations in average attention, we conducted fine-grained exploratory analyses of the attentional data. Results indicate that the average attention for gains in GD patients moderated the effect of gain value on gambling choices, whereas this was not the case for HC. GD patients with high average attention for gains started gambling at less high gain values. A similar trend-level effect was found for losses, where GD patients with high average attention for losses stopped gambling at lower loss values. This study gives more insight into how attentional processes in GD play a role in gambling behaviour, which could have implications for the development of future treatments focusing on attentional training or for the development of interventions that increase the salience of losses.
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Affiliation(s)
- Monja Hoven
- Department of Psychiatry, Amsterdam UMC, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, the Netherlands.
| | - Alejandro Hirmas
- Center for Research in Experimental Economics and Political Decision Making, University of Amsterdam, the Netherlands; Behavioral and Experimental Economics, The Tinbergen Institute, the Netherlands.
| | - Jan Engelmann
- Center for Research in Experimental Economics and Political Decision Making, University of Amsterdam, the Netherlands; Amsterdam Brain and Cognition, University of Amsterdam, the Netherlands; Behavioral and Experimental Economics, The Tinbergen Institute, the Netherlands.
| | - Ruth J van Holst
- Department of Psychiatry, Amsterdam UMC, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, the Netherlands; Amsterdam Brain and Cognition, University of Amsterdam, the Netherlands.
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7
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Holzer P. Gut Signals and Gut Feelings: Science at the Interface of Data and Beliefs. Front Behav Neurosci 2022; 16:929332. [PMID: 35874652 PMCID: PMC9296981 DOI: 10.3389/fnbeh.2022.929332] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/26/2022] [Accepted: 06/01/2022] [Indexed: 11/29/2022] Open
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Abstract
Humans, like other animals, are fundamentally motivated to pursue rewarding outcomes and avoid aversive ones. Anxiety disorders are conceptualized, defined, and treated based on heightened sensitivity to perceived aversive outcomes, including imminent threats as well as those that are uncertain yet could occur in the future. Avoidance is the central strategy used to mitigate anticipated aversive outcomes - often at the cost of sacrificing potential rewards and hindering people from obtaining desired outcomes. It is for these reasons that people are often motivated to seek treatment. In this chapter, we consider whether and how anhedonia - the loss of interest in pursuing and/or reduced responsiveness to rewarding outcomes - may serve as a barrier to recovering from clinically impairing anxiety. Increasingly recognized as a prominent symptom in many individuals with elevated anxiety, anhedonia is not explicitly considered within prevailing theoretical models or treatment approaches of anxiety. Our goal, therefore, is to review what is known about anhedonia within the anxiety disorders and then integrate this knowledge into a functional perspective to consider how anhedonia could maintain anxiety and limit treatment response. Our overarching thesis is that anhedonia disrupts the key processes that are central to supporting anxiety recovery. We end this chapter by considering how explicitly targeting anhedonia in treatment can optimize outcomes for anxiety disorders.
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Affiliation(s)
- Charles T Taylor
- Department of Psychiatry, University of California San Diego, San Diego, CA, USA.
- San Diego State University/University of California San Diego Joint Doctoral Program in Clinical Psychology, San Diego, CA, USA.
| | - Samantha N Hoffman
- San Diego State University/University of California San Diego Joint Doctoral Program in Clinical Psychology, San Diego, CA, USA
| | - Amanda J Khan
- Department of Psychiatry, University of California San Diego, San Diego, CA, USA
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9
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Event-related brain potentials reflect predictive coding of anticipated economic change. COGNITIVE AFFECTIVE & BEHAVIORAL NEUROSCIENCE 2021; 20:961-982. [PMID: 32812147 PMCID: PMC7497516 DOI: 10.3758/s13415-020-00813-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/05/2023]
Abstract
Research has demonstrated the importance of economic forecasts for financial decisions at the aggregate economic level. However, little is known about the psychological and neurophysiological mechanisms that economic forecasts activate at the level of individual decision-making. In the present study, we used event-related brain potentials (ERPs) to test the hypothesis that economic forecasts influence individuals’ internal model of the economy and their subsequent decision behavior. Using a simple economic decision-making game, the Balloon Analogue of Risk Task (BART) and predictive messages about possible economic changes in the game before each block, we test the idea that brain potentials time-locked to decision outcomes can vary as a function of exposure to economic forecasts. Behavioural results indicate that economic forecasts influenced the amount of risk that participants were willing to take. Analyses of brain potentials indicated parametric increases of the N1, P2, P3a, and P3b amplitudes as a function of the level of risk in subsequent inflation steps in the BART. Mismatches between economic forecasts and decision outcomes in the BART (i.e., reward prediction errors) were reflected in the amplitude of the P2, P3a, and P3b, suggesting increased attentional processing of unexpected outcomes. These electrophysiological results corroborate the idea that economic messages may indeed influence people’s beliefs about the economy and bias their subsequent financial decision-making. Our findings present a first important step in the development of a low-level neurophysiological model that may help to explain the self-fulfilling prophecy effect of economic news in the larger economy.
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10
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Bashford-Largo J, Aloi J, Zhang R, Bajaj S, Carollo E, Elowsky J, Schwartz A, Dobbertin M, Blair RJR, Blair KS. Reduced neural differentiation of rewards and punishment during passive avoidance learning in adolescents with generalized anxiety disorder. Depress Anxiety 2021; 38:794-803. [PMID: 33739566 PMCID: PMC8328882 DOI: 10.1002/da.23150] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/28/2020] [Revised: 01/21/2021] [Accepted: 03/02/2021] [Indexed: 11/08/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND It has been proposed that individuals with generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) show dysfunctional computations related to approach-avoidance decision-making. However, few studies have examined the neural basis of this impairment, particularly in adolescents with GAD. The goal of the current study was to address this gap in the literature. METHOD The study involved 51 adolescents with GAD and 51 typically developing (TD) comparison individuals matched on age (16.10 and 15.75 respective means), gender (30 F/21 M and 24 F/27 M), and IQ (103.20 and 103.18 respective means). Participants underwent functional magnetic resonance imaging during a passive avoidance task. RESULTS We found a significant Group-by-Reinforcement interaction within reward-related brain regions including the caudate, putamen, mid cingulate/paracentral lobule, and superior and middle frontal gyrus. TD adolescents showed a greater differential response to reward versus punishment feedback within these regions relative to adolescents with GAD. In particular, this reflected reduced responses to rewards in the adolescents with GAD. There were no group differences in neural responses when making approach/avoidance responses. CONCLUSION The results of this study suggest reduced differential responsiveness to reinforcement as a component of the pathophysiology seen in adolescents with GAD. This dysfunction likely underpins decision-making impairments that may exacerbate the participants' worry.
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Affiliation(s)
- Johannah Bashford-Largo
- Center for Neurobehavioral Research, Boys Town National Research Hospital, Boys Town, Nebraska, USA
| | - Joseph Aloi
- Center for Neurobehavioral Research, Boys Town National Research Hospital, Boys Town, Nebraska, USA,Department of Psychiatry, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, Indiana, USA
| | - Ru Zhang
- Center for Neurobehavioral Research, Boys Town National Research Hospital, Boys Town, Nebraska, USA
| | - Sahil Bajaj
- Center for Neurobehavioral Research, Boys Town National Research Hospital, Boys Town, Nebraska, USA
| | - Erin Carollo
- Center for Neurobehavioral Research, Boys Town National Research Hospital, Boys Town, Nebraska, USA
| | - Jaimie Elowsky
- Center for Neurobehavioral Research, Boys Town National Research Hospital, Boys Town, Nebraska, USA
| | - Amanda Schwartz
- Center for Neurobehavioral Research, Boys Town National Research Hospital, Boys Town, Nebraska, USA
| | - Matthew Dobbertin
- Center for Neurobehavioral Research, Boys Town National Research Hospital, Boys Town, Nebraska, USA
| | - R. James R. Blair
- Center for Neurobehavioral Research, Boys Town National Research Hospital, Boys Town, Nebraska, USA
| | - Karina S. Blair
- Center for Neurobehavioral Research, Boys Town National Research Hospital, Boys Town, Nebraska, USA
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11
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Schulreich S, Gerhardt H, Meshi D, Heekeren HR. Fear-induced increases in loss aversion are linked to increased neural negative-value coding. Soc Cogn Affect Neurosci 2021; 15:661-670. [PMID: 32644143 PMCID: PMC7438956 DOI: 10.1093/scan/nsaa091] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/22/2019] [Revised: 05/23/2020] [Accepted: 06/15/2020] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Human decisions are often influenced by emotions. An economically relevant example is the role of fear in generating loss aversion. Previous research implicates the amygdala as a key brain structure in the experience of fear and loss aversion. The neural mechanism behind emotional influences on loss aversion is, however, unclear. To address this, we measured brain activation with functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) while participants made decisions about monetary gambles after viewing fearful or neutral faces. We observed that loss aversion following the presentation of neutral faces was mainly predicted by greater deactivations for prospective losses (relative to activations for prospective gains) in several brain regions, including the amygdala. By contrast, increases in loss aversion following the presentation of fearful faces were mainly predicted by greater activations for prospective losses. These findings suggest a fear-induced shift from positive to negative value coding that reflects a context-dependent involvement of distinct valuation processes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stefan Schulreich
- Department of Education and Psychology, Freie Universität Berlin, 14195 Berlin, Germany.,Center for Cognitive Neuroscience Berlin, Freie Universität Berlin, 14195 Berlin, Germany.,Faculty of Psychology and Human Movement Science, University of Hamburg, 20146 Hamburg, Germany
| | - Holger Gerhardt
- Department of Economics, University of Bonn, 53012 Bonn, Germany.,Center for Economics and Neuroscience, University of Bonn, 53012 Bonn, Germany
| | - Dar Meshi
- Department of Advertising and Public Relations, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48824, USA
| | - Hauke R Heekeren
- Department of Education and Psychology, Freie Universität Berlin, 14195 Berlin, Germany.,Center for Cognitive Neuroscience Berlin, Freie Universität Berlin, 14195 Berlin, Germany
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12
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Neural processes in antecedent anxiety modulate risk-taking behavior. Sci Rep 2021; 11:2637. [PMID: 33514841 PMCID: PMC7846834 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-021-82229-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/02/2020] [Accepted: 01/15/2021] [Indexed: 11/08/2022] Open
Abstract
Though real-world decisions are often made in the shadow of economic uncertainties, work problems, relationship troubles, existential angst, etc., the neural processes involved in this common experience remain poorly understood. Here, we randomly assigned participants (N = 97) to either a poignant experience of forecasted economic anxiety or a no-anxiety control condition. Using electroencephalography (EEG), we then examined how source-localized, anxiety-specific neural activation modulated risky decision making and strategic behavior in the Balloon Analogue Risk Task (BART). Previous research demonstrates opposing effects of anxiety on risk-taking, leading to contrasting predictions. On the one hand, activity in the dorsomedial PFC/anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) and anterior insula, brain regions linked with anxiety and sensitivity to risk, should mediate the effect of economic anxiety on increased risk-averse decision-making. On the other hand, activation in the ventromedial PFC, a brain region important in emotion regulation and subjective valuation in decision-making, should mediate the effect of economic anxiety on increased risky decision-making. Results revealed evidence related to both predictions. Additionally, anxiety-specific activation in the dmPFC/ACC and the anterior insula were associated with disrupted learning across the task. These results shed light on the neurobiology of antecedent anxiety and risk-taking and provide potential insight into understanding how real-world anxieties can impact decision-making processes.
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13
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Zhang W, Feng C, Zhang Y, Guan Q, Luo Y, Yang S. The Effects of Aversive Mood State on the Affective Anticipation and Perception: An Event-Related Potential Study. Neuroscience 2020; 458:133-140. [PMID: 33359653 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroscience.2020.12.018] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/28/2020] [Revised: 11/12/2020] [Accepted: 12/12/2020] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
Abstract
Deficits in the anticipation and experience of affective events represent a key risky factor for a variety of mental disorders, such as anxiety and depression. Here, we examined temporal dynamics underlying the modulations of the aversive mood state on neural responses of anticipating and perceiving affective pictures. Participants were asked to perform an affective cueing paradigm in both threat and safe contexts. In the task, a cue (S1) signaled the subsequent presentation of positive/negative event (e.g., happy or fearful faces) as an affective target stimulus (S2), and participants were instructed to indicate their subjective feelings in response to the target stimuli while electroencephalography (EEG) was recording. Our findings revealed that threat context compared with the safe context attenuated the contingent negative variation (CNV) responses to the cues of positive expressions, and decreased differential late positive potential (LPP) responses to the perception of negative and positive events. These findings suggest that aversive mood dampens the anticipation of positive events and inhibits the elaboration of negative events. The current findings do not only advance our understanding on the temporal characteristics of affective anticipation and experience but also have implications on the emotional deficits across various mental disorders characterized by chronic mood disturbances.
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Affiliation(s)
- Weikun Zhang
- School of Psychology, Shanghai University of Sport, Shanghai, China
| | - Chunliang Feng
- School of Psychology, Center for Studies of Psychological Application, and Guangdong Key Laboratory of Mental Health and Cognitive Science, South China Normal University, China; Key Laboratory of Brain, Cognition and Education Sciences, Ministry of Education (South China Normal University), Guangzhou, China
| | - Yijie Zhang
- School of Psychology, Center for Studies of Psychological Application, and Guangdong Key Laboratory of Mental Health and Cognitive Science, South China Normal University, China; Key Laboratory of Brain, Cognition and Education Sciences, Ministry of Education (South China Normal University), Guangzhou, China
| | - Qing Guan
- Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Affective and Social Neuroscience, Center for Brain Disorders and Cognitive Sciences, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, China
| | - Yuejia Luo
- Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Affective and Social Neuroscience, Center for Brain Disorders and Cognitive Sciences, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, China; Center for Emotion and Brain, Shenzhen Institute of Neuroscience, Shenzhen, China; College of Teacher Education, Qilu Normal University, Jinan, China; The Research Center of Brain Science and Visual Cognition, Kunming University of Science and Technology, Kunming, China.
| | - Suyong Yang
- School of Psychology, Shanghai University of Sport, Shanghai, China.
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14
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Stamatis CA, Batistuzzo MC, Tanamatis T, Miguel EC, Hoexter MQ, Timpano KR. Using supervised machine learning on neuropsychological data to distinguish OCD patients with and without sensory phenomena from healthy controls. BRITISH JOURNAL OF CLINICAL PSYCHOLOGY 2020; 60:77-98. [PMID: 33300635 DOI: 10.1111/bjc.12272] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/19/2020] [Revised: 11/17/2020] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
OBJECTIVES While theoretical models link obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) with executive function deficits, empirical findings from the neuropsychological literature remain mixed. These inconsistencies are likely exacerbated by the challenge of high-dimensional data (i.e., many variables per subject), which is common across neuropsychological paradigms and necessitates analytical advances. More unique to OCD is the heterogeneity of symptom presentations, each of which may relate to distinct neuropsychological features. While researchers have traditionally attempted to account for this heterogeneity using a symptom-based approach, an alternative involves focusing on underlying symptom motivations. Although the most studied symptom motivation involves fear of harmful events, 60-70% of patients also experience sensory phenomena, consisting of uncomfortable sensations or perceptions that drive compulsions. Sensory phenomena have received limited attention in the neuropsychological literature, despite evidence that symptoms motivated by these experiences may relate to distinct cognitive processes. METHODS Here, we used a supervised machine learning approach to characterize neuropsychological processes in OCD, accounting for sensory phenomena. RESULTS Compared to logistic regression and other algorithms, random forest best differentiated healthy controls (n = 59; balanced accuracy = .70), patients with sensory phenomena (n = 29; balanced accuracy = .59), and patients without sensory phenomena (n = 46; balanced accuracy = .62). Decision-making best distinguished between groups based on sensory phenomena, and among the patient subsample, those without sensory phenomena uniquely displayed greater risk sensitivity compared to healthy controls (d = .07, p = .008). CONCLUSIONS Results suggest that different cognitive profiles may characterize patients motivated by distinct drives. The superior performance and generalizability of the newer algorithms highlights the utility of considering multiple analytic approaches when faced with complex data. PRACTITIONER POINTS Practitioners should be aware that sensory phenomena are common experiences among patients with OCD. OCD patients with sensory phenomena may be distinguished from those without based on neuropsychological processes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Caitlin A Stamatis
- Department of Psychology, University of Miami, Florida, USA.,Weill Cornell Medicine/NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital, USA
| | | | - Tais Tanamatis
- Department of Psychiatry, University of São Paulo, Brazil
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15
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Robust valence-induced biases on motor response and confidence in human reinforcement learning. COGNITIVE AFFECTIVE & BEHAVIORAL NEUROSCIENCE 2020; 20:1184-1199. [PMID: 32875531 PMCID: PMC7716860 DOI: 10.3758/s13415-020-00826-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
In simple instrumental-learning tasks, humans learn to seek gains and to avoid losses equally well. Yet, two effects of valence are observed. First, decisions in loss-contexts are slower. Second, loss contexts decrease individuals’ confidence in their choices. Whether these two effects are two manifestations of a single mechanism or whether they can be partially dissociated is unknown. Across six experiments, we attempted to disrupt the valence-induced motor bias effects by manipulating the mapping between decisions and actions and imposing constraints on response times (RTs). Our goal was to assess the presence of the valence-induced confidence bias in the absence of the RT bias. We observed both motor and confidence biases despite our disruption attempts, establishing that the effects of valence on motor and metacognitive responses are very robust and replicable. Nonetheless, within- and between-individual inferences reveal that the confidence bias resists the disruption of the RT bias. Therefore, although concomitant in most cases, valence-induced motor and confidence biases seem to be partly dissociable. These results highlight new important mechanistic constraints that should be incorporated in learning models to jointly explain choice, reaction times and confidence.
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16
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Teufel M, Schweda A, Dörrie N, Musche V, Hetkamp M, Weismüller B, Lenzen H, Stettner M, Kohler H, Bäuerle A, Skoda EM. Not all world leaders use Twitter in response to the COVID-19 pandemic: impact of the way of Angela Merkel on psychological distress, behaviour and risk perception. J Public Health (Oxf) 2020; 42:644-646. [PMID: 32393966 PMCID: PMC7239128 DOI: 10.1093/pubmed/fdaa060] [Citation(s) in RCA: 41] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/22/2020] [Revised: 04/22/2020] [Accepted: 04/24/2020] [Indexed: 11/14/2022] Open
Abstract
At a time of growing governmental restrictions and 'physical distancing' in order to decelerate the spread of COVID-19, psychological challenges are increasing. Social media plays an important role in maintaining social contact as well as exerting political influence. World leaders use it not only to keep citizens informed but also to boost morale and manage people's fears. However, some leaders do not follow this approach; an example is the German Chancellor. In a large online survey, we aimed to determine levels of COVID-19 fear, generalized anxiety, depression, safety behaviour, trust in government and risk perception in Germany. A total of 12 244 respondents participated during the period of restraint and the public shutdown in March 2020. Concurrent with the German Chancellor's speech, a reduction of anxiety and depression was noticeable in the German population. It appears that, in addition to using social media platforms like Twitter, different-and sometimes more conservative-channels for providing information can also be effective.
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Affiliation(s)
- Martin Teufel
- University of Duisburg-Essen, Clinic for Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy, LVR University Hospital Essen, 45147 Essen, Germany
| | - Adam Schweda
- University of Duisburg-Essen, Clinic for Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy, LVR University Hospital Essen, 45147 Essen, Germany
| | - Nora Dörrie
- University of Duisburg-Essen, Clinic for Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy, LVR University Hospital Essen, 45147 Essen, Germany
| | - Venja Musche
- University of Duisburg-Essen, Clinic for Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy, LVR University Hospital Essen, 45147 Essen, Germany
| | - Madeleine Hetkamp
- University of Duisburg-Essen, Clinic for Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy, LVR University Hospital Essen, 45147 Essen, Germany
| | - Benjamin Weismüller
- University of Duisburg-Essen, Clinic for Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy, LVR University Hospital Essen, 45147 Essen, Germany
| | - Henrike Lenzen
- University of Duisburg-Essen, Clinic for Gastroenterology and Hepatology, University Hospital Essen, 45147 Essen, Germany
| | - Mark Stettner
- University of Duisburg-Essen, Clinic for Neurology, University Hospital Essen, 45147 Essen, Germany
| | - Hannah Kohler
- University of Duisburg-Essen, Clinic for Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy, LVR University Hospital Essen, 45147 Essen, Germany
| | - Alexander Bäuerle
- University of Duisburg-Essen, Clinic for Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy, LVR University Hospital Essen, 45147 Essen, Germany
| | - Eva-Maria Skoda
- University of Duisburg-Essen, Clinic for Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy, LVR University Hospital Essen, 45147 Essen, Germany
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17
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Zhao WJ, Walasek L, Bhatia S. Psychological mechanisms of loss aversion: A drift-diffusion decomposition. Cogn Psychol 2020; 123:101331. [PMID: 32777328 DOI: 10.1016/j.cogpsych.2020.101331] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/28/2019] [Revised: 07/07/2020] [Accepted: 07/16/2020] [Indexed: 12/20/2022]
Abstract
Decision makers often reject mixed gambles offering equal probabilities of a larger gain and a smaller loss. This important phenomenon, referred to as loss aversion, is typically explained by prospect theory, which proposes that decision makers give losses higher utility weights than gains. In this paper we consider alternative psychological mechanisms capable of explaining loss aversion, such as a fixed utility bias favoring rejection, as well as a bias favoring rejection prior to gamble valuation. We use a drift diffusion model of decision making to conceptually distinguish, formally define, and empirically measure these mechanisms. In two preregistered experiments, we show that the pre-valuation bias provides a very large contribution to model fits, predicts key response time patterns, reflects prior expectations regarding gamble desirability, and can be manipulated independently of the valuation process. Our results indicate that loss aversion is the result of multiple different psychological mechanisms, and that the pre-valuation bias is a fundamental determinant of this well-known behavioral tendency. These results have important implications for how we model behavior in risky choice tasks, and how we interpret its relationship with various psychological, clinical, and neurobiological variables.
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18
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Beaurenaut M, Tokarski E, Dezecache G, Grèzes J. The 'Threat of Scream' paradigm: a tool for studying sustained physiological and subjective anxiety. Sci Rep 2020; 10:12496. [PMID: 32719491 PMCID: PMC7385655 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-020-68889-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/19/2019] [Accepted: 07/02/2020] [Indexed: 12/22/2022] Open
Abstract
Progress in understanding the emergence of pathological anxiety depends on the availability of paradigms effective in inducing anxiety in a simple, consistent and sustained manner. The Threat-of-Shock paradigm has typically been used to elicit anxiety, but poses ethical issues when testing vulnerable populations. Moreover, it is not clear from past studies whether anxiety can be sustained in experiments of longer durations. Here, we present empirical support for an alternative approach, the ‘Threat-of-Scream’ paradigm, in which shocks are replaced by screams. In two studies, participants were repeatedly exposed to blocks in which they were at risk of hearing aversive screams at any time vs. blocks in which they were safe from screams. Contrary to previous ‘Threat-of-Scream’ studies, we ensured that our screams were neither harmful nor intolerable by presenting them at low intensity. We found higher subjective reports of anxiety, higher skin conductance levels, and a positive correlation between the two measures, in threat compared to safe blocks. These results were reproducible and we found no significant change over time. The unpredictable delivery of low intensity screams could become an essential part of a psychology toolkit, particularly when investigating the impact of anxiety in a diversity of cognitive functions and populations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Morgan Beaurenaut
- Laboratoire de Neurosciences Cognitives et Computationnelles, ENS, PSL Research University, INSERM, Département d'études Cognitives, Paris, France.
| | - Elliot Tokarski
- Laboratoire de Neurosciences Cognitives et Computationnelles, ENS, PSL Research University, INSERM, Département d'études Cognitives, Paris, France
| | - Guillaume Dezecache
- Department of Experimental Psychology, Division of Psychology and Language Sciences, University College London, London, UK.,Université Clermont Auvergne, CNRS, LAPSCO, Clermont-Ferrand, France
| | - Julie Grèzes
- Laboratoire de Neurosciences Cognitives et Computationnelles, ENS, PSL Research University, INSERM, Département d'études Cognitives, Paris, France.
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19
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Haines N, Beauchaine TP. Moving beyond Ordinary Factor Analysis in Studies of Personality and Personality Disorder: A Computational Modeling Perspective. Psychopathology 2020; 53:157-167. [PMID: 32663821 PMCID: PMC7529707 DOI: 10.1159/000508539] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/30/2020] [Accepted: 05/06/2020] [Indexed: 01/03/2023]
Abstract
Almost all forms of psychopathology, including personality disorders, are arrived at through complex interactions among neurobiological vulnerabilities and environmental risk factors across development. Yet despite increasing recognition of etiological complexity, psychopathology research is still dominated by searches for large main effects causes. This derives in part from reliance on traditional inferential methods, including ordinary factor analysis, regression, ANCOVA, and other techniques that use statistical partialing to isolate unique effects. In principle, some of these methods can accommodate etiological complexity, yet as typically applied they are insensitive to interactive functional dependencies (modulating effects) among etiological influences. Here, we use our developmental model of antisocial and borderline traits to illustrate challenges faced when modeling complex etiological mechanisms of psychopathology. We then consider how computational models, which are rarely used in the personality disorders literature, remedy some of these challenges when combined with hierarchical Bayesian analysis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nathaniel Haines
- Department of Psychology, The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio, USA
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20
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Huo H, Zhang R, Seger CA, Feng T, Chen Q. The effect of trait anxiety on risk‐taking: Functional coupling between right hippocampus and left insula. Psychophysiology 2020; 57:e13629. [DOI: 10.1111/psyp.13629] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/16/2020] [Revised: 05/07/2020] [Accepted: 05/26/2020] [Indexed: 01/14/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Hangfeng Huo
- Key Laboratory of Brain, Cognition and Education Science (South China Normal University) Ministry of Education Guangzhou China
- School of Psychology South China Normal University Guangzhou China
- Center for Studies of Psychological Application South China Normal University Guangzhou China
- Guangdong Key Laboratory of Mental Health and Cognitive Science South China Normal University Guangdong China
| | - Rong Zhang
- Research Center of Psychology and Social Development, Faculty of Psychology Southwest University Chongqing China
| | - Carol A. Seger
- Key Laboratory of Brain, Cognition and Education Science (South China Normal University) Ministry of Education Guangzhou China
- School of Psychology South China Normal University Guangzhou China
- Center for Studies of Psychological Application South China Normal University Guangzhou China
- Guangdong Key Laboratory of Mental Health and Cognitive Science South China Normal University Guangdong China
- Department of Psychology and Program in Molecular, Cellular, and Integrative Neurosciences Colorado State University Fort Collins CO USA
| | - Tingyong Feng
- Research Center of Psychology and Social Development, Faculty of Psychology Southwest University Chongqing China
- Key Laboratory of Cognition and Personality Ministry of Education Chongqing China
| | - Qi Chen
- Key Laboratory of Brain, Cognition and Education Science (South China Normal University) Ministry of Education Guangzhou China
- School of Psychology South China Normal University Guangzhou China
- Center for Studies of Psychological Application South China Normal University Guangzhou China
- Guangdong Key Laboratory of Mental Health and Cognitive Science South China Normal University Guangdong China
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21
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Iigaya K, Hauser TU, Kurth-Nelson Z, O’Doherty JP, Dayan P, Dolan RJ. The value of what's to come: Neural mechanisms coupling prediction error and the utility of anticipation. SCIENCE ADVANCES 2020; 6:eaba3828. [PMID: 32596456 PMCID: PMC7304967 DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.aba3828] [Citation(s) in RCA: 42] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/28/2019] [Accepted: 05/07/2020] [Indexed: 05/02/2023]
Abstract
Having something to look forward to is a keystone of well-being. Anticipation of future reward, such as an upcoming vacation, can often be more gratifying than the experience itself. Theories suggest the utility of anticipation underpins various behaviors, ranging from beneficial information-seeking to harmful addiction. However, how neural systems compute anticipatory utility remains unclear. We analyzed the brain activity of human participants as they performed a task involving choosing whether to receive information predictive of future pleasant outcomes. Using a computational model, we show three brain regions orchestrate anticipatory utility. Specifically, ventromedial prefrontal cortex tracks the value of anticipatory utility, dopaminergic midbrain correlates with information that enhances anticipation, while sustained hippocampal activity mediates a functional coupling between these regions. Our findings suggest a previously unidentified neural underpinning for anticipation's influence over decision-making and unify a range of phenomena associated with risk and time-delay preference.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kiyohito Iigaya
- Max-Planck UCL Centre for Computational Psychiatry and Ageing Research, 10-12 Russell Square, London WC1B 5EH, UK
- Gatsby Computational Neuroscience Unit, University College London, 25 Howland Street, London W1T 4JG, UK
- Division of Humanities and Social Sciences, California Institute of Technology, 1200 E California Blvd, Pasadena, CA 91125, USA
| | - Tobias U. Hauser
- Max-Planck UCL Centre for Computational Psychiatry and Ageing Research, 10-12 Russell Square, London WC1B 5EH, UK
- Wellcome Centre for Human Neuroimaging, University College London, 12 Queen Square, London WC1N 3BG, UK
| | - Zeb Kurth-Nelson
- Max-Planck UCL Centre for Computational Psychiatry and Ageing Research, 10-12 Russell Square, London WC1B 5EH, UK
- Deepmind, 6 Pancras Square, London N1C 4AG, UK
| | - John P. O’Doherty
- Division of Humanities and Social Sciences, California Institute of Technology, 1200 E California Blvd, Pasadena, CA 91125, USA
| | - Peter Dayan
- Max-Planck UCL Centre for Computational Psychiatry and Ageing Research, 10-12 Russell Square, London WC1B 5EH, UK
- Gatsby Computational Neuroscience Unit, University College London, 25 Howland Street, London W1T 4JG, UK
- Max Planck Institute for Biological Cybernetics, 72076 Tubingen, Germany
- University of Tübingen, 72074 Tübingen, Germany
| | - Raymond J. Dolan
- Max-Planck UCL Centre for Computational Psychiatry and Ageing Research, 10-12 Russell Square, London WC1B 5EH, UK
- Wellcome Centre for Human Neuroimaging, University College London, 12 Queen Square, London WC1N 3BG, UK
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22
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Xu P, Van Dam NT, van Tol MJ, Shen X, Cui Z, Gu R, Qin S, Aleman A, Fan J, Luo YJ. Amygdala-prefrontal connectivity modulates loss aversion bias in anxious individuals. Neuroimage 2020; 218:116957. [PMID: 32442639 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2020.116957] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/27/2020] [Revised: 04/25/2020] [Accepted: 05/14/2020] [Indexed: 12/28/2022] Open
Abstract
Anxious individuals tend to make pessimistic judgments in decision making under uncertainty. While this phenomenon is commonly attributed to risk aversion, loss aversion is a critical but often overlooked factor. In this study, we simultaneously examined risk aversion and loss aversion during decision making in high and low trait anxious individuals in a variable gain/loss gambling task during functional magnetic resonance imaging. Although high relative to low anxious individuals showed significant increased risk aversive behavior reflected by decreased overall gamble decisions, there was no group difference in subjective aversion to risk. Instead, loss aversion rather than risk aversion dominantly contributed to predict behavioral decisions, which was associated with attenuated functional connectivity between the amygdala-based emotional system and the prefrontal control regions. Our findings suggest a dominant role of loss aversion in maladaptive risk assessment of anxious individuals, underpinned by disorganization of emotion-related and cognitive-control-related brain networks.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pengfei Xu
- Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Affective and Social Neuroscience, Center for Brain Disorders and Cognitive Sciences, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, 518060, China; Center for Emotion and Brain, Shenzhen Institute of Neuroscience, Shenzhen, 518057, China; Cognitive Neuroscience Center, Department of Biomedical Sciences of Cells and Systems, University Medical Center Groningen, University of Groningen, 9713 AW, Groningen, the Netherlands; Great Bay Neuroscience and Technology Research Institute (Hong Kong), Kwun Tong, Hong Kong, China
| | - Nicholas T Van Dam
- School of Psychological Sciences, University of Melbourne, Victoria, 3010, Australia
| | - Marie-José van Tol
- Cognitive Neuroscience Center, Department of Biomedical Sciences of Cells and Systems, University Medical Center Groningen, University of Groningen, 9713 AW, Groningen, the Netherlands
| | - Xueyi Shen
- National Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning & IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, 100875, China
| | - Zaixu Cui
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, 19104, USA
| | - Ruolei Gu
- Key Laboratory of Behavioral Science, Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100101, China; Department of Psychology, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China
| | - Shaozheng Qin
- National Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning & IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, 100875, China
| | - André Aleman
- Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Affective and Social Neuroscience, Center for Brain Disorders and Cognitive Sciences, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, 518060, China; Cognitive Neuroscience Center, Department of Biomedical Sciences of Cells and Systems, University Medical Center Groningen, University of Groningen, 9713 AW, Groningen, the Netherlands; Department of Psychology, University of Groningen, the Netherlands
| | - Jin Fan
- Department of Psychology, Queens College, The City University of New York, Flushing, NY, 11367, USA.
| | - Yue-Jia Luo
- Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Affective and Social Neuroscience, Center for Brain Disorders and Cognitive Sciences, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, 518060, China; Center for Emotion and Brain, Shenzhen Institute of Neuroscience, Shenzhen, 518057, China.
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23
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Stamatis CA, Engelmann JB, Ziegler C, Domschke K, Hasler G, Timpano KR. A neuroeconomic investigation of 5-HTT/ 5-HT1A gene variation, social anxiety, and risk-taking behavior. ANXIETY STRESS AND COPING 2020; 33:176-192. [PMID: 32009446 DOI: 10.1080/10615806.2020.1722597] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/04/2023]
Abstract
Background and objectives: Although approaches combining behavioral genetics and neuroeconomics have advanced models of addiction, no study has synthesized these methods to elucidate mechanisms of competing risk-approachand risk-avoidance in social anxiety (SA). Grounded in dual-mode models of serotonergic systems and self-regulation, this study investigated associations between SA, serotonin transporter 5-HTT (LPR; rs25531) and receptor 5-HT1A genes, and risk-taking on behavioral and self-report measures.Design and methods: Young adults (N = 309) completed a neuroeconomic task measuring gambling attractiveness (δ), reward probability discrimination (γ), and risk attitudes (α). Risk genotypes included 5-HTT (LPR; rs25531) low-expression variants (SS/SLG/LGLG), and 5-HT1A (rs6295) GG.Results: Path analysis revealed that SA related to increased gambling attractiveness, but only for 5-HT1A risk groups. Although the 5-HTT (LPR; rs25531) risk genotypes and self-reported SA predicted lower social risk-taking, high-SA individuals who exhibited more accurate reward probability discrimination (γ) reported taking increased social risks.Conclusion: In line with dual-mode models, results suggest that SA predicts behavioral risk-approach at the basic decision-making level, along with self-reported social risk-avoidance, modulated by serotonergic genotypes. High-SA individuals with more accurate assessments of reward probabilities may engage in greater social risk-taking, perhaps reflecting an adaptive tendency to approach feared situations.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Jan B Engelmann
- Center for research in experimental economics and political decision making (CREED), Faculty of Economics and Business, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, Netherlands.,Amsterdam Brain and Cognition (ABC), University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, Netherlands.,The Tinbergen Institute, Amsterdam, Netherlands
| | - Christiane Ziegler
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Medical Center - University of Freiburg, Faculty of Medicine, University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany
| | - Katharina Domschke
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Medical Center - University of Freiburg, Faculty of Medicine, University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany.,Center for Basics in NeuroModulation, Faculty of Medicine, University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany
| | - Gregor Hasler
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Fribourg, Villars-sur-Glâne, Switzerland
| | - Kiara R Timpano
- Department of Psychology, University of Miami, Coral Gables, FL, USA
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24
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Aylward J, Hales C, Robinson E, Robinson OJ. Translating a rodent measure of negative bias into humans: the impact of induced anxiety and unmedicated mood and anxiety disorders. Psychol Med 2020; 50:237-246. [PMID: 30683161 PMCID: PMC7083556 DOI: 10.1017/s0033291718004117] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/18/2018] [Revised: 12/06/2018] [Accepted: 12/18/2018] [Indexed: 11/06/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Mood and anxiety disorders are ubiquitous but current treatment options are ineffective for many sufferers. Moreover, a number of promising pre-clinical interventions have failed to translate into clinical efficacy in humans. Improved treatments are unlikely without better animal-human translational pipelines. Here, we translate a rodent measure of negative affective bias into humans, exploring its relationship with (1) pathological mood and anxiety symptoms and (2) transient induced anxiety. METHODS Adult participants (age = 29 ± 11) who met criteria for mood or anxiety disorder symptomatology according to a face-to-face neuropsychiatric interview were included in the symptomatic group. Study 1 included N = 77 (47 = asymptomatic [female = 21]; 30 = symptomatic [female = 25]), study 2 included N = 47 asymptomatic participants (25 = female). Outcome measures were choice ratios, reaction times and parameters recovered from a computational model of reaction time - the drift diffusion model (DDM) - from a two-alternative-forced-choice task in which ambiguous and unambiguous auditory stimuli were paired with high and low rewards. RESULTS Both groups showed over 93% accuracy on unambiguous tones indicating intact discrimination, but symptomatic individuals demonstrated increased negative affective bias on ambiguous tones [proportion high reward = 0.42 (s.d. = 0.14)] relative to asymptomatic individuals [0.53 (s.d. = 0.17)] as well as a significantly reduced DDM drift rate. No significant effects were observed for the within-subjects anxiety-induction. CONCLUSIONS Humans with pathological anxiety symptoms directly mimic rodents undergoing anxiogenic manipulation. The lack of sensitivity to transient anxiety suggests the paradigm might be more sensitive to clinically relevant symptoms. Our results establish a direct translational pipeline (and candidate therapeutics screen) from negative affective bias in rodents to pathological mood and anxiety symptoms in humans.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jessica Aylward
- Neuroscience and Mental Health Group, Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, 17–19 Queen Square, University College London, WC1N 3AZ, London, UK
| | - Claire Hales
- School of Physiology and Pharmacology, Biomedical Sciences Building, University Walk, University of Bristol, BS8 1TD, Bristol, UK
| | - Emma Robinson
- School of Physiology and Pharmacology, Biomedical Sciences Building, University Walk, University of Bristol, BS8 1TD, Bristol, UK
| | - Oliver J. Robinson
- Neuroscience and Mental Health Group, Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, 17–19 Queen Square, University College London, WC1N 3AZ, London, UK
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25
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Soshi T, Nagamine M, Fukuda E, Takeuchi A. Pre-specified Anxiety Predicts Future Decision-Making Performances Under Different Temporally Constrained Conditions. Front Psychol 2019; 10:1544. [PMID: 31354572 PMCID: PMC6634256 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2019.01544] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/06/2019] [Accepted: 06/18/2019] [Indexed: 12/29/2022] Open
Abstract
In real-life circumstances, people occasionally require making forced decisions when encountering unpredictable events and situations that yield socially and privately unfavorable consequences. In order to prevent future negative consequences, it is beneficial to successfully predict future decision-making behaviors based on various types of information, including behavioral traits and/or psychological states. For this prospective purpose, the present study used the Iowa Gambling Task, which simulates multiple aspects of real-life decision-making processes, such as choice preference, selection and evaluation of output feedback, and investigated how anxiety profiles predict decision-making performances under conditions with different temporal pressures on task execution. To conduct a temporally causal analysis, we assessed the trait and state anxiety profiles of 33 young participants prior to the task and analyzed their subsequent decision-making performances. We separated two disadvantageous card decks with high rewards and losses into high- and middle-risk decks, and calculated local performance indexes for decision-making immediately after salient penalty events for the high-risk deck in addition to traditional global performance indexes concerning overall trial outcomes such as final winnings and net scores. For global decision-making, higher trait anxiety predicted more risky choices solely in the self-paced condition without temporal pressure. For local decision-making, state anxiety predicted risk-taking performances differently in the self- and forced-paced conditions. In the self-paced condition, higher state anxiety predicted higher risk-avoidance. In the forced-paced condition, higher state anxiety predicted more frequent choices of the middle-risk deck. These findings suggest not only that pre-specified anxiety profiles can effectively predict future decision-making behaviors under different temporal pressures, but also newly indicate that behavioral mechanisms for moderate risk-taking under an emergent condition should be focused on to effectively prevent future unfavorable consequences when actually encountering negative events.
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Affiliation(s)
- Takahiro Soshi
- Graduate School of Frontier Biosciences, Osaka University, Osaka, Japan
| | - Mitsue Nagamine
- Institute for Liberal Arts, Tokyo Institute of Technology, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Emiko Fukuda
- Department of Industrial Engineering and Economics, School of Engineering, Tokyo Institute of Technology, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Ai Takeuchi
- College of Economics, Ritsumeikan University, Kyoto, Japan
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26
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FeldmanHall O, Shenhav A. Resolving uncertainty in a social world. Nat Hum Behav 2019; 3:426-435. [PMID: 31011164 PMCID: PMC6594393 DOI: 10.1038/s41562-019-0590-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 83] [Impact Index Per Article: 16.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/13/2018] [Accepted: 03/15/2019] [Indexed: 01/10/2023]
Abstract
Consider the range of social behaviours we engage in every day. In each case, there are a multitude of unknowns, reflecting the many sources of uncertainty inherent to social inference. We describe how uncertainty manifests in social environments (the thoughts and intentions of others are largely hidden, making it difficult to predict a person's behaviour) and why people are motivated to reduce the aversive feelings generated by uncertainty. We propose a three-part model whereby social uncertainty is initially reduced through automatic modes of inference (such as impression formation) before more control-demanding modes of inference (such as perspective-taking) are deployed to narrow one's predictions even more. Finally, social uncertainty is attenuated further through learning processes that update these predictions based on new information. Our framework integrates research across fields to offer an account of the mechanisms motivating social cognition and action, laying the groundwork for future experiments that can illuminate the impact of uncertainty on social cognition.
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Affiliation(s)
- Oriel FeldmanHall
- Department of Cognitive, Linguistic, Psychological Sciences, Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island, USA.
| | - Amitai Shenhav
- Department of Cognitive, Linguistic, Psychological Sciences, Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island, USA
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27
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Abstract
During real-life situations, multiple factors interact dynamically to determine threat level. In the current fMRI study involving healthy adult human volunteers, we investigated interactions between proximity, direction (approach vs. retreat), and speed during a dynamic threat-of-shock paradigm. As a measure of threat-evoked physiological arousal, skin conductance responses were recorded during fMRI scanning. Some brain regions tracked individual threat-related factors, and others were also sensitive to combinations of these variables. In particular, signals in the anterior insula tracked the interaction between proximity and direction where approach versus retreat responses were stronger when threat was closer compared with farther. A parallel proximity-by-direction interaction was also observed in physiological skin conductance responses. In the right amygdala, we observed a proximity by direction interaction, but intriguingly in the opposite direction as the anterior insula; retreat versus approach responses were stronger when threat was closer compared with farther. In the right bed nucleus of the stria terminalis, we observed an effect of threat proximity, whereas in the right periaqueductal gray/midbrain we observed an effect of threat direction and a proximity by direction by speed interaction (the latter was detected in exploratory analyses but not in a voxelwise fashion). Together, our study refines our understanding of the brain mechanisms involved during aversive anticipation in the human brain. Importantly, it emphasizes that threat processing should be understood in a manner that is both context-sensitive and dynamic.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christian Meyer
- Department of Psychology, University of Maryland, College Park, MD, USA
| | - Srikanth Padmala
- Department of Psychology, University of Maryland, College Park, MD, USA
- Neuroscience and Cognitive Sciences program, University of Maryland, College Park, MD, USA
| | - Luiz Pessoa
- Department of Psychology, University of Maryland, College Park, MD, USA
- Neuroscience and Cognitive Sciences program, University of Maryland, College Park, MD, USA
- Maryland Neuroimaging Center, University of Maryland, College Park, MD, USA
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28
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Engelmann JB, Meyer F, Ruff CC, Fehr E. The neural circuitry of affect-induced distortions of trust. SCIENCE ADVANCES 2019; 5:eaau3413. [PMID: 30891491 PMCID: PMC6415955 DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.aau3413] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/31/2018] [Accepted: 01/29/2019] [Indexed: 06/09/2023]
Abstract
Aversive affect is likely a key source of irrational human decision-making, but still, little is known about the neural circuitry underlying emotion-cognition interactions during social behavior. We induced incidental aversive affect via prolonged periods of threat of shock, while 41 healthy participants made investment decisions concerning another person or a lottery. Negative affect reduced trust, suppressed trust-specific activity in the left temporoparietal junction (TPJ), and reduced functional connectivity between the TPJ and emotion-related regions such as the amygdala. The posterior superior temporal sulcus (pSTS) seems to play a key role in mediating the impact of affect on behavior: Functional connectivity of this brain area with left TPJ was associated with trust in the absence of negative affect, but aversive affect disrupted this association between TPJ-pSTS connectivity and behavioral trust. Our findings may be useful for a better understanding of the neural circuitry of affective distortions in healthy and pathological populations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jan B. Engelmann
- Center for Research in Experimental Economics and Political Decision Making (CREED), Amsterdam School of Economics and Amsterdam Brain and Cognition (ABC), University of Amsterdam and the Tinbergen Institute, Amsterdam, Netherlands
- Laboratory for Social and Neural Systems Research, Department of Economics, University of Zürich, Zürich, Switzerland
| | - Friederike Meyer
- Laboratory for Social and Neural Systems Research, Department of Economics, University of Zürich, Zürich, Switzerland
| | - Christian C. Ruff
- Laboratory for Social and Neural Systems Research, Department of Economics, University of Zürich, Zürich, Switzerland
| | - Ernst Fehr
- Laboratory for Social and Neural Systems Research, Department of Economics, University of Zürich, Zürich, Switzerland
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29
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Ikink I, Engelmann JB, van den Bos W, Roelofs K, Figner B. Time ambiguity during intertemporal decision-making is aversive, impacting choice and neural value coding. Neuroimage 2019; 185:236-244. [DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2018.10.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/20/2018] [Revised: 09/01/2018] [Accepted: 10/04/2018] [Indexed: 11/30/2022] Open
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30
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Saga Y, Ruff CC, Tremblay L. Disturbance of approach‐avoidance behaviors in non‐human primates by stimulation of the limbic territories of basal ganglia and anterior insula. Eur J Neurosci 2018; 49:687-700. [DOI: 10.1111/ejn.14201] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/10/2018] [Revised: 09/19/2018] [Accepted: 09/26/2018] [Indexed: 01/21/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Yosuke Saga
- Institut des Sciences Cognitives Marc Jeannerod UMR‐5229 CNRS 67 Boulevard Pinel 69675 Bron Cedex France
| | - Christian C. Ruff
- Laboratory for Social and Neural Systems Research Department of Economics University of Zurich Zurich Switzerland
| | - Léon Tremblay
- Institut des Sciences Cognitives Marc Jeannerod UMR‐5229 CNRS 67 Boulevard Pinel 69675 Bron Cedex France
- Université Claude‐Bernard Lyon 1 Villeurbanne France
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31
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Kung CSJ, Johnston DW, Shields MA. Mental health and the response to financial incentives: Evidence from a survey incentives experiment. JOURNAL OF HEALTH ECONOMICS 2018; 62:84-94. [PMID: 30326369 DOI: 10.1016/j.jhealeco.2018.09.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/08/2017] [Revised: 09/20/2018] [Accepted: 09/26/2018] [Indexed: 06/08/2023]
Abstract
Although mental health disorders such as anxiety and depression are common, there is little research on whether individuals in poor mental health react differently from others to financial incentives. This paper exploits an experiment from the UK Understanding Society Innovation Panel to assess how the participation response to randomly-assigned financial incentives differs by mental health status. We find that individuals in good mental health are more likely to respond when offered a higher financial incentive, whereas those in poor mental health are indifferent to the increased incentive. We find no comparable differences for physical health.
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Affiliation(s)
- Claryn S J Kung
- Personal Social Services Research Unit, London School of Economics and Political Science, UK.
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32
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Bragdon LB, Gibb BE, Coles ME. Does neuropsychological performance in OCD relate to different symptoms? A meta-analysis comparing the symmetry and obsessing dimensions. Depress Anxiety 2018; 35:761-774. [PMID: 29920848 DOI: 10.1002/da.22785] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/24/2017] [Revised: 04/05/2018] [Accepted: 05/29/2018] [Indexed: 01/07/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Investigations of neuropsychological functioning in obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) have produced mixed results for deficits in executive functioning (EF), attention, and memory. One potential explanation for varied findings may relate to the heterogeneity of symptom presentations, and different clinical or neurobiological characteristics may underlie these different symptoms. METHODS We investigated differences in neuropsychological functioning between two symptoms groups, obsessing/checking (O/C) and symmetry/ordering (S/O), based on data suggesting an association with different motivations: harm avoidance and incompleteness, respectively. Ten studies (with 628 patients) were included and each investigation assessed at least one of 14 neuropsychological domains. RESULTS The S/O domain demonstrated small, negative correlations with overall neuropsychological functioning, performance in EF, memory, visuospatial ability, cognitive flexibility, and verbal working memory. O/C symptoms demonstrated small, negative correlations with memory and verbal memory performance. A comparison of functioning between symptom groups identified large effect sizes showing that the S/O dimension was more strongly related to poorer neuropsychological performance overall, and in the domains of attention, visuospatial ability, and the subdomain of verbal working memory. CONCLUSIONS Findings support existing evidence suggesting that different OCD symptoms, and their associated core motivations, relate to unique patterns of neuropsychological functioning, and, potentially dysfunction in different neural circuits.
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Affiliation(s)
- Laura B Bragdon
- Department of Psychology, Binghamton University, Binghamton, NY
| | - Brandon E Gibb
- Department of Psychology, Binghamton University, Binghamton, NY
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33
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Robinson OJ, Chase HW. Learning and Choice in Mood Disorders: Searching for the Computational Parameters of Anhedonia. COMPUTATIONAL PSYCHIATRY (CAMBRIDGE, MASS.) 2017; 1:208-233. [PMID: 29400358 PMCID: PMC5796642 DOI: 10.1162/cpsy_a_00009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 43] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/20/2016] [Accepted: 06/06/2017] [Indexed: 12/19/2022]
Abstract
Computational approaches are increasingly being used to model behavioral and neural processes in mood and anxiety disorders. Here we explore the extent to which the parameters of popular learning and decision-making models are implicated in anhedonic symptoms of major depression. We first highlight the parameters of reinforcement learning that have been implicated in anhedonia, focusing, in particular, on the role that choice variability (i.e., "temperature") may play in explaining heterogeneity across previous findings. We then turn to neuroimaging findings implicating attenuated ventral striatum response in anhedonic responses and discuss possible causes of the heterogeneity in the literature. Taken together, the reviewed findings highlight the potential of the computational approach in teasing apart the observed heterogeneity in both behavioral and functional imaging results. Nevertheless, considerable challenges remain, and we conclude with five unresolved questions that seek to address issues highlighted by the reviewed data.
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Affiliation(s)
- Oliver J. Robinson
- Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, University College London, London, UK
| | - Henry W. Chase
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
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34
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Engelmann JB, Berns GS, Dunlop BW. Hyper-responsivity to losses in the anterior insula during economic choice scales with depression severity. Psychol Med 2017; 47:2879-2891. [PMID: 28587695 DOI: 10.1017/s0033291717001428] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/06/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Commonly observed distortions in decision-making among patients with major depressive disorder (MDD) may emerge from impaired reward processing and cognitive biases toward negative events. There is substantial theoretical support for the hypothesis that MDD patients overweight potential losses compared with gains, though the neurobiological underpinnings of this bias are uncertain. METHODS Twenty-one unmedicated patients with MDD were compared with 25 healthy controls (HC) using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) together with an economic decision-making task over mixed lotteries involving probabilistic gains and losses. Region-of-interest analyses evaluated neural signatures of gain and loss coding within a core network of brain areas known to be involved in valuation (anterior insula, caudate nucleus, ventromedial prefrontal cortex). RESULTS Usable fMRI data were available for 19 MDD and 23 HC subjects. Anterior insula signal showed negative coding of losses (gain > loss) in HC subjects consistent with previous findings, whereas MDD subjects demonstrated significant reversals in these associations (loss > gain). Moreover, depression severity further enhanced the positive coding of losses in anterior insula, ventromedial prefrontal cortex, and caudate nucleus. The hyper-responsivity to losses displayed by the anterior insula of MDD patients was paralleled by a reduced influence of gain, but not loss, stake size on choice latencies. CONCLUSIONS Patients with MDD demonstrate a significant shift from negative to positive coding of losses in the anterior insula, revealing the importance of this structure in value-based decision-making in the context of emotional disturbances.
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Affiliation(s)
- J B Engelmann
- Center for Research in Experimental Economics and Political Decision Making (CREED), Amsterdam School of Economics, University of Amsterdam and The Tinbergen Institute,Amsterdam,The Netherlands
| | - G S Berns
- Department of Psychology,Emory University,Atlanta, GA,USA
| | - B W Dunlop
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences,Emory University School of Medicine,Atlanta, GA 30329,USA
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35
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Yu KC, Wei HT, Yeh YH, Hsu CH. Traditional Chinese medicine-facilitated treatments may relieve anxiety symptoms during drug switching from methadone to buprenorphine/naloxone for treating opioid dependence. BMJ Case Rep 2017; 2017:bcr-2017-220815. [PMID: 29127135 PMCID: PMC5695423 DOI: 10.1136/bcr-2017-220815] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/17/2022] Open
Abstract
This study investigated a 51-year-old married man with a history of heroin dependence who underwent methadone maintenance treatment for 7 years. He received traditional Chinese medicine (TCM)-facilitated treatments and switched from methadone to buprenorphine/naloxone. Strong anxiety symptoms were observed during the initial stage; therefore, we prescribed a combination of Chaihu-Shugan-San, Zhi Bai Di Huang and Chin-Gin-Kuan-Ming decoction as the major herbal synergic regimen to relieve the symptoms of opioid withdrawal, anxiety and insomnia. During the treatment course, no precipitating withdrawal syndromes were noted, and the subject was gradually relieved of his anxiety symptoms through continual TCM treatments. In conclusion, TCM is effective in facilitating the switch from methadone to buprenorphine/naloxone and relieving anxiety symptoms. Therefore, focus on TCM-facilitated treatments for heroin dependence should be increased.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kai-Chiang Yu
- Department of Chinese Medicine, Taipei City Hospital, Linsen, Chinese Medicine, and Kunming Branch, Taipei, Taiwan.,Institute of Traditional Medicine, National Yang-Ming University, Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Han-Ting Wei
- Department of Psychiatry, Taipei City Hospital, Linsen, Chinese Medicine, and Kunming Branch, Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Yuh-Hsiang Yeh
- Department of Chinese Medicine, Taipei City Hospital, Linsen, Chinese Medicine, and Kunming Branch, Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Chung-Hua Hsu
- Department of Chinese Medicine, Taipei City Hospital, Linsen, Chinese Medicine, and Kunming Branch, Taipei, Taiwan.,Institute of Traditional Medicine, National Yang-Ming University, Taipei, Taiwan
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36
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Yang X, Gao M, Shi J, Ye H, Chen S. Modulating the Activity of the DLPFC and OFC Has Distinct Effects on Risk and Ambiguity Decision-Making: A tDCS Study. Front Psychol 2017; 8:1417. [PMID: 28878714 PMCID: PMC5572270 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2017.01417] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/07/2017] [Accepted: 08/04/2017] [Indexed: 01/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Human beings are constantly exposed to two types of uncertainty situations, risk and ambiguity. Neuroscientific studies suggest that the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) and the orbital frontal cortex (OFC) play significant roles in human decision making under uncertainty. We applied the transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) device to modulate the activity of participants’ DLPFC and OFC separately, comparing the causal relationships between people’s behaviors and the activity of the corresponding brain cortex when confronted with situations of risk and ambiguity. Our experiment employed a pre–post design and a risk/ambiguity decision-making task, from which we could calculate the preferences via an estimation model. We found evidences that modulating the activity of the DLPFC using right anodal/left cathodal tDCS significantly enhanced the participants’ preferences for risk, whereas modulating the activity of the OFC with right anodal/left cathodal tDCS significantly decreased the participants’ preferences for ambiguity. The reverse effects were also observed in the reversed tDCS treatments on the two areas. Our results suggest that decision-making processes under risk and ambiguity are complicated and may be encoded in two distinct circuits in our brains as the DLPFC primarily impacts decisions under risk whereas the OFC affects ambiguity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiaolan Yang
- School of Business and Management, Shanghai International Studies UniversityShanghai, China.,Academy of Financial Research, Zhejiang UniversityHangzhou, China
| | - Mei Gao
- College of Economics, Zhejiang UniversityHangzhou, China
| | - Jinchuan Shi
- Academy of Financial Research, Zhejiang UniversityHangzhou, China
| | - Hang Ye
- Neuro and Behavior EconLab, Zhejiang University of Finance and EconomicsHangzhou, China.,Interdisciplinary Center for Social Sciences, Zhejiang UniversityHangzhou, China
| | - Shu Chen
- College of Economics, Zhejiang UniversityHangzhou, China.,Interdisciplinary Center for Social Sciences, Zhejiang UniversityHangzhou, China
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37
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Enhanced Risk Aversion, But Not Loss Aversion, in Unmedicated Pathological Anxiety. Biol Psychiatry 2017; 81:1014-1022. [PMID: 28126210 PMCID: PMC5466268 DOI: 10.1016/j.biopsych.2016.12.010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 99] [Impact Index Per Article: 14.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/31/2016] [Revised: 11/17/2016] [Accepted: 12/03/2016] [Indexed: 11/22/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Anxiety disorders are associated with disruptions in both emotional processing and decision making. As a result, anxious individuals often make decisions that favor harm avoidance. However, this bias could be driven by enhanced aversion to uncertainty about the decision outcome (e.g., risk) or aversion to negative outcomes (e.g., loss). Distinguishing between these possibilities may provide a better cognitive understanding of anxiety disorders and hence inform treatment strategies. METHODS To address this question, unmedicated individuals with pathological anxiety (n = 25) and matched healthy control subjects (n = 23) completed a gambling task featuring a decision between a gamble and a safe (certain) option on every trial. Choices on one type of gamble-involving weighing a potential win against a potential loss (mixed)-could be driven by both loss and risk aversion, whereas choices on the other type-featuring only wins (gain only)-were exclusively driven by risk aversion. By fitting a computational prospect theory model to participants' choices, we were able to reliably estimate risk and loss aversion and their respective contribution to gambling decisions. RESULTS Relative to healthy control subjects, pathologically anxious participants exhibited enhanced risk aversion but equivalent levels of loss aversion. CONCLUSIONS Individuals with pathological anxiety demonstrate clear avoidance biases in their decision making. These findings suggest that this may be driven by a reduced propensity to take risks rather than a stronger aversion to losses. This important clarification suggests that psychological interventions for anxiety should focus on reducing risk sensitivity rather than reducing sensitivity to negative outcomes per se.
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38
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Panno A, Donati MA, Milioni M, Chiesi F, Primi C. Why Women Take Fewer Risk Than Men Do: The Mediating Role of State Anxiety. SEX ROLES 2017. [DOI: 10.1007/s11199-017-0781-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
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39
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White SF, Geraci M, Lewis E, Leshin J, Teng C, Averbeck B, Meffert H, Ernst M, Blair JR, Grillon C, Blair KS. Prediction Error Representation in Individuals With Generalized Anxiety Disorder During Passive Avoidance. Am J Psychiatry 2017; 174:110-117. [PMID: 27631963 PMCID: PMC5572647 DOI: 10.1176/appi.ajp.2016.15111410] [Citation(s) in RCA: 45] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/17/2022]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE Deficits in reinforcement-based decision making have been reported in generalized anxiety disorder. However, the pathophysiology of these deficits is largely unknown; published studies have mainly examined adolescents, and the integrity of core functional processes underpinning decision making remains undetermined. In particular, it is unclear whether the representation of reinforcement prediction error (PE) (the difference between received and expected reinforcement) is disrupted in generalized anxiety disorder. This study addresses these issues in adults with the disorder. METHOD Forty-six unmedicated individuals with generalized anxiety disorder and 32 healthy comparison subjects group-matched on IQ, gender, and age performed a passive avoidance task while undergoing functional MRI. Data analyses were performed using a computational modeling approach. RESULTS Behaviorally, individuals with generalized anxiety disorder showed impaired reinforcement-based decision making. Imaging results revealed that during feedback, individuals with generalized anxiety disorder relative to healthy subjects showed a reduced correlation between PE and activity within the ventromedial prefrontal cortex, ventral striatum, and other structures implicated in decision making. In addition, individuals with generalized anxiety disorder relative to healthy participants showed a reduced correlation between punishment PEs, but not reward PEs, and activity within the left and right lentiform nucleus/putamen. CONCLUSIONS This is the first study to identify computational impairments during decision making in generalized anxiety disorder. PE signaling is significantly disrupted in individuals with the disorder and may lead to their decision-making deficits and excessive worry about everyday problems by disrupting the online updating ("reality check") of the current relationship between the expected values of current response options and the actual received rewards and punishments.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | | | - Cindy Teng
- Section on Affective Cognitive Neuroscience, NIMH, NIH
| | | | - Harma Meffert
- Section on Affective Cognitive Neuroscience, NIMH, NIH
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40
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Gu R, Wu R, Broster LS, Jiang Y, Xu R, Yang Q, Xu P, Luo YJ. Trait Anxiety and Economic Risk Avoidance Are Not Necessarily Associated: Evidence from the Framing Effect. Front Psychol 2017; 8:92. [PMID: 28197116 PMCID: PMC5282792 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2017.00092] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/12/2016] [Accepted: 01/13/2017] [Indexed: 01/26/2023] Open
Abstract
According to previous literature, trait anxiety is related to the tendency to choose safety options during risk decision-making, that is, risk avoidance. In our opinion, anxious people's risk preference might actually reflect their hypersensitivity to emotional information. To examine this hypothesis, a decision-making task that could elicit the framing effect was employed. The framing effect indicates that risk preference could be modulated by emotional messages contained in the description (i.e., frame) of options. The behavioral results have showed the classic framing effect. In addition, individual level of trait anxiety was positively correlated with the framing effect size. However, trait anxiety was not correlated with risk-avoidance ratio in any condition. Finally, the relationship between anxiety and the framing effect remained significant after the level of depression was also taken into account. The theoretical significance and the major limitations of this study are discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ruolei Gu
- CAS Key Laboratory of Behavioral Science, Institute of Psychology, Division of Social and Engineering Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences Beijing, China
| | - Runguo Wu
- School of Social and Political Science, University of Edinburgh Edinburgh, UK
| | - Lucas S Broster
- Department of Behavioral Science, University of Kentucky College of Medicine Lexington, KY, USA
| | - Yang Jiang
- Department of Behavioral Science, University of Kentucky College of Medicine Lexington, KY, USA
| | - Rui Xu
- Institute of Basic Research in Clinical Medicine, China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences Beijing, China
| | - Qiwei Yang
- Sichuan Research Center of Applied Psychology and Collaborative Innovation Center of Sichuan for Elderly Care and Health, Chengdu Medical College Chengdu, China
| | - Pengfei Xu
- Institute of Affective and Social Neuroscience, College of Psychology and Sociology, Shenzhen UniversityShenzhen, China; Center for Emotion and Brain, Shenzhen Institute of NeuroscienceShenzhen, China; Neuroimaging Center, University Medical Center Groningen, University of GroningenGroningen, Netherlands
| | - Yue-Jia Luo
- Institute of Affective and Social Neuroscience, College of Psychology and Sociology, Shenzhen UniversityShenzhen, China; Center for Emotion and Brain, Shenzhen Institute of NeuroscienceShenzhen, China
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41
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Huang D, Chen S, Wang S, Shi J, Ye H, Luo J, Zheng H. Activation of the DLPFC Reveals an Asymmetric Effect in Risky Decision Making: Evidence from a tDCS Study. Front Psychol 2017; 8:38. [PMID: 28174549 PMCID: PMC5258744 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2017.00038] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/16/2016] [Accepted: 01/06/2017] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
The phenomenon of loss aversion (the tendency for losses to have a greater impact than comparable gains) has long been observed in daily life. Neurocognitive studies and brain imaging studies have shed light on the correlation between the phenomenon of loss aversion and the brain region of the prefrontal cortex. Recent brain stimulation studies using bilateral transcranial magnetic stimulation or transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) have obtained various results showing the causal relationship between brain regions and decision making. With the goal of studying whether unilateral stimulation can change participants’ risky decision making in the frames of gains and losses, we applied different polarities of tDCS over the regions of the right or left prefrontal cortex. We also designed a risk measurement table (Multiple Price List) to reflect the participants’ attitudes toward risky decision making via the crossover point including the frames of gains and losses. The results of our experiment indicated that the participants tended to be more risk averse in the gain frame after receiving left anodal tDCS and more risk seeking in the loss frame after receiving right cathodal tDCS, which was consistent with the hypothesis that the process of risky decision making was correlated with the interaction of multiple systems in the brain. Our conclusion revealed an asymmetric effect of right/left DLPFC when the participants faced gains and losses, which partially provided the neural evidence and a feasible paradigm to help better understand risky decision making and loss aversion. The current study can not only expand the traditional understanding of the behavioral preferences of humans in economics but also accommodate empirical observations of behavioral economists on the preferences of humans.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daqiang Huang
- School of Economics and Interdisciplinary Center for Social Sciences, Zhejiang University Hangzhou, China
| | - Shu Chen
- School of Economics and Interdisciplinary Center for Social Sciences, Zhejiang University Hangzhou, China
| | - Siqi Wang
- School of Economics and Interdisciplinary Center for Social Sciences, Zhejiang University Hangzhou, China
| | - Jinchuan Shi
- Academy of Financial Research, Zhejiang University Hangzhou, China
| | - Hang Ye
- School of Economics and Interdisciplinary Center for Social Sciences, Zhejiang UniversityHangzhou, China; School of Economics, Center for Economic Behavior and Decision-Making, Neuro and Behavior EconLab, Zhejiang University of Finance and EconomicsHangzhou, China
| | - Jun Luo
- School of Economics, Center for Economic Behavior and Decision-Making, Neuro and Behavior EconLab, Zhejiang University of Finance and Economics Hangzhou, China
| | - Haoli Zheng
- School of Economics, Center for Economic Behavior and Decision-Making, Neuro and Behavior EconLab, Zhejiang University of Finance and Economics Hangzhou, China
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42
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Howlett JR, Paulus MP. Individual Differences in Subjective Utility and Risk Preferences: The Influence of Hedonic Capacity and Trait Anxiety. Front Psychiatry 2017; 8:88. [PMID: 28588508 PMCID: PMC5438983 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyt.2017.00088] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/10/2016] [Accepted: 05/01/2017] [Indexed: 01/28/2023] Open
Abstract
Individual differences in decision-making are important in both normal populations and psychiatric conditions. Variability in decision-making could be mediated by different subjective utilities or by other processes. For example, while traditional economic accounts attribute risk aversion to a concave subjective utility curve, in practice other factors could affect risk behavior. This distinction may have important implications for understanding the biological basis of variability in decision-making and for developing interventions to improve decision-making. Another aspect of decision-making that may vary between individuals is the sensitivity of subjective utility to counterfactual outcomes (outcomes that could have occurred, but did not). We investigated decision-making in relation to hedonic capacity and trait anxiety, two traits that relate to psychiatric conditions but also vary in the general population. Subjects performed a decision-making task, in which they chose between low- and high-risk gambles to win 0, 20, or 40 points on each trial. Subjects then rated satisfaction after each outcome on a visual analog scale, indicating subjective utility. Hedonic capacity was positively associated with the subjective utility of winning 20 points but was not associated with the concavity of the subjective utility curve (constructed using the mean subjective utility of winning 0, 20, or 40 points). Consistent with economic theory, concavity of the subjective utility curve was associated with risk aversion. Hedonic capacity was independently associated with risk seeking (i.e., not mediated by the shape of the subjective utility curve), while trait anxiety was unrelated to risk preferences. Contrary to our expectations, counterfactual sensitivity was unrelated to hedonic capacity and trait anxiety. Nevertheless, trait anxiety was associated with a self-report measure of regret-proneness, suggesting that counterfactual influences may occur via a pathway that is separate from immediate counterfactual processing biases. Taken together, our results show that hedonic capacity but not trait anxiety affects risk-taking through a mechanism that appears independent of the shape of the subjective utility curve, while hedonic capacity and trait anxiety do not affect the influence of counterfactual outcomes on subjective utility. The results have implications for understanding the underlying mechanisms of variable decision-making and for developing interventions to improve decision-making.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jonathon R Howlett
- Department of Psychiatry, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA
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Koppel L, Andersson D, Morrison I, Posadzy K, Västfjäll D, Tinghög G. The effect of acute pain on risky and intertemporal choice. EXPERIMENTAL ECONOMICS 2017; 20:878-893. [PMID: 29151807 PMCID: PMC5665967 DOI: 10.1007/s10683-017-9515-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/09/2016] [Revised: 01/23/2017] [Accepted: 01/27/2017] [Indexed: 05/05/2023]
Abstract
Pain is a highly salient and attention-demanding experience that motivates people to act. We investigated the effect of pain on decision making by delivering acute thermal pain to participants' forearm while they made risky and intertemporal choices involving money. Participants (n = 107) were more risk seeking under pain than in a no-pain control condition when decisions involved gains but not when they involved equivalent losses. Pain also resulted in greater preference for immediate (smaller) over future (larger) monetary rewards. We interpret these results as a motivation to offset the aversive, pain-induced state, where monetary rewards become more appealing under pain than under no pain and when delivered sooner rather than later. Our findings add to the long-standing debate regarding the role of intuition and reflection in decision making.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lina Koppel
- Center for Social and Affective Neuroscience, Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, Linköping University, Linköping, Sweden
- JEDI Lab, Division of Economics, Department of Management and Engineering, Linköping University, Linköping, Sweden
| | - David Andersson
- Center for Social and Affective Neuroscience, Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, Linköping University, Linköping, Sweden
- JEDI Lab, Division of Economics, Department of Management and Engineering, Linköping University, Linköping, Sweden
| | - India Morrison
- Center for Social and Affective Neuroscience, Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, Linköping University, Linköping, Sweden
| | - Kinga Posadzy
- JEDI Lab, Division of Economics, Department of Management and Engineering, Linköping University, Linköping, Sweden
| | - Daniel Västfjäll
- Center for Social and Affective Neuroscience, Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, Linköping University, Linköping, Sweden
- JEDI Lab, Division of Economics, Department of Management and Engineering, Linköping University, Linköping, Sweden
- Division of Psychology, Department of Behavioral Sciences and Learning, Linköping University, Linköping, Sweden
- Decision Research, Eugene, OR USA
| | - Gustav Tinghög
- Center for Social and Affective Neuroscience, Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, Linköping University, Linköping, Sweden
- JEDI Lab, Division of Economics, Department of Management and Engineering, Linköping University, Linköping, Sweden
- National Center for Priority Setting in Health Care, Department of Medical and Health Sciences, Linköping University, Linköping, Sweden
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Wang Y, Gu R, Luo YJ, Zhou C. The interaction between state and dispositional emotions in decision making: An ERP study. Biol Psychol 2016; 123:126-135. [PMID: 27887980 DOI: 10.1016/j.biopsycho.2016.11.009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/18/2016] [Revised: 11/21/2016] [Accepted: 11/21/2016] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
Abstract
In this study, to investigate the influence of incidental emotions on decision making in high-anxious individuals, participants were required to perform a monetary gambling task. Behavioral and electroencephalography responses were recorded to explore the stages of option assessment and outcome evaluation during decision making, respectively. Incidental emotions were elicited by facial expression pictures presented on the background, which included four conditions (control, neutral, fearful, and happy). Results showed smaller feedback-related negativity (FRN) amplitudes in high-anxious participants than low-anxious participants in the control, neutral, and fearful conditions, but not in the happy condition, for small outcomes. The P3 amplitudes were larger in high-anxious participants compared to their counterparts in the fearful and happy conditions, but not in the other conditions. In short, the interaction effects between trait anxiety and facial emotions manifested on the outcome evaluation stage of decision making.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yingying Wang
- Department of Sport Psychology, School of Sport Science, Shanghai University of Sport, Shanghai 200438, China
| | - Ruolei Gu
- CAS Key Laboratory of Behavioral Science, Institute of Psychology, Beijing 100101, China
| | - Yue-Jia Luo
- Institute of Affective and Social Neuroscience, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen 5108060, China
| | - Chenglin Zhou
- Department of Sport Psychology, School of Sport Science, Shanghai University of Sport, Shanghai 200438, China.
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Shared Neural Mechanisms for the Evaluation of Intense Sensory Stimulation and Economic Reward, Dependent on Stimulation-Seeking Behavior. J Neurosci 2016; 36:10026-38. [PMID: 27683900 DOI: 10.1523/jneurosci.1048-16.2016] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/29/2016] [Accepted: 07/19/2016] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
UNLABELLED Why are some people strongly motivated by intense sensory experiences? Here we investigated how people encode the value of an intense sensory experience compared with economic reward, and how this varies according to stimulation-seeking preference. Specifically, we used a novel behavioral task in combination with computational modeling to derive the value individuals assigned to the opportunity to experience an intense tactile stimulus (mild electric shock). We then examined functional imaging data recorded during task performance to see how the opportunity to experience the sensory stimulus was encoded in stimulation-seekers versus stimulation-avoiders. We found that for individuals who positively sought out this kind of sensory stimulation, there was common encoding of anticipated economic and sensory rewards in the ventromedial prefrontal cortex. Conversely, there was robust encoding of the modeled probability of receiving such stimulation in the insula only in stimulation-avoidant individuals. Finally, we found preliminary evidence that sensory prediction error signals may be positively signed for stimulation-seekers, but negatively signed for stimulation-avoiders, in the posterior cingulate cortex. These findings may help explain why high intensity sensory experiences are appetitive for some individuals, but not for others, and may have relevance for the increased vulnerability for some psychopathologies, but perhaps increased resilience for others, in high sensation-seeking individuals. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT People vary in their preference for intense sensory experiences. Here, we investigated how different individuals evaluate the prospect of an unusual sensory experience (electric shock), compared with the opportunity to gain a more traditional reward (money). We found that in a subset of individuals who sought out such unusual sensory stimulation, anticipation of the sensory outcome was encoded in the same way as that of monetary gain, in the ventromedial prefrontal cortex. Further understanding of stimulation-seeking behavior may shed light on the etiology of psychopathologies such as addiction, for which high or low sensation-seeking personality has been identified as a risk factor.
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Kaag AM, Schluter RS, Karel P, Homberg J, van den Brink W, Reneman L, van Wingen GA. Aversive Counterconditioning Attenuates Reward Signaling in the Ventral Striatum. Front Hum Neurosci 2016; 10:418. [PMID: 27594829 PMCID: PMC4990538 DOI: 10.3389/fnhum.2016.00418] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/15/2016] [Accepted: 08/08/2016] [Indexed: 12/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Appetitive conditioning refers to the process of learning cue-reward associations and is mediated by the mesocorticolimbic system. Appetitive conditioned responses are difficult to extinguish, especially for highly salient reward such as food and drugs. We investigate whether aversive counterconditioning can alter reward reinstatement in the ventral striatum in healthy volunteers using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). In the initial conditioning phase, two different stimuli were reinforced with a monetary reward. In the subsequent counterconditioning phase, one of these stimuli was paired with an aversive shock to the wrist. In the following extinction phase, none of the stimuli were reinforced. In the final reinstatement phase, reward was reinstated by informing the participants that the monetary gain could be doubled. Our fMRI data revealed that reward signaling in the ventral striatum and ventral tegmental area following reinstatement was smaller for the stimulus that was counterconditioned with an electrical shock, compared to the non-counterconditioned stimulus. A functional connectivity analysis showed that aversive counterconditioning strengthened striatal connectivity with the hippocampus and insula. These results suggest that reward signaling in the ventral striatum can be attenuated through aversive counterconditioning, possibly by concurrent retrieval of the aversive association through enhanced connectivity with hippocampus and insula.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anne Marije Kaag
- Department of Radiology, Academic Medical CenterAmsterdam, Netherlands; Department of Psychiatry, Academic Medical CenterAmsterdam, Netherlands; Amsterdam Brain and Cognition, University of AmsterdamAmsterdam, Netherlands
| | - Renée S Schluter
- Department of Psychiatry, Academic Medical Center Amsterdam, Netherlands
| | - Peter Karel
- Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition, and Behaviour, Medical Centre, Radboud University Nijmegen, Netherlands
| | - Judith Homberg
- Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition, and Behaviour, Medical Centre, Radboud University Nijmegen, Netherlands
| | - Wim van den Brink
- Department of Psychiatry, Academic Medical Center Amsterdam, Netherlands
| | - Liesbeth Reneman
- Department of Radiology, Academic Medical Center Amsterdam, Netherlands
| | - Guido A van Wingen
- Department of Psychiatry, Academic Medical CenterAmsterdam, Netherlands; Amsterdam Brain and Cognition, University of AmsterdamAmsterdam, Netherlands; Spinoza Center for Neuroimaging, Institute of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and SciencesAmsterdam, Netherlands
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Charpentier CJ, Hindocha C, Roiser JP, Robinson OJ. Anxiety promotes memory for mood-congruent faces but does not alter loss aversion. Sci Rep 2016; 6:24746. [PMID: 27098489 PMCID: PMC4838853 DOI: 10.1038/srep24746] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/22/2015] [Accepted: 04/04/2016] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Pathological anxiety is associated with disrupted cognitive processing, including working memory and decision-making. In healthy individuals, experimentally-induced state anxiety or high trait anxiety often results in the deployment of adaptive harm-avoidant behaviours. However, how these processes affect cognition is largely unknown. To investigate this question, we implemented a translational within-subjects anxiety induction, threat of shock, in healthy participants reporting a wide range of trait anxiety scores. Participants completed a gambling task, embedded within an emotional working memory task, with some blocks under unpredictable threat and others safe from shock. Relative to the safe condition, threat of shock improved recall of threat-congruent (fearful) face location, especially in highly trait anxious participants. This suggests that threat boosts working memory for mood-congruent stimuli in vulnerable individuals, mirroring memory biases in clinical anxiety. By contrast, Bayesian analysis indicated that gambling decisions were better explained by models that did not include threat or treat anxiety, suggesting that: (i) higher-level executive functions are robust to these anxiety manipulations; and (ii) decreased risk-taking may be specific to pathological anxiety. These findings provide insight into the complex interactions between trait anxiety, acute state anxiety and cognition, and may help understand the cognitive mechanisms underlying adaptive anxiety.
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Affiliation(s)
- Caroline J Charpentier
- Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, University College London, London WC1N 3AR, UK.,Affective Brain Lab, Department of Experimental Psychology, University College London, London WC1H 0AP, UK
| | - Chandni Hindocha
- Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, University College London, London WC1N 3AR, UK.,Clinical Psychopharmacology Unit, Department of Clinical, Educational and Health Psychology, University College London, WC1E 7HB
| | - Jonathan P Roiser
- Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, University College London, London WC1N 3AR, UK
| | - Oliver J Robinson
- Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, University College London, London WC1N 3AR, UK
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Sonuga-Barke EJS, Cortese S, Fairchild G, Stringaris A. Annual Research Review: Transdiagnostic neuroscience of child and adolescent mental disorders--differentiating decision making in attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, conduct disorder, depression, and anxiety. J Child Psychol Psychiatry 2016; 57:321-49. [PMID: 26705858 PMCID: PMC4762324 DOI: 10.1111/jcpp.12496] [Citation(s) in RCA: 93] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 11/11/2015] [Indexed: 12/18/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Ineffective decision making is a major source of everyday functional impairment and reduced quality of life for young people with mental disorders. However, very little is known about what distinguishes decision making by individuals with different disorders or the neuropsychological processes or brain systems underlying these. This is the focus of the current review. SCOPE AND METHODOLOGY We first propose a neuroeconomic model of the decision-making process with separate stages for the prechoice evaluation of expected utility of future options; choice execution and postchoice management; the appraisal of outcome against expectation; and the updating of value estimates to guide future decisions. According to the proposed model, decision making is mediated by neuropsychological processes operating within three domains: (a) self-referential processes involved in autobiographical reflection on past, and prospection about future, experiences; (b) executive functions, such as working memory, inhibition, and planning, that regulate the implementation of decisions; and (c) processes involved in value estimation and outcome appraisal and learning. These processes are underpinned by the interplay of multiple brain networks, especially medial and lateralized cortical components of the default mode network, dorsal corticostriatal circuits underpinning higher order cognitive and behavioral control, and ventral frontostriatal circuits, connecting to brain regions implicated in emotion processing, that control valuation and learning processes. FINDINGS AND CONCLUSION Based on clinical insights and considering each of the decision-making stages in turn, we outline disorder-specific hypotheses about impaired decision making in four childhood disorders: attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), conduct disorder (CD), depression, and anxiety. We hypothesize that decision making in ADHD is deficient (i.e. inefficient, insufficiently reflective, and inconsistent) and impulsive (biased toward immediate over delayed alternatives). In CD, it is reckless and insensitive to negative consequences. In depression, it is disengaged, perseverative, and pessimistic, while in anxiety, it is hesitant, risk-averse, and self-deprecating. A survey of current empirical indications related to these disorder-specific hypotheses highlights the limited and fragmentary nature of the evidence base and illustrates the need for a major research initiative in decision making in childhood disorders. The final section highlights a number of important additional general themes that need to be considered in future research.
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Affiliation(s)
- Edmund J S Sonuga-Barke
- Developmental Brain-Behaviour Laboratory, Academic Unit of Psychology, University of Southampton, Southampton, UK
| | - Samuele Cortese
- Developmental Brain-Behaviour Laboratory, Academic Unit of Psychology, University of Southampton, Southampton, UK
- Child Study Center at NYU Langone Medical Center, New York, NY, USA
| | - Graeme Fairchild
- Developmental Brain-Behaviour Laboratory, Academic Unit of Psychology, University of Southampton, Southampton, UK
| | - Argyris Stringaris
- Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, London, UK
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Eldar E, Rutledge RB, Dolan RJ, Niv Y. Mood as Representation of Momentum. Trends Cogn Sci 2015; 20:15-24. [PMID: 26545853 PMCID: PMC4703769 DOI: 10.1016/j.tics.2015.07.010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 166] [Impact Index Per Article: 18.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/09/2015] [Revised: 07/21/2015] [Accepted: 07/27/2015] [Indexed: 01/24/2023]
Abstract
Experiences affect mood, which in turn affects subsequent experiences. Recent studies suggest two specific principles. First, mood depends on how recent reward outcomes differ from expectations. Second, mood biases the way we perceive outcomes (e.g., rewards), and this bias affects learning about those outcomes. We propose that this two-way interaction serves to mitigate inefficiencies in the application of reinforcement learning to real-world problems. Specifically, we propose that mood represents the overall momentum of recent outcomes, and its biasing influence on the perception of outcomes ‘corrects’ learning to account for environmental dependencies. We describe potential dysfunctions of this adaptive mechanism that might contribute to the symptoms of mood disorders. With increasing use of computational models to understand human behavior, scientists have begun to model the dynamics of subjective states such as mood. Recent data suggest that mood reflects the cumulative impact of differences between reward outcomes and expectations. Behavioral and neural findings suggest that mood biases the perception of reward outcomes such that outcomes are perceived as better when one is in a good mood relative to when one is in a bad mood. These two lines of research establish a bidirectional interaction between mood and reinforcement learning, which may play an important adaptive role in healthy behavior, and whose dysfunction might contribute to psychiatric disorders.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eran Eldar
- Wellcome Trust Centre for Neuroimaging, University College London, London WC1N 3BG, UK; Max Planck University College London Centre for Computational Psychiatry and Ageing Research, London WC1B 5EH, UK.
| | - Robb B Rutledge
- Wellcome Trust Centre for Neuroimaging, University College London, London WC1N 3BG, UK; Max Planck University College London Centre for Computational Psychiatry and Ageing Research, London WC1B 5EH, UK
| | - Raymond J Dolan
- Wellcome Trust Centre for Neuroimaging, University College London, London WC1N 3BG, UK; Max Planck University College London Centre for Computational Psychiatry and Ageing Research, London WC1B 5EH, UK
| | - Yael Niv
- Princeton Neuroscience Institute and Psychology Department, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08544, USA
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