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Tsypes A, Hallquist MN, Ianni A, Kaurin A, Wright AGC, Dombrovski AY. Exploration-Exploitation and Suicidal Behavior in Borderline Personality Disorder and Depression. JAMA Psychiatry 2024; 81:1010-1019. [PMID: 38985462 PMCID: PMC11238070 DOI: 10.1001/jamapsychiatry.2024.1796] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/21/2023] [Accepted: 04/25/2024] [Indexed: 07/11/2024]
Abstract
Importance Clinical theory and behavioral studies suggest that people experiencing suicidal crisis are often unable to find constructive solutions or incorporate useful information into their decisions, resulting in premature convergence on suicide and neglect of better alternatives. However, prior studies of suicidal behavior have not formally examined how individuals resolve the tradeoffs between exploiting familiar options and exploring potentially superior alternatives. Objective To investigate exploration and exploitation in suicidal behavior from the formal perspective of reinforcement learning. Design, Setting, and Participants Two case-control behavioral studies of exploration-exploitation of a large 1-dimensional continuous space and a 21-day prospective ambulatory study of suicidal ideation were conducted between April 2016 and March 2022. Participants were recruited from inpatient psychiatric units, outpatient clinics, and the community in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and underwent laboratory and ambulatory assessments. Adults diagnosed with borderline personality disorder (BPD) and midlife and late-life major depressive disorder (MDD) were included, with each sample including demographically equated groups with a history of high-lethality suicide attempts, low-lethality suicide attempts, individuals with BPD or MDD but no suicide attempts, and control individuals without psychiatric disorders. The MDD sample also included a subgroup with serious suicidal ideation. Main Outcomes and Measures Behavioral (model-free and model-derived) indices of exploration and exploitation, suicide attempt lethality (Beck Lethality Scale), and prospectively assessed suicidal ideation. Results The BPD group included 171 adults (mean [SD] age, 30.55 [9.13] years; 135 [79%] female). The MDD group included 143 adults (mean [SD] age, 62.03 [6.82] years; 81 [57%] female). Across the BPD (χ23 = 50.68; P < .001) and MDD (χ24 = 36.34; P < .001) samples, individuals with high-lethality suicide attempts discovered fewer options than other groups as they were unable to shift away from unrewarded options. In contrast, those with low-lethality attempts were prone to excessive behavioral shifts after rewarded and unrewarded actions. No differences were seen in strategic early exploration or in exploitation. Among 84 participants with BPD in the ambulatory study, 56 reported suicidal ideation. Underexploration also predicted incident suicidal ideation (χ21 = 30.16; P < .001), validating the case-control results prospectively. The findings were robust to confounds, including medication exposure, affective state, and behavioral heterogeneity. Conclusions and Relevance The findings suggest that narrow exploration and inability to abandon inferior options are associated with serious suicidal behavior and chronic suicidal thoughts. By contrast, individuals in this study who engaged in low-lethality suicidal behavior displayed a low threshold for taking potentially disadvantageous actions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Aliona Tsypes
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
| | - Michael N. Hallquist
- Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill
| | - Angela Ianni
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
| | - Aleksandra Kaurin
- Department of Psychology, University of Wuppertal, Wuppertal, Germany
| | - Aidan G. C. Wright
- Department of Psychology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor
- Eisenberg Family Depression Center, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor
| | - Alexandre Y. Dombrovski
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
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Ursino M, Pelle S, Nekka F, Robaey P, Schirru M. Valence-dependent dopaminergic modulation during reversal learning in Parkinson's disease: A neurocomputational approach. Neurobiol Learn Mem 2024; 215:107985. [PMID: 39270814 DOI: 10.1016/j.nlm.2024.107985] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/22/2024] [Revised: 08/19/2024] [Accepted: 09/06/2024] [Indexed: 09/15/2024]
Abstract
Reinforcement learning, crucial for behavior in dynamic environments, is driven by rewards and punishments, modulated by dopamine (DA) changes. This study explores the dopaminergic system's influence on learning, particularly in Parkinson's disease (PD), where medication leads to impaired adaptability. Highlighting the role of tonic DA in signaling the valence of actions, this research investigates how DA affects response vigor and decision-making in PD. DA not only influences reward and punishment learning but also indicates the cognitive effort level and risk propensity in actions, which are essential for understanding and managing PD symptoms. In this work, we adapt our existing neurocomputational model of basal ganglia (BG) to simulate two reversal learning tasks proposed by Cools et al. We first optimized a Hebb rule for both probabilistic and deterministic reversal learning, conducted a sensitivity analysis (SA) on parameters related to DA effect, and compared performances between three groups: PD-ON, PD-OFF, and control subjects. In our deterministic task simulation, we explored switch error rates after unexpected task switches and found a U-shaped relationship between tonic DA levels and switch error frequency. Through SA, we classify these three groups. Then, assuming that the valence of the stimulus affects the tonic levels of DA, we were able to reproduce the results by Cools et al. As for the probabilistic task simulation, our results are in line with clinical data, showing similar trends with PD-ON, characterized by higher tonic DA levels that are correlated with increased difficulty in both acquisition and reversal tasks. Our study proposes a new hypothesis: valence, signaled by tonic DA levels, influences learning in PD, confirming the uncorrelation between phasic and tonic DA changes. This hypothesis challenges existing paradigms and opens new avenues for understanding cognitive processes in PD, particularly in reversal learning tasks.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mauro Ursino
- Department of Electrical, Electronic and Information Engineering Guglielmo Marconi, University of Bologna, Campus of Cesena, I 47521 Cesena, Italy.
| | - Silvana Pelle
- Department of Electrical, Electronic and Information Engineering Guglielmo Marconi, University of Bologna, Campus of Cesena, I 47521 Cesena, Italy.
| | - Fahima Nekka
- Faculté de Pharmacie, Université de Montréal, Montreal, Quebec H3T 1J4, Canada; Centre de recherches mathématiques, Université de Montréal, Montreal, Quebec H3T 1J4, Canada; Centre for Applied Mathematics in Bioscience and Medicine (CAMBAM), McGill University, Montreal, Quebec H3G 1Y6, Canada.
| | - Philippe Robaey
- Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON, Canada.
| | - Miriam Schirru
- Department of Electrical, Electronic and Information Engineering Guglielmo Marconi, University of Bologna, Campus of Cesena, I 47521 Cesena, Italy; Faculté de Pharmacie, Université de Montréal, Montreal, Quebec H3T 1J4, Canada.
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Rasanan AHH, Evans NJ, Fontanesi L, Manning C, Huang-Pollock C, Matzke D, Heathcote A, Rieskamp J, Speekenbrink M, Frank MJ, Palminteri S, Lucas CG, Busemeyer JR, Ratcliff R, Rad JA. Beyond discrete-choice options. Trends Cogn Sci 2024; 28:857-870. [PMID: 39138030 DOI: 10.1016/j.tics.2024.07.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/29/2023] [Revised: 07/12/2024] [Accepted: 07/14/2024] [Indexed: 08/15/2024]
Abstract
While decision theories have evolved over the past five decades, their focus has largely been on choices among a limited number of discrete options, even though many real-world situations have a continuous-option space. Recently, theories have attempted to address decisions with continuous-option spaces, and several computational models have been proposed within the sequential sampling framework to explain how we make a decision in continuous-option space. This article aims to review the main attempts to understand decisions on continuous-option spaces, give an overview of applications of these types of decisions, and present puzzles to be addressed by future developments.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Nathan J Evans
- School of Psychology, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, QLD 4072, Australia; Department of Psychology, Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich, Munich, Germany
| | - Laura Fontanesi
- Department of Psychology, University of Basel, Missionsstrasse 62A, 4055, Basel, Switzerland
| | | | | | - Dora Matzke
- Department of Psychology, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Andrew Heathcote
- Department of Psychology, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands; School of Psychological Sciences, University of Newcastle, Newcastle, Australia
| | - Jörg Rieskamp
- Department of Psychology, University of Basel, Missionsstrasse 62A, 4055, Basel, Switzerland
| | | | - Michael J Frank
- Department of Cognitive, Linguistic, and Psychological Sciences and Carney Institute for Brain Science, Brown University, Providence, RI, USA
| | - Stefano Palminteri
- Laboratoire de Neurosciences Cognitives Computationnelles, Institut National de la Santé et Recherche Médicale, Paris, France; Département d'Etudes Cognitives, Ecole Normale Supérieure, PSL Research University, Paris, France
| | | | - Jerome R Busemeyer
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN 47405, USA
| | - Roger Ratcliff
- The Ohio State University, 1835 Neil Avenue, Columbus, OH, 43210, USA
| | - Jamal Amani Rad
- Choice Modelling Centre and Institute for Transport Studies, University of Leeds, Leeds LS2 9JT, UK.
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Sazhin D, Dachs A, Smith DV. Meta-Analysis Reveals That Explore-Exploit Decisions are Dissociable by Activation in the Dorsal Lateral Prefrontal Cortex, Anterior Insula, and the Anterior Cingulate Cortex. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2024:2023.10.21.563317. [PMID: 37961286 PMCID: PMC10634720 DOI: 10.1101/2023.10.21.563317] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/15/2023]
Abstract
Explore-exploit research faces challenges in generalizability due to a limited theoretical basis for exploration and exploitation. Neuroimaging can help identify whether explore-exploit decisions involve an opponent processing system to address this issue. Thus, we conducted a coordinate-based meta-analysis (N=23 studies) finding activation in the dorsal lateral prefrontal cortex, anterior insula, and anterior cingulate cortex during exploration versus exploitation, which provides some evidence for opponent processing. However, the conjunction of explore-exploit decisions was associated with activation in the dorsal anterior cingulate cortex and dorsal medial prefrontal cortex, suggesting that these brain regions do not engage in opponent processing. Furthermore, exploratory analyses revealed heterogeneity in brain responses between task types during exploration and exploitation respectively. Coupled with results suggesting that activation during exploration and exploitation decisions is generally more similar than it is different suggests, there remain significant challenges in characterizing explore-exploit decision making. Nonetheless, dlPFC, AI, and ACC activation differentiate explore and exploit decisions and identifying these responses can aid in targeted interventions aimed at manipulating these decisions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniel Sazhin
- Department of Psychology & Neuroscience, Temple University, Philadelphia, PA, USA
| | - Abraham Dachs
- Department of Psychology & Neuroscience, Temple University, Philadelphia, PA, USA
| | - David V Smith
- Department of Psychology & Neuroscience, Temple University, Philadelphia, PA, USA
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Hallquist MN, Hwang K, Luna B, Dombrovski AY. Reward-based option competition in human dorsal stream and transition from stochastic exploration to exploitation in continuous space. SCIENCE ADVANCES 2024; 10:eadj2219. [PMID: 38394198 PMCID: PMC10889364 DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.adj2219] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/29/2023] [Accepted: 01/23/2024] [Indexed: 02/25/2024]
Abstract
Primates exploring and exploiting a continuous sensorimotor space rely on dynamic maps in the dorsal stream. Two complementary perspectives exist on how these maps encode rewards. Reinforcement learning models integrate rewards incrementally over time, efficiently resolving the exploration/exploitation dilemma. Working memory buffer models explain rapid plasticity of parietal maps but lack a plausible exploration/exploitation policy. The reinforcement learning model presented here unifies both accounts, enabling rapid, information-compressing map updates and efficient transition from exploration to exploitation. As predicted by our model, activity in human frontoparietal dorsal stream regions, but not in MT+, tracks the number of competing options, as preferred options are selectively maintained on the map, while spatiotemporally distant alternatives are compressed out. When valuable new options are uncovered, posterior β1/α oscillations desynchronize within 0.4 to 0.7 s, consistent with option encoding by competing β1-stabilized subpopulations. Together, outcomes matching locally cached reward representations rapidly update parietal maps, biasing choices toward often-sampled, rewarded options.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Kai Hwang
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Iowa Neuroscience Institute, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA, USA
| | - Beatriz Luna
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
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Culbreth AJ, Schwartz EK, Frank MJ, Brown EC, Xu Z, Chen S, Gold JM, Waltz JA. A computational neuroimaging study of reinforcement learning and goal-directed exploration in schizophrenia spectrum disorders. Psychol Med 2023; 53:1-11. [PMID: 36752156 DOI: 10.1017/s0033291722003993] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/09/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Prior evidence indicates that negative symptom severity and cognitive deficits, in people with schizophrenia (PSZ), relate to measures of reward-seeking and loss-avoidance behavior (implicating the ventral striatum/VS), as well as uncertainty-driven exploration (reliant on rostrolateral prefrontal cortex/rlPFC). While neural correlates of reward-seeking and loss-avoidance have been examined in PSZ, neural correlates of uncertainty-driven exploration have not. Understanding neural correlates of uncertainty-driven exploration is an important next step that could reveal insights to how this mechanism of cognitive and negative symptoms manifest at a neural level. METHODS We acquired fMRI data from 29 PSZ and 36 controls performing the Temporal Utility Integration decision-making task. Computational analyses estimated parameters corresponding to learning rates for both positive and negative reward prediction errors (RPEs) and the degree to which participates relied on representations of relative uncertainty. Trial-wise estimates of expected value, certainty, and RPEs were generated to model fMRI data. RESULTS Behaviorally, PSZ demonstrated reduced reward-seeking behavior compared to controls, and negative symptoms were positively correlated with loss-avoidance behavior. This finding of a bias toward loss avoidance learning in PSZ is consistent with previous work. Surprisingly, neither behavioral measures of exploration nor neural correlates of uncertainty in the rlPFC differed significantly between groups. However, we showed that trial-wise estimates of relative uncertainty in the rlPFC distinguished participants who engaged in exploratory behavior from those who did not. rlPFC activation was positively associated with intellectual function. CONCLUSIONS These results further elucidate the nature of reinforcement learning and decision-making in PSZ and healthy volunteers.
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Affiliation(s)
- A J Culbreth
- Department of Psychiatry, Maryland Psychiatric Research Center (MPRC), University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | | | - M J Frank
- Department of Cognitive, Linguistic and Psychological Sciences, Brown University, Providence, RI, USA
- Department of Psychiatry and Brown Institute for Brain Science, Brown University, Providence, RI, USA
| | - E C Brown
- School of Health and Care Management, Arden University, Berlin, Germany
| | - Z Xu
- Applied LifeSciences & Systems, Morrisville, NC, USA
| | - S Chen
- Department of Psychiatry, Maryland Psychiatric Research Center (MPRC), University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA
- Division of Biostatistics and Bioinformatics, Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - J M Gold
- Department of Psychiatry, Maryland Psychiatric Research Center (MPRC), University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - J A Waltz
- Department of Psychiatry, Maryland Psychiatric Research Center (MPRC), University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA
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7
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Myers CE, Interian A, Moustafa AA. A practical introduction to using the drift diffusion model of decision-making in cognitive psychology, neuroscience, and health sciences. Front Psychol 2022; 13:1039172. [PMID: 36571016 PMCID: PMC9784241 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2022.1039172] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/07/2022] [Accepted: 10/27/2022] [Indexed: 12/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Recent years have seen a rapid increase in the number of studies using evidence-accumulation models (such as the drift diffusion model, DDM) in the fields of psychology and neuroscience. These models go beyond observed behavior to extract descriptions of latent cognitive processes that have been linked to different brain substrates. Accordingly, it is important for psychology and neuroscience researchers to be able to understand published findings based on these models. However, many articles using (and explaining) these models assume that the reader already has a fairly deep understanding of (and interest in) the computational and mathematical underpinnings, which may limit many readers' ability to understand the results and appreciate the implications. The goal of this article is therefore to provide a practical introduction to the DDM and its application to behavioral data - without requiring a deep background in mathematics or computational modeling. The article discusses the basic ideas underpinning the DDM, and explains the way that DDM results are normally presented and evaluated. It also provides a step-by-step example of how the DDM is implemented and used on an example dataset, and discusses methods for model validation and for presenting (and evaluating) model results. Supplementary material provides R code for all examples, along with the sample dataset described in the text, to allow interested readers to replicate the examples themselves. The article is primarily targeted at psychologists, neuroscientists, and health professionals with a background in experimental cognitive psychology and/or cognitive neuroscience, who are interested in understanding how DDMs are used in the literature, as well as some who may to go on to apply these approaches in their own work.
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Affiliation(s)
- Catherine E. Myers
- Research and Development Service, VA New Jersey Health Care System, East Orange, NJ, United States
- Department of Pharmacology, Physiology and Neuroscience, New Jersey Medical School, Rutgers University, Newark, NJ, United States
| | - Alejandro Interian
- Mental Health and Behavioral Sciences, VA New Jersey Health Care System, Lyons, NJ, United States
- Department of Psychiatry, Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, Rutgers University, Piscataway, NJ, United States
| | - Ahmed A. Moustafa
- Department of Human Anatomy and Physiology, The Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Johannesburg, Johannesburg, South Africa
- School of Psychology, Faculty of Society and Design, Bond University, Robina, QLD, Australia
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Brown VM, Hallquist MN, Frank MJ, Dombrovski AY. Humans adaptively resolve the explore-exploit dilemma under cognitive constraints: Evidence from a multi-armed bandit task. Cognition 2022; 229:105233. [PMID: 35917612 PMCID: PMC9530017 DOI: 10.1016/j.cognition.2022.105233] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/21/2022] [Revised: 06/02/2022] [Accepted: 07/22/2022] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
Abstract
When navigating uncertain worlds, humans must balance exploring new options versus exploiting known rewards. Longer horizons and spatially structured option values encourage humans to explore, but the impact of real-world cognitive constraints such as environment size and memory demands on explore-exploit decisions is unclear. In the present study, humans chose between options varying in uncertainty during a multi-armed bandit task with varying environment size and memory demands. Regression and cognitive computational models of choice behavior showed that with a lower cognitive load, humans are more exploratory than a simulated value-maximizing learner, but under cognitive constraints, they adaptively scale down exploration to maintain exploitation. Thus, while humans are curious, cognitive constraints force people to decrease their strategic exploration in a resource-rational-like manner to focus on harvesting known rewards.
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Affiliation(s)
- Vanessa M Brown
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA.
| | - Michael N Hallquist
- Department of Psychology, Pennsylvania State University, State College, PA, USA; Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA
| | - Michael J Frank
- Department of Cognitive, Linguistic, and Psychological Sciences and Carney Institute for Brain Science, Brown University, Providence, RI, USA
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Kohne S, Reimers L, Müller M, Diekhof EK. Daytime and season do not affect reinforcement learning capacity in a response time adjustment task. Chronobiol Int 2021; 38:1738-1744. [PMID: 34334067 DOI: 10.1080/07420528.2021.1953048] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/20/2022]
Abstract
Seasonal and circadian rhythms have a broad impact on physiological aspects, such as dopamine neurotransmission, and may be involved in the etiology of mood disorders. Considering this, studies on the influence of season and daytime on cognitive function are rare. The present study aimed to assess the impact of seasonal and diurnal effects on the ability to maximize reward outcomes by optimizing response times adaptively. For this purpose, a reward-based learning task that required an adaptation of response time to either a fast or a slow response was used. Eighty German participants (mean age ± SD = 21.86 ± 1.89 years, 41 women) were examined twice, in the morning and in the evening. Half of the participants were tested during the summer, while the other half performed the test in the winter. No impact of daytime, season or of the external factors photoperiodicity and temperature on reinforcement learning could be found. However, a generally slower response speed in the morning compared to the evening appeared. Previously conducted tasks could not display behavioral differences in both times of season and daytime, although neurophysiological findings suggest it.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sina Kohne
- Faculty of Mathematics, Informatics and Natural Sciences, Department of Biology, Institute of Zoology, Neuroendocrinology and Human Biology Unit, Universität Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany
| | - Luise Reimers
- Faculty of Mathematics, Informatics and Natural Sciences, Department of Biology, Institute of Zoology, Neuroendocrinology and Human Biology Unit, Universität Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany
| | - Malika Müller
- Faculty of Mathematics, Informatics and Natural Sciences, Department of Biology, Institute of Zoology, Neuroendocrinology and Human Biology Unit, Universität Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany
| | - Esther K Diekhof
- Faculty of Mathematics, Informatics and Natural Sciences, Department of Biology, Institute of Zoology, Neuroendocrinology and Human Biology Unit, Universität Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany
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Noworyta K, Cieslik A, Rygula R. Reinforcement-based cognitive biases as vulnerability factors in alcohol addiction: From humans to animal models. Br J Pharmacol 2021; 179:4265-4280. [PMID: 34232505 DOI: 10.1111/bph.15613] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/12/2021] [Revised: 06/06/2021] [Accepted: 06/30/2021] [Indexed: 01/12/2023] Open
Abstract
Alcohol use disorder (AUD) is one of the most common, but still poorly treated, psychiatric conditions. Developing new treatments requires a better understanding of the aetiology of symptoms and evaluation of novel therapeutic targets in preclinical studies. Recent developments in our understanding of the reinforcement-based cognitive biases (RBCBs) that contribute to the development of AUD and its treatment offer new opportunities for both clinical and preclinical research. In this review, we first briefly describe psychological and cognitive theories that involve various aspects of reinforcement sensitivity in the development, maintenance, and recurrence of alcohol addiction. Furthermore, in separate sections, we describe studies investigating RBCBs and their neural, neurochemical, and pharmacological correlates, and we discuss possible interactions between RBCBs and trajectories of AUD. Finally, we describe how recent translational studies using state-of-the-art animal models can facilitate our understanding of the role of reinforcement sensitivity and RBCBs in various aspects of AUD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Karolina Noworyta
- Department of Pharmacology, Affective Cognitive Neuroscience Laboratory, Maj Institute of Pharmacology Polish Academy of Sciences, Krakow, Poland
| | - Agata Cieslik
- Department of Pharmacology, Affective Cognitive Neuroscience Laboratory, Maj Institute of Pharmacology Polish Academy of Sciences, Krakow, Poland
| | - Rafal Rygula
- Department of Pharmacology, Affective Cognitive Neuroscience Laboratory, Maj Institute of Pharmacology Polish Academy of Sciences, Krakow, Poland
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Moustafa AA, Bello A, Maurushat A. The Role of User Behaviour in Improving Cyber Security Management. Front Psychol 2021; 12:561011. [PMID: 34220596 PMCID: PMC8253569 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2021.561011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/11/2020] [Accepted: 05/03/2021] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Information security has for long time been a field of study in computer science, software engineering, and information communications technology. The term 'information security' has recently been replaced with the more generic term cybersecurity. The goal of this paper is to show that, in addition to computer science studies, behavioural sciences focused on user behaviour can provide key techniques to help increase cyber security and mitigate the impact of attackers' social engineering and cognitive hacking methods (i.e., spreading false information). Accordingly, in this paper, we identify current research on psychological traits and individual differences among computer system users that explain vulnerabilities to cyber security attacks and crimes. Our review shows that computer system users possess different cognitive capabilities which determine their ability to counter information security threats. We identify gaps in the existing research and provide possible psychological methods to help computer system users comply with security policies and thus increase network and information security.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ahmed A Moustafa
- School of Psychology, Western Sydney University, Sydney, NSW, Australia.,The Marcs Institute for Brain, Behaviour and Development, Western Sydney University, Sydney, NSW, Australia.,Department of Human Anatomy and Physiology, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Johannesburg, Johannesburg, South Africa
| | - Abubakar Bello
- School of Social Sciences, Western Sydney University, Sydney, NSW, Australia
| | - Alana Maurushat
- School of Social Sciences, Western Sydney University, Sydney, NSW, Australia
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12
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Reinforcement learning abnormalities in the attenuated psychosis syndrome and first episode psychosis. Eur Neuropsychopharmacol 2021; 47:11-19. [PMID: 33819817 PMCID: PMC8197752 DOI: 10.1016/j.euroneuro.2021.03.014] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/13/2020] [Revised: 03/11/2021] [Accepted: 03/15/2021] [Indexed: 11/23/2022]
Abstract
Prior studies indicate that chronic schizophrenia (SZ) is associated with a specific profile of reinforcement learning abnormalities. These impairments are characterized by: 1) reductions in learning rate, and 2) impaired Go learning and intact NoGo learning. Furthermore, each of these deficits are associated with greater severity of negative symptoms, consistent with theoretical perspectives positing that avolition and anhedonia are associated with impaired value representation. However, it is unclear whether these deficits extend to earlier phases of psychotic illness and when individuals are unmedicated. Two studies were conducted to examine reinforcement learning deficits in earlier phases of psychosis and in high risk patients. In study 1, participants included 35 participants with first episode psychosis (FEP) with limited antipsychotic medication exposure and 25 healthy controls (HC). Study 2 included 17 antipsychotic naïve individuals who were at clinical high-risk for psychosis (CHR) (i.e., attenuated psychosis syndrome) and 18 matched healthy controls (HC). In both studies, participants completed the Temporal Utility Integration Task, a measure of probabilistic reinforcement learning that contained Go and NoGo learning blocks. FEP displayed impaired Go and NoGo learning. In contrast, CHR did not display impairments in Go or NoGo learning. Impaired Go learning was not significantly associated with clinical outcomes in the CHR or FEP samples. Findings provide new evidence for areas of spared and impaired reinforcement learning in early phases of psychosis.
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Neural Mechanisms of Human Decision-Making. COGNITIVE AFFECTIVE & BEHAVIORAL NEUROSCIENCE 2021; 21:35-57. [PMID: 33409958 DOI: 10.3758/s13415-020-00842-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 09/28/2020] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Abstract
We present a theory and neural network model of the neural mechanisms underlying human decision-making. We propose a detailed model of the interaction between brain regions, under a proposer-predictor-actor-critic framework. This theory is based on detailed animal data and theories of action-selection. Those theories are adapted to serial operation to bridge levels of analysis and explain human decision-making. Task-relevant areas of cortex propose a candidate plan using fast, model-free, parallel neural computations. Other areas of cortex and medial temporal lobe can then predict likely outcomes of that plan in this situation. This optional prediction- (or model-) based computation can produce better accuracy and generalization, at the expense of speed. Next, linked regions of basal ganglia act to accept or reject the proposed plan based on its reward history in similar contexts. If that plan is rejected, the process repeats to consider a new option. The reward-prediction system acts as a critic to determine the value of the outcome relative to expectations and produce dopamine as a training signal for cortex and basal ganglia. By operating sequentially and hierarchically, the same mechanisms previously proposed for animal action-selection could explain the most complex human plans and decisions. We discuss explanations of model-based decisions, habitization, and risky behavior based on the computational model.
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van Nuland AJ, Helmich RC, Dirkx MF, Zach H, Toni I, Cools R, den Ouden HEM. Effects of dopamine on reinforcement learning in Parkinson's disease depend on motor phenotype. Brain 2020; 143:3422-3434. [PMID: 33147621 PMCID: PMC7719026 DOI: 10.1093/brain/awaa335] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/19/2019] [Revised: 07/10/2020] [Accepted: 08/06/2020] [Indexed: 01/16/2023] Open
Abstract
Parkinson's disease is clinically defined by bradykinesia, along with rigidity and tremor. However, the severity of these motor signs is greatly variable between individuals, particularly the presence or absence of tremor. This variability in tremor relates to variation in cognitive/motivational impairment, as well as the spatial distribution of neurodegeneration in the midbrain and dopamine depletion in the striatum. Here we ask whether interindividual heterogeneity in tremor symptoms could account for the puzzlingly large variability in the effects of dopaminergic medication on reinforcement learning, a fundamental cognitive function known to rely on dopamine. Given that tremor-dominant and non-tremor Parkinson's disease patients have different dopaminergic phenotypes, we hypothesized that effects of dopaminergic medication on reinforcement learning differ between tremor-dominant and non-tremor patients. Forty-three tremor-dominant and 20 non-tremor patients with Parkinson's disease were recruited to be tested both OFF and ON dopaminergic medication (200/50 mg levodopa-benserazide), while 22 age-matched control subjects were recruited to be tested twice OFF medication. Participants performed a reinforcement learning task designed to dissociate effects on learning rate from effects on motivational choice (i.e. the tendency to 'Go/NoGo' in the face of reward/threat of punishment). In non-tremor patients, dopaminergic medication improved reward-based choice, replicating previous studies. In contrast, in tremor-dominant patients, dopaminergic medication improved learning from punishment. Formal modelling showed divergent computational effects of dopaminergic medication as a function of Parkinson's disease motor phenotype, with a modulation of motivational choice bias and learning rate in non-tremor and tremor patients, respectively. This finding establishes a novel cognitive/motivational difference between tremor and non-tremor Parkinson's disease patients, and highlights the importance of considering motor phenotype in future work.
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Affiliation(s)
- Annelies J van Nuland
- Radboud University, Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Nijmegen, 6500 HB Nijmegen, The Netherlands
| | - Rick C Helmich
- Radboud University, Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Nijmegen, 6500 HB Nijmegen, The Netherlands
- Radboud University Medical Centre, Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Department of Neurology, 6500 HB Nijmegen, The Netherlands
| | - Michiel F Dirkx
- Radboud University Medical Centre, Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Department of Neurology, 6500 HB Nijmegen, The Netherlands
| | - Heidemarie Zach
- Radboud University, Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Nijmegen, 6500 HB Nijmegen, The Netherlands
- Radboud University Medical Centre, Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Department of Neurology, 6500 HB Nijmegen, The Netherlands
- Department of Neurology, Medical University Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | - Ivan Toni
- Radboud University, Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Nijmegen, 6500 HB Nijmegen, The Netherlands
| | - Roshan Cools
- Radboud University, Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Nijmegen, 6500 HB Nijmegen, The Netherlands
- Radboud University Medical Center, Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Department of Psychiatry, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
| | - Hanneke E M den Ouden
- Radboud University, Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Nijmegen, 6500 HB Nijmegen, The Netherlands
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15
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Dombrovski AY, Luna B, Hallquist MN. Differential reinforcement encoding along the hippocampal long axis helps resolve the explore-exploit dilemma. Nat Commun 2020; 11:5407. [PMID: 33106508 PMCID: PMC7589536 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-020-18864-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/24/2020] [Accepted: 08/20/2020] [Indexed: 12/15/2022] Open
Abstract
When making decisions, should one exploit known good options or explore potentially better alternatives? Exploration of spatially unstructured options depends on the neocortex, striatum, and amygdala. In natural environments, however, better options often cluster together, forming structured value distributions. The hippocampus binds reward information into allocentric cognitive maps to support navigation and foraging in such spaces. Here we report that human posterior hippocampus (PH) invigorates exploration while anterior hippocampus (AH) supports the transition to exploitation on a reinforcement learning task with a spatially structured reward function. These dynamics depend on differential reinforcement representations in the PH and AH. Whereas local reward prediction error signals are early and phasic in the PH tail, global value maximum signals are delayed and sustained in the AH body. AH compresses reinforcement information across episodes, updating the location and prominence of the value maximum and displaying goal cell-like ramping activity when navigating toward it.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Beatriz Luna
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, 15213, USA
| | - Michael N Hallquist
- Department of Psychology, Penn State University, University Park, PA, 16801, USA.
- Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC, 27599-3270, USA.
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16
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Rubin JE, Vich C, Clapp M, Noneman K, Verstynen T. The credit assignment problem in cortico‐basal ganglia‐thalamic networks: A review, a problem and a possible solution. Eur J Neurosci 2020; 53:2234-2253. [DOI: 10.1111/ejn.14745] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/02/2020] [Revised: 03/23/2020] [Accepted: 03/25/2020] [Indexed: 12/21/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Jonathan E. Rubin
- Department of Mathematics Center for the Neural Basis of Cognition University of Pittsburgh Pittsburgh PA USA
| | - Catalina Vich
- Department de Matemàtiques i Informàtica Institute of Applied Computing and Community Code Universitat de les Illes Balears Palma Spain
| | - Matthew Clapp
- Carnegie Mellon Neuroscience Institute Carnegie Mellon University Pittsburgh PA USA
| | - Kendra Noneman
- Micron School of Materials Science and Engineering Boise State University Boise ID USA
| | - Timothy Verstynen
- Carnegie Mellon Neuroscience Institute Carnegie Mellon University Pittsburgh PA USA
- Department of Psychology Center for the Neural Basis of Cognition Carnegie Mellon University Pittsburgh PA USA
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17
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Dopamine modulates individual differences in avoidance behavior: A pharmacological, immunohistochemical, neurochemical and volumetric investigation. Neurobiol Stress 2020; 12:100219. [PMID: 32435668 PMCID: PMC7231994 DOI: 10.1016/j.ynstr.2020.100219] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/14/2019] [Revised: 03/27/2020] [Accepted: 03/30/2020] [Indexed: 12/22/2022] Open
Abstract
Avoidance behavior is a hallmark in pathological anxiety disorders and results in impairment of daily activities. Individual differences in avoidance responses are critical in determining vulnerability or resistance to anxiety disorders. Dopaminergic activation is implicated in the processing of avoidance responses; however, the mechanisms underlying these responses are unknown. In this sense, we used a preclinical model of avoidance behavior to investigate the possibility of an intrinsic differential dopaminergic pattern between good and poor performers. The specific goal was to assess the participation of dopamine (DA) through pharmacological manipulation, and we further evaluated the effects of systemic injections of the dopaminergic receptor type 1 (D1 antagonist - SCH23390) and dopaminergic receptor type 2 (D2 antagonist - sulpiride) antagonists in the good performers. Additionally, we evaluated the effects of intra-amygdala microinjection of a D1 antagonist (SCH23390) and a D2 antagonist (sulpiride) in good performers as well as intra-amygdala microinjection of a D1 agonist (SKF38393) and D2 agonist (quinpirole) in poor performers. Furthermore, we quantified the contents of dopamine and metabolites (3,4-dihydroxyphenylacetic acid (DOPAC) and homovanillic acid (HVA)) in the amygdala, evaluated the basal levels of tyrosine hydroxylase expression (catecholamine synthesis enzyme) and measured the volume of the substantia nigra, ventral tegmental area and locus coeruleus. Our results showed that it could be possible to convert animals from good to poor performers, and vice versa, by intra-amygdala (basolateral and central nucleus) injections of D1 receptor antagonists in good performers or D2 receptor agonists in poor performers. Additionally, the good performers had lower levels of DOPAC and HVA in the amygdala, an increase in the total volume of the amygdala (AMG), substantia nigra (SN), ventral tegmental area (VTA) and locus coeruleus (LC), and an increase in the number of tyrosine hydroxylase-positive cells in SN, VTA and LC, which positively correlates with the avoidance behavior. Taken together, our data show evidence for a dopaminergic signature of avoidance performers, emphasizing the role of distinct dopaminergic receptors in individual differences in avoidance behavior based on pharmacological, immunohistochemical, neurochemical and volumetric analyses. Our findings provide a better understanding of the role of the dopaminergic system in the execution of avoidance behavior. The role of dopamine in individual differences in avoidance behavior. Dopamine modulates avoidance behavior. Dopaminergic evidence of individual difference in avoidance behavior. Good and poor avoiders distinction based on dopaminergic signature. Dopaminergic signature of avoidance performers: poor versus good avoiders.
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18
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Ursino M, Magosso E, Lopane G, Calandra-Buonaura G, Cortelli P, Contin M. Mathematical modeling and parameter estimation of levodopa motor response in patients with parkinson disease. PLoS One 2020; 15:e0229729. [PMID: 32126124 PMCID: PMC7053720 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0229729] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/16/2019] [Accepted: 02/12/2020] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Parkinson disease (PD) is characterized by a clear beneficial motor response to levodopa (LD) treatment. However, with disease progression and longer LD exposure, drug-related motor fluctuations usually occur. Recognition of the individual relationship between LD concentration and its effect may be difficult, due to the complexity and variability of the mechanisms involved. This work proposes an innovative procedure for the automatic estimation of LD pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics parameters, by a biologically-inspired mathematical model. An original issue, compared with previous similar studies, is that the model comprises not only a compartmental description of LD pharmacokinetics in plasma and its effect on the striatal neurons, but also a neurocomputational model of basal ganglia action selection. Parameter estimation was achieved on 26 patients (13 with stable and 13 with fluctuating LD response) to mimic plasma LD concentration and alternate finger tapping frequency along four hours after LD administration, automatically minimizing a cost function of the difference between simulated and clinical data points. Results show that individual data can be satisfactorily simulated in all patients and that significant differences exist in the estimated parameters between the two groups. Specifically, the drug removal rate from the effect compartment, and the Hill coefficient of the concentration-effect relationship were significantly higher in the fluctuating than in the stable group. The model, with individualized parameters, may be used to reach a deeper comprehension of the PD mechanisms, mimic the effect of medication, and, based on the predicted neural responses, plan the correct management and design innovative therapeutic procedures.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mauro Ursino
- Department of Electrical, Electronic and Information Engineering, University of Bologna, Cesena, Italy
- * E-mail:
| | - Elisa Magosso
- Department of Electrical, Electronic and Information Engineering, University of Bologna, Cesena, Italy
| | - Giovanna Lopane
- IRCCS, Istituto delle Scienze Neurologiche di Bologna, Bologna, Italy
- Department of Biomedical and Neuromotor Sciences, University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy
| | - Giovanna Calandra-Buonaura
- IRCCS, Istituto delle Scienze Neurologiche di Bologna, Bologna, Italy
- Department of Biomedical and Neuromotor Sciences, University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy
| | - Pietro Cortelli
- IRCCS, Istituto delle Scienze Neurologiche di Bologna, Bologna, Italy
- Department of Biomedical and Neuromotor Sciences, University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy
| | - Manuela Contin
- IRCCS, Istituto delle Scienze Neurologiche di Bologna, Bologna, Italy
- Department of Biomedical and Neuromotor Sciences, University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy
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19
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Clark R, Gilchrist ID. The relationship between reward and probability: Evidence that exploration may be intrinsically rewarding. VISUAL COGNITION 2018. [DOI: 10.1080/13506285.2018.1543222] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/27/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Rosie Clark
- School of Psychological Science, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK
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20
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Rygula R, Noworyta-Sokolowska K, Drozd R, Kozub A. Using rodents to model abnormal sensitivity to feedback in depression. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2018; 95:336-346. [DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2018.10.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/15/2018] [Revised: 10/16/2018] [Accepted: 10/16/2018] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
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21
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Hallquist MN, Dombrovski AY. Selective maintenance of value information helps resolve the exploration/exploitation dilemma. Cognition 2018; 183:226-243. [PMID: 30502584 DOI: 10.1016/j.cognition.2018.11.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/05/2017] [Revised: 11/06/2018] [Accepted: 11/08/2018] [Indexed: 10/27/2022]
Abstract
In natural environments with many options of uncertain value, one faces a difficult tradeoff between exploiting familiar, valuable options or searching for better alternatives. Reinforcement learning models of this exploration/exploitation dilemma typically modulate the rate of exploratory choices or preferentially sample uncertain options. The extent to which such models capture human behavior remains unclear, in part because they do not consider the constraints on remembering what is learned. Using reinforcement-based timing as a motivating example, we show that selectively maintaining high-value actions compresses the amount of information to be tracked in learning, as quantified by Shannon's entropy. In turn, the information content of the value representation controls the balance between exploration (high entropy) and exploitation (low entropy). Selectively maintaining preferred action values while allowing others to decay renders the choices increasingly exploitative across learning episodes. To adjudicate among alternative maintenance and sampling strategies, we developed a new reinforcement learning model, StrategiC ExPloration/ExPloitation of Temporal Instrumental Contingencies (SCEPTIC). In computational studies, a resource-rational selective maintenance approach was as successful as more resource-intensive strategies. Furthermore, human behavior was consistent with selective maintenance; information compression was most pronounced in subjects with superior performance and non-verbal intelligence, and in learnable vs. unlearnable contingencies. Cognitively demanding uncertainty-directed exploration recovered a more accurate representation in simulations with no foraging advantage and was strongly unsupported in our human study.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michael N Hallquist
- Penn State University, Department of Psychology, 309 Moore Building, Penn State University, University Park, PA 16801, USA; University of Pittsburgh, Department of Psychiatry, 3811 O'Hara St., BT 742, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, USA.
| | - Alexandre Y Dombrovski
- University of Pittsburgh, Department of Psychiatry, 3811 O'Hara St., BT 742, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, USA.
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22
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Toward a computational cognitive neuropsychology of Wisconsin card sorts: a showcase study in Parkinson’s disease. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2018. [DOI: 10.1007/s42113-018-0009-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/28/2022]
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23
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Ursino M, Baston C. Aberrant learning in Parkinson's disease: A neurocomputational study on bradykinesia. Eur J Neurosci 2018; 47:1563-1582. [DOI: 10.1111/ejn.13960] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/06/2017] [Revised: 04/12/2018] [Accepted: 04/25/2018] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Mauro Ursino
- Department of Electrical, Electronic and Information Engineering “Guglielmo Marconi”; University of Bologna; Bologna Italy
| | - Chiara Baston
- Department of Electrical, Electronic and Information Engineering “Guglielmo Marconi”; University of Bologna; Bologna Italy
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24
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Hallquist MN, Hall NT, Schreiber AM, Dombrovski AY. Interpersonal dysfunction in borderline personality: a decision neuroscience perspective. Curr Opin Psychol 2018; 21:94-104. [PMID: 29111450 PMCID: PMC5866160 DOI: 10.1016/j.copsyc.2017.09.011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/14/2017] [Accepted: 09/19/2017] [Indexed: 12/15/2022]
Abstract
Borderline personality disorder (BPD) is characterized by disadvantageous decisions that are often expressed in close relationships and associated with intense negative emotions. Although functional neuroimaging studies of BPD have described regions associated with altered social cognition and emotion processing, these correlates do not inform an understanding of how brain activity leads to maladaptive choices. Drawing on recent research, we argue that formal models of decision-making are crucial to elaborating theories of BPD that bridge psychological constructs, behavior, and neural systems. We propose that maladaptive interactions between Pavlovian and instrumental influences play a crucial role in the expression of interpersonal problems. Finally, we articulate specific hypotheses about how clinical features of BPD may map onto neural systems that implement separable decision processes.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Nathan T Hall
- Department of Psychology, The Pennsylvania State University, USA
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25
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Fung BJ, Bode S, Murawski C. High monetary reward rates and caloric rewards decrease temporal persistence. Proc Biol Sci 2018; 284:rspb.2016.2759. [PMID: 28228517 PMCID: PMC5326537 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2016.2759] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/13/2016] [Accepted: 01/27/2017] [Indexed: 01/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Temporal persistence refers to an individual's capacity to wait for future rewards, while forgoing possible alternatives. This requires a trade-off between the potential value of delayed rewards and opportunity costs, and is relevant to many real-world decisions, such as dieting. Theoretical models have previously suggested that high monetary reward rates, or positive energy balance, may result in decreased temporal persistence. In our study, 50 fasted participants engaged in a temporal persistence task, incentivised with monetary rewards. In alternating blocks of this task, rewards were delivered at delays drawn randomly from distributions with either a lower or higher maximum reward rate. During some blocks participants received either a caloric drink or water. We used survival analysis to estimate participants' probability of quitting conditional on the delay distribution and the consumed liquid. Participants had a higher probability of quitting in blocks with the higher reward rate. Furthermore, participants who consumed the caloric drink had a higher probability of quitting than those who consumed water. Our results support the predictions from the theoretical models, and importantly, suggest that both higher monetary reward rates and physiologically relevant rewards can decrease temporal persistence, which is a crucial determinant for survival in many species.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bowen J Fung
- Melbourne School of Psychological Sciences, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Victoria 3010, Australia .,Department of Finance, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Victoria 3010, Australia
| | - Stefan Bode
- Melbourne School of Psychological Sciences, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Victoria 3010, Australia
| | - Carsten Murawski
- Department of Finance, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Victoria 3010, Australia
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26
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Albrecht MA, Waltz JA, Frank MJ, Gold JM. Modeling Negative Symptoms in Schizophrenia. COMPUTATIONAL PSYCHIATRY 2018. [DOI: 10.1016/b978-0-12-809825-7.00009-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
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27
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Jakob K, Ehrentreich H, Holtfrerich SKC, Reimers L, Diekhof EK. DAT1-Genotype and Menstrual Cycle, but Not Hormonal Contraception, Modulate Reinforcement Learning: Preliminary Evidence. Front Endocrinol (Lausanne) 2018; 9:60. [PMID: 29541062 PMCID: PMC5835510 DOI: 10.3389/fendo.2018.00060] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/01/2022] Open
Abstract
Hormone by genotype interactions have been widely ignored by cognitive neuroscience. Yet, the dependence of cognitive performance on both baseline dopamine (DA) and current 17ß-estradiol (E2) level argues for their combined effect also in the context of reinforcement learning. Here, we assessed how the interaction between the natural rise of E2 in the late follicular phase (FP) and the 40 base-pair variable number tandem repeat polymorphism of the dopamine transporter (DAT1) affects reinforcement learning capacity. 30 women with a regular menstrual cycle performed a probabilistic feedback learning task twice during the early and late FP. In addition, 39 women, who took hormonal contraceptives (HC) to suppress natural ovulation, were tested during the "pill break" and the intake phase of HC. The present data show that DAT1-genotype may interact with transient hormonal state, but only in women with a natural menstrual cycle. We found that carriers of the 9-repeat allele (9RP) experienced a significant decrease in the ability to avoid punishment from early to late FP. Neither homozygote subjects of the 10RP allele, nor subjects from the HC group showed a change in behavior between phases. These data are consistent with neurobiological studies that found that rising E2 may reverse DA transporter function and could enhance DA efflux, which would in turn reduce punishment sensitivity particularly in subjects with a higher transporter density to begin with. Taken together, the present results, although based on a small sample, add to the growing understanding of the complex interplay between different physiological modulators of dopaminergic transmission. They may not only point out the necessity to control for hormonal state in behavioral genetic research, but may offer new starting points for studies in clinical settings.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kristina Jakob
- Department of Biology, Faculty of Mathematics, Informatics and Natural Sciences, Institute of Zoology, Neuroendocrinology Unit, Universität Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany
| | - Hanna Ehrentreich
- Department of Biology, Faculty of Mathematics, Informatics and Natural Sciences, Institute of Zoology, Neuroendocrinology Unit, Universität Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany
| | - Sarah K. C. Holtfrerich
- Department of Biology, Faculty of Mathematics, Informatics and Natural Sciences, Institute of Zoology, Neuroendocrinology Unit, Universität Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany
| | - Luise Reimers
- Department of Biology, Faculty of Mathematics, Informatics and Natural Sciences, Institute of Zoology, Neuroendocrinology Unit, Universität Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany
| | - Esther K. Diekhof
- Department of Biology, Faculty of Mathematics, Informatics and Natural Sciences, Institute of Zoology, Neuroendocrinology Unit, Universität Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany
- *Correspondence: Esther K. Diekhof,
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28
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Timmer MHM, Sescousse G, van der Schaaf ME, Esselink RAJ, Cools R. Reward learning deficits in Parkinson's disease depend on depression. Psychol Med 2017; 47:2302-2311. [PMID: 28374660 DOI: 10.1017/s0033291717000769] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/02/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Depression is one of the most common and debilitating non-motor symptoms of Parkinson's disease (PD). The neurocognitive mechanisms underlying depression in PD are unclear and treatment is often suboptimal. METHODS We investigated the role of striatal dopamine in reversal learning from reward and punishment by combining a controlled medication withdrawal procedure with functional magnetic resonance imaging in 22 non-depressed PD patients and 19 PD patients with past or present depression. RESULTS PD patients with a depression (history) exhibited impaired reward v. punishment reversal learning as well as reduced reward v. punishment-related BOLD signal in the striatum (putamen) compared with non-depressed PD patients. No effects of dopaminergic medication were observed. CONCLUSIONS The present findings demonstrate that impairments in reversal learning from reward v. punishment and associated striatal signalling depend on the presence of (a history of) depression in PD.
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Affiliation(s)
- M H M Timmer
- Donders Institute for Brain,Cognition and Behaviour,Centre for Cognitive Neuroimaging,Radboud University,Nijmegen,The Netherlands
| | - G Sescousse
- Donders Institute for Brain,Cognition and Behaviour,Centre for Cognitive Neuroimaging,Radboud University,Nijmegen,The Netherlands
| | - M E van der Schaaf
- Donders Institute for Brain,Cognition and Behaviour,Centre for Cognitive Neuroimaging,Radboud University,Nijmegen,The Netherlands
| | - R A J Esselink
- Department of Neurology and Parkinson Center Nijmegen (ParC),Radboud University Medical Center,Nijmegen,The Netherlands
| | - R Cools
- Donders Institute for Brain,Cognition and Behaviour,Centre for Cognitive Neuroimaging,Radboud University,Nijmegen,The Netherlands
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29
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Addicott MA, Pearson JM, Sweitzer MM, Barack DL, Platt ML. A Primer on Foraging and the Explore/Exploit Trade-Off for Psychiatry Research. Neuropsychopharmacology 2017; 42:1931-1939. [PMID: 28553839 PMCID: PMC5561336 DOI: 10.1038/npp.2017.108] [Citation(s) in RCA: 99] [Impact Index Per Article: 14.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/23/2016] [Revised: 05/19/2017] [Accepted: 05/24/2017] [Indexed: 12/18/2022]
Abstract
Foraging is a fundamental behavior, and many types of animals appear to have solved foraging problems using a shared set of mechanisms. Perhaps the most common foraging problem is the choice between exploiting a familiar option for a known reward and exploring unfamiliar options for unknown rewards-the so-called explore/exploit trade-off. This trade-off has been studied extensively in behavioral ecology and computational neuroscience, but is relatively new to the field of psychiatry. Explore/exploit paradigms can offer psychiatry research a new approach to studying motivation, outcome valuation, and effort-related processes, which are disrupted in many mental and emotional disorders. In addition, the explore/exploit trade-off encompasses elements of risk-taking and impulsivity-common behaviors in psychiatric disorders-and provides a novel framework for understanding these behaviors within an ecological context. Here we explain relevant concepts and some common paradigms used to measure explore/exploit decisions in the laboratory, review clinically relevant research on the neurobiology and neuroanatomy of explore/exploit decision making, and discuss how computational psychiatry can benefit from foraging theory.
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Affiliation(s)
- M A Addicott
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA
| | - J M Pearson
- Center for Cognitive Neuroscience, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA
| | - M M Sweitzer
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA
| | - D L Barack
- Department of Philosophy and Neuroscience, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA
| | - M L Platt
- Departments of Psychology, Neuroscience, and Marketing, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA
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30
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Comprehensive review: Computational modelling of schizophrenia. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2017; 83:631-646. [PMID: 28867653 DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2017.08.022] [Citation(s) in RCA: 47] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/21/2016] [Revised: 07/08/2017] [Accepted: 08/30/2017] [Indexed: 12/21/2022]
Abstract
Computational modelling has been used to address: (1) the variety of symptoms observed in schizophrenia using abstract models of behavior (e.g. Bayesian models - top-down descriptive models of psychopathology); (2) the causes of these symptoms using biologically realistic models involving abnormal neuromodulation and/or receptor imbalance (e.g. connectionist and neural networks - bottom-up realistic models of neural processes). These different levels of analysis have been used to answer different questions (i.e. understanding behavioral vs. neurobiological anomalies) about the nature of the disorder. As such, these computational studies have mostly supported diverging hypotheses of schizophrenia's pathophysiology, resulting in a literature that is not always expanding coherently. Some of these hypotheses are however ripe for revision using novel empirical evidence. Here we present a review that first synthesizes the literature of computational modelling for schizophrenia and psychotic symptoms into categories supporting the dopamine, glutamate, GABA, dysconnection and Bayesian inference hypotheses respectively. Secondly, we compare model predictions against the accumulated empirical evidence and finally we identify specific hypotheses that have been left relatively under-investigated.
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Van Wouwe NC, Claassen DO, Neimat JS, Kanoff KE, Wylie SA. Dopamine Selectively Modulates the Outcome of Learning Unnatural Action-Valence Associations. J Cogn Neurosci 2017; 29:816-826. [PMID: 28129053 DOI: 10.1162/jocn_a_01099] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/04/2022]
Abstract
Learning the contingencies between stimulus, action, and outcomes is disrupted in disorders associated with altered dopamine (DA) function in the BG, such as Parkinson disease (PD). Although the role of DA in learning to act has been extensively investigated in PD, the role of DA in "learning to withhold" (or inhibit) action to influence outcomes is not as well understood. The current study investigated the role of DA in learning to act or to withhold action to receive rewarding, or avoid punishing outcomes, in patients with PD tested "off" and "on" dopaminergic medication (n = 19) versus healthy controls (n = 30). Participants performed a reward-based learning task that orthogonalized action and outcome valence (action-reward, inaction-reward, action-punishment, inaction-punishment). We tested whether DA would bias learning toward action, toward reward, or to particular action-outcome interactions. All participants demonstrated inherent learning biases preferring action with reward and inaction to avoid punishment, and this was unaffected by medication. Instead, DA produced a complex modulation of learning less natural action-outcome associations. "Off" DA medication, patients demonstrated impairments in learning to withhold action to gain reward, suggesting a difficulty to overcome a bias toward associating inaction with punishment avoidance. On DA medication, these patterns changed, and patients showed a reduced ability to learn to act to avoid punishment, indicating a bias toward action and reward. The current findings suggest that DA in PD has a complex influence on the formation of action-outcome associations, particularly those involving less natural linkages between action and outcome valence.
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Raymond JG, Steele JD, Seriès P. Modeling Trait Anxiety: From Computational Processes to Personality. Front Psychiatry 2017; 8:1. [PMID: 28167920 PMCID: PMC5253387 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyt.2017.00001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/07/2016] [Accepted: 01/03/2017] [Indexed: 12/15/2022] Open
Abstract
Computational methods are increasingly being applied to the study of psychiatric disorders. Often, this involves fitting models to the behavior of individuals with subclinical character traits that are known vulnerability factors for the development of psychiatric conditions. Anxiety disorders can be examined with reference to the behavior of individuals high in "trait" anxiety, which is a known vulnerability factor for the development of anxiety and mood disorders. However, it is not clear how this self-report measure relates to neural and behavioral processes captured by computational models. This paper reviews emerging computational approaches to the study of trait anxiety, specifying how interacting processes susceptible to analysis using computational models could drive a tendency to experience frequent anxious states and promote vulnerability to the development of clinical disorders. Existing computational studies are described in the light of this perspective and appropriate targets for future studies are discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- James G. Raymond
- Institute for Adaptive and Neural Computation, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK
| | - J. Douglas Steele
- School of Medicine (Neuroscience), Ninewells Hospital and Medical School, University of Dundee, Dundee, UK
| | - Peggy Seriès
- Institute for Adaptive and Neural Computation, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK
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Vo A, Seergobin KN, Morrow SA, MacDonald PA. Levodopa impairs probabilistic reversal learning in healthy young adults. Psychopharmacology (Berl) 2016; 233:2753-63. [PMID: 27241710 DOI: 10.1007/s00213-016-4322-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/19/2015] [Accepted: 05/05/2016] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
RATIONALE Dopaminergic therapy improves some cognitive functions and worsens others in patients with Parkinson's disease (PD). These paradoxical effects are explained by the dopamine overdose hypothesis, which proposes that effects of dopaminergic therapy on a cognitive function is determined by the baseline dopamine levels in brain regions mediating that function. OBJECTIVES We directly tested this prevalent hypothesis, evaluating the effects of levodopa on stimulus-reward learning in healthy young adults, who presumably have optimal baseline dopamine levels and dopamine regulation. METHODS Twenty-six healthy, young adults completed a probabilistic reversal learning task in a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, crossover design. Participants completed one session on levodopa 100 mg/carbidopa 25 mg and another session on placebo. RESULTS We found that levodopa impaired reversal learning relative to placebo. Further analyses revealed that levodopa impaired learning from both punishment and reward. CONCLUSIONS Exogenous dopamine impairs stimulus-reward learning, independent of PD pathology and prior to sensitization through repeated exposure, in healthy adults with normal cognition and baseline dopamine function. Our findings support the dopamine overdose hypothesis and caution clinicians about detrimental effects of levodopa in all clinical populations (e.g., early PD, restless leg syndrome) regardless of baseline cognitive and dopaminergic system function.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrew Vo
- Brain and Mind Institute, University of Western Ontario, London, ON, Canada.,Department of Psychology, University of Western Ontario, London, ON, Canada
| | - Ken N Seergobin
- Brain and Mind Institute, University of Western Ontario, London, ON, Canada
| | - Sarah A Morrow
- Department of Clinical Neurological Sciences, University of Western Ontario, London, ON, Canada
| | - Penny A MacDonald
- Brain and Mind Institute, University of Western Ontario, London, ON, Canada. .,Department of Psychology, University of Western Ontario, London, ON, Canada. .,Department of Clinical Neurological Sciences, University of Western Ontario, London, ON, Canada.
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Unger K, Ackerman L, Chatham CH, Amso D, Badre D. Working memory gating mechanisms explain developmental change in rule-guided behavior. Cognition 2016; 155:8-22. [PMID: 27336178 DOI: 10.1016/j.cognition.2016.05.020] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/03/2015] [Revised: 05/24/2016] [Accepted: 05/30/2016] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
Cognitive control requires choosing contextual information to update into working memory (input gating), maintaining it there (maintenance) stable against distraction, and then choosing which subset of maintained information to use in guiding action (output gating). Recent work has raised the possibility that the development of rule-guided behavior, in the transition from childhood to adolescence, is linked specifically to changes in the gating components of working memory (Amso, Haas, McShane, & Badre, 2014). Given the importance of effective rule-guided behavior for decision making in this developmental transition, we used hierarchical rule tasks to probe the precise developmental dynamics of working memory gating. This mechanistic precision informs ongoing efforts to train cognitive control and working memory operations across typical and atypical development. The results of Experiment 1 verified that the development of rule-guided behavior is uniquely linked to increasing hierarchical complexity but not to increasing maintenance demands across 1st, 2nd, and 3rd order rule tasks. Experiment 2 then investigated whether this developmental trajectory in rule-guided behavior is best explained by change in input gating or output gating. Further, as input versus output gating also tend to correlate with a more proactive versus reactive control strategy in these tasks, we assessed developmental change in the degree to which these two processes were deployed efficiently given the task. Experiment 2 shows that the developmental change observed in Experiment 1 and in Amso et al. (2014) is likely a result of increased efficacy of output gating processes, as well as greater strategic efficiency in that adolescents opt for this costly process less often than children.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kerstin Unger
- Department of Cognitive, Linguistic, & Psychological Sciences, Brown University, United States.
| | - Laura Ackerman
- Department of Cognitive, Linguistic, & Psychological Sciences, Brown University, United States
| | - Christopher H Chatham
- Department of Cognitive, Linguistic, & Psychological Sciences, Brown University, United States
| | - Dima Amso
- Department of Cognitive, Linguistic, & Psychological Sciences, Brown University, United States
| | - David Badre
- Department of Cognitive, Linguistic, & Psychological Sciences, Brown University, United States
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Khani A, Rainer G. Neural and neurochemical basis of reinforcement-guided decision making. J Neurophysiol 2016; 116:724-41. [PMID: 27226454 DOI: 10.1152/jn.01113.2015] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/15/2015] [Accepted: 05/24/2016] [Indexed: 01/01/2023] Open
Abstract
Decision making is an adaptive behavior that takes into account several internal and external input variables and leads to the choice of a course of action over other available and often competing alternatives. While it has been studied in diverse fields ranging from mathematics, economics, ecology, and ethology to psychology and neuroscience, recent cross talk among perspectives from different fields has yielded novel descriptions of decision processes. Reinforcement-guided decision making models are based on economic and reinforcement learning theories, and their focus is on the maximization of acquired benefit over a defined period of time. Studies based on reinforcement-guided decision making have implicated a large network of neural circuits across the brain. This network includes a wide range of cortical (e.g., orbitofrontal cortex and anterior cingulate cortex) and subcortical (e.g., nucleus accumbens and subthalamic nucleus) brain areas and uses several neurotransmitter systems (e.g., dopaminergic and serotonergic systems) to communicate and process decision-related information. This review discusses distinct as well as overlapping contributions of these networks and neurotransmitter systems to the processing of decision making. We end the review by touching on neural circuitry and neuromodulatory regulation of exploratory decision making.
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Affiliation(s)
- Abbas Khani
- Visual Cognition Laboratory, Department of Medicine, University of Fribourg, Switzerland
| | - Gregor Rainer
- Visual Cognition Laboratory, Department of Medicine, University of Fribourg, Switzerland
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Diekhof EK, Ratnayake M. Menstrual cycle phase modulates reward sensitivity and performance monitoring in young women: Preliminary fMRI evidence. Neuropsychologia 2016; 84:70-80. [DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2015.10.016] [Citation(s) in RCA: 29] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/02/2015] [Revised: 10/08/2015] [Accepted: 10/09/2015] [Indexed: 10/22/2022]
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Moustafa AA, Sheynin J, Myers CE. The Role of Informative and Ambiguous Feedback in Avoidance Behavior: Empirical and Computational Findings. PLoS One 2015; 10:e0144083. [PMID: 26630279 PMCID: PMC4668119 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0144083] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/26/2015] [Accepted: 11/12/2015] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Avoidance behavior is a critical component of many psychiatric disorders, and as such, it is important to understand how avoidance behavior arises, and whether it can be modified. In this study, we used empirical and computational methods to assess the role of informational feedback and ambiguous outcome in avoidance behavior. We adapted a computer-based probabilistic classification learning task, which includes positive, negative and no-feedback outcomes; the latter outcome is ambiguous as it might signal either a successful outcome (missed punishment) or a failure (missed reward). Prior work with this task suggested that most healthy subjects viewed the no-feedback outcome as strongly positive. Interestingly, in a later version of the classification task, when healthy subjects were allowed to opt out of (i.e. avoid) responding, some subjects (“avoiders”) reliably avoided trials where there was a risk of punishment, but other subjects (“non-avoiders”) never made any avoidance responses at all. One possible interpretation is that the “non-avoiders” valued the no-feedback outcome so positively on punishment-based trials that they had little incentive to avoid. Another possible interpretation is that the outcome of an avoided trial is unspecified and that lack of information is aversive, decreasing subjects’ tendency to avoid. To examine these ideas, we here tested healthy young adults on versions of the task where avoidance responses either did or did not generate informational feedback about the optimal response. Results showed that provision of informational feedback decreased avoidance responses and also decreased categorization performance, without significantly affecting the percentage of subjects classified as “avoiders.” To better understand these results, we used a modified Q-learning model to fit individual subject data. Simulation results suggest that subjects in the feedback condition adjusted their behavior faster following better-than-expected outcomes, compared to subjects in the no-feedback condition. Additionally, in both task conditions, “avoiders” adjusted their behavior faster following worse-than-expected outcomes, and treated the ambiguous no-feedback outcome as less rewarding, compared to non-avoiders. Together, results shed light on the important role of ambiguous and informative feedback in avoidance behavior.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ahmed A. Moustafa
- Department of Veterans Affairs, New Jersey Health Care System, East Orange, NJ, United States of America
- School of Social Sciences and Psychology & Marcs Institute for Brain and Behaviour, University of Western Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
- * E-mail:
| | - Jony Sheynin
- Veterans Affairs Ann Arbor Healthcare System, Ann Arbor, MI, United States of America
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, United States of America
| | - Catherine E. Myers
- Department of Veterans Affairs, New Jersey Health Care System, East Orange, NJ, United States of America
- Department of Pharmacology, Physiology & Neuroscience, Rutgers-New Jersey Medical School, Newark, NJ, United States of America
- Department of Psychology, Rutgers University-Newark, Newark, NJ, United States of America
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A Biologically Inspired Computational Model of Basal Ganglia in Action Selection. COMPUTATIONAL INTELLIGENCE AND NEUROSCIENCE 2015; 2015:187417. [PMID: 26640481 PMCID: PMC4657096 DOI: 10.1155/2015/187417] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/07/2015] [Revised: 07/13/2015] [Accepted: 07/21/2015] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
Abstract
The basal ganglia (BG) are a subcortical structure implicated in action selection. The aim of this work is to present a new cognitive neuroscience model of the BG, which aspires to represent a parsimonious balance between simplicity and completeness. The model includes the 3 main pathways operating in the BG circuitry, that is, the direct (Go), indirect (NoGo), and hyperdirect pathways. The main original aspects, compared with previous models, are the use of a two-term Hebb rule to train synapses in the striatum, based exclusively on neuronal activity changes caused by dopamine peaks or dips, and the role of the cholinergic interneurons (affected by dopamine themselves) during learning. Some examples are displayed, concerning a few paradigmatic cases: action selection in basal conditions, action selection in the presence of a strong conflict (where the role of the hyperdirect pathway emerges), synapse changes induced by phasic dopamine, and learning new actions based on a previous history of rewards and punishments. Finally, some simulations show model working in conditions of altered dopamine levels, to illustrate pathological cases (dopamine depletion in parkinsonian subjects or dopamine hypermedication). Due to its parsimonious approach, the model may represent a straightforward tool to analyze BG functionality in behavioral experiments.
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FitzGerald THB, Dolan RJ, Friston K. Dopamine, reward learning, and active inference. Front Comput Neurosci 2015; 9:136. [PMID: 26581305 PMCID: PMC4631836 DOI: 10.3389/fncom.2015.00136] [Citation(s) in RCA: 53] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/07/2015] [Accepted: 10/22/2015] [Indexed: 12/22/2022] Open
Abstract
Temporal difference learning models propose phasic dopamine signaling encodes reward prediction errors that drive learning. This is supported by studies where optogenetic stimulation of dopamine neurons can stand in lieu of actual reward. Nevertheless, a large body of data also shows that dopamine is not necessary for learning, and that dopamine depletion primarily affects task performance. We offer a resolution to this paradox based on an hypothesis that dopamine encodes the precision of beliefs about alternative actions, and thus controls the outcome-sensitivity of behavior. We extend an active inference scheme for solving Markov decision processes to include learning, and show that simulated dopamine dynamics strongly resemble those actually observed during instrumental conditioning. Furthermore, simulated dopamine depletion impairs performance but spares learning, while simulated excitation of dopamine neurons drives reward learning, through aberrant inference about outcome states. Our formal approach provides a novel and parsimonious reconciliation of apparently divergent experimental findings.
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Affiliation(s)
- Thomas H B FitzGerald
- The Wellcome Trust Centre for Neuroimaging, University College London London, UK ; Max Planck - UCL Centre for Computational Psychiatry and Ageing Research London, UK
| | - Raymond J Dolan
- The Wellcome Trust Centre for Neuroimaging, University College London London, UK ; Max Planck - UCL Centre for Computational Psychiatry and Ageing Research London, UK
| | - Karl Friston
- The Wellcome Trust Centre for Neuroimaging, University College London London, UK
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40
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McDonald LM, Griffin HJ, Angeli A, Torkamani M, Georgiev D, Jahanshahi M. Motivational Modulation of Self-Initiated and Externally Triggered Movement Speed Induced by Threat of Shock: Experimental Evidence for Paradoxical Kinesis in Parkinson's Disease. PLoS One 2015; 10:e0135149. [PMID: 26284366 PMCID: PMC4540447 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0135149] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/10/2014] [Accepted: 07/18/2015] [Indexed: 11/30/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Paradoxical kinesis has been observed in bradykinetic people with Parkinson’s disease. Paradoxical kinesis occurs in situations where an individual is strongly motivated or influenced by relevant external cues. Our aim was to induce paradoxical kinesis in the laboratory. We tested whether the motivation of avoiding a mild electric shock was sufficient to induce paradoxical kinesis in externally-triggered and self-initiated conditions in people with Parkinson’s disease tested on medication and in age-matched controls. Methods Participants completed a shock avoidance behavioural paradigm in which half of the trials could result in a mild electric shock if the participant did not move fast enough. Half of the trials of each type were self-initiated and half were externally-triggered. The criterion for avoiding shock was a maximum movement time, adjusted according to each participant’s performance on previous trials using a staircase tracking procedure. Results On trials with threat of shock, both patients with Parkinson’s disease and controls had faster movement times compared to no potential shock trials, in both self-initiated and externally-triggered conditions. The magnitude of improvement of movement time from no potential shock to potential shock trials was positively correlated with anxiety ratings. Conclusions When motivated to avoid mild electric shock, patients with Parkinson’s disease, similar to healthy controls, showed significant speeding of movement execution. This was observed in both self-initiated and externally-triggered versions of the task. Nevertheless, in the ET condition the improvement of reaction times induced by motivation to avoid shocks was greater for the PD patients than controls, highlighting the value of external cues for movement initiation in PD patients. The magnitude of improvement from the no potential shock to the potential shock trials was associated with the threat-induced anxiety. This demonstration of paradoxical kinesis in the laboratory under both self-initiated and externally-triggered conditions has implications for motivational and attentional enhancement of movement speed in Parkinson’s disease.
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Affiliation(s)
- Louise M. McDonald
- Sobell Department of Motor Neuroscience and Movement Disorders, UCL Institute of Neurology, London, United Kingdom
| | - Harry J. Griffin
- Sobell Department of Motor Neuroscience and Movement Disorders, UCL Institute of Neurology, London, United Kingdom
| | - Aikaterini Angeli
- Sobell Department of Motor Neuroscience and Movement Disorders, UCL Institute of Neurology, London, United Kingdom
| | - Mariam Torkamani
- Sobell Department of Motor Neuroscience and Movement Disorders, UCL Institute of Neurology, London, United Kingdom
| | - Dejan Georgiev
- Sobell Department of Motor Neuroscience and Movement Disorders, UCL Institute of Neurology, London, United Kingdom
| | - Marjan Jahanshahi
- Sobell Department of Motor Neuroscience and Movement Disorders, UCL Institute of Neurology, London, United Kingdom
- * E-mail:
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41
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Diekhof EK. Be quick about it. Endogenous estradiol level, menstrual cycle phase and trait impulsiveness predict impulsive choice in the context of reward acquisition. Horm Behav 2015; 74:186-93. [PMID: 26092059 DOI: 10.1016/j.yhbeh.2015.06.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 37] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/20/2015] [Revised: 05/26/2015] [Accepted: 06/11/2015] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
Abstract
This article is part of a Special Issue "Estradiol and Cognition". Variations in the steroid hormone 17ß-estradiol (E2) may promote intra-individual differences in reward seeking behavior and temporal decision-making (Reimers et al., 2014; Front. Neurosci. 8: 401). Yet, in humans the exact role of E2 in impulsive choice still needs to be determined. The present study assessed the effect of a cycle-dependent rise in endogenous E2 on temporal response adaptation across the follicular phase (FP). For this purpose a reward acquisition paradigm was employed that is sensitive to hormone-induced changes in central dopamine (DA) level. The present data show that women acted more impulsively in the early as opposed to the late FP. Early follicular E2 further correlated with an increased capacity to speed up for reward maximization, while simultaneously the ability to wait for higher reward was compromised. This correlation was most pronounced in women with low trait impulsiveness. In contrast, E2 and optimized response speed failed to correlate in women with high trait impulsiveness and in the late FP, despite a generally higher E2 level. Collectively, these findings support the theory that E2 may act as an endogenous DA agonist. The fact that the hormone-behavior relationship was restricted to women with low trait impulsiveness and thus supposedly lower central DA level provides indirect support for this idea. Yet, choices became relatively less impulsive in the state of heightened E2 (i.e., in the late FP), suggesting that the relationship between E2 and impulsive choice may not be linear, but might resemble an inverted U-function.
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Affiliation(s)
- Esther K Diekhof
- Biocenter Grindel and Zoological Museum, Department of Human Biology, Neuroendocinology Unit, Hamburg University, Martin-Luther-King Platz 3, D-20146 Hamburg, Germany.
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Moustafa AA, Gluck MA, Herzallah MM, Myers CE. The influence of trial order on learning from reward vs. punishment in a probabilistic categorization task: experimental and computational analyses. Front Behav Neurosci 2015; 9:153. [PMID: 26257616 PMCID: PMC4513240 DOI: 10.3389/fnbeh.2015.00153] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/05/2015] [Accepted: 05/26/2015] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Previous research has shown that trial ordering affects cognitive performance, but this has not been tested using category-learning tasks that differentiate learning from reward and punishment. Here, we tested two groups of healthy young adults using a probabilistic category learning task of reward and punishment in which there are two types of trials (reward, punishment) and three possible outcomes: (1) positive feedback for correct responses in reward trials; (2) negative feedback for incorrect responses in punishment trials; and (3) no feedback for incorrect answers in reward trials and correct answers in punishment trials. Hence, trials without feedback are ambiguous, and may represent either successful avoidance of punishment or failure to obtain reward. In Experiment 1, the first group of subjects received an intermixed task in which reward and punishment trials were presented in the same block, as a standard baseline task. In Experiment 2, a second group completed the separated task, in which reward and punishment trials were presented in separate blocks. Additionally, in order to understand the mechanisms underlying performance in the experimental conditions, we fit individual data using a Q-learning model. Results from Experiment 1 show that subjects who completed the intermixed task paradoxically valued the no-feedback outcome as a reinforcer when it occurred on reinforcement-based trials, and as a punisher when it occurred on punishment-based trials. This is supported by patterns of empirical responding, where subjects showed more win-stay behavior following an explicit reward than following an omission of punishment, and more lose-shift behavior following an explicit punisher than following an omission of reward. In Experiment 2, results showed similar performance whether subjects received reward-based or punishment-based trials first. However, when the Q-learning model was applied to these data, there were differences between subjects in the reward-first and punishment-first conditions on the relative weighting of neutral feedback. Specifically, early training on reward-based trials led to omission of reward being treated as similar to punishment, but prior training on punishment-based trials led to omission of reward being treated more neutrally. This suggests that early training on one type of trials, specifically reward-based trials, can create a bias in how neutral feedback is processed, relative to those receiving early punishment-based training or training that mixes positive and negative outcomes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ahmed A Moustafa
- School of Social Sciences and Psychology and Marcs Institute for Brain and Behaviour, University of Western Sydney Sydney, NSW, Australia ; Department of Veterans Affairs, New Jersey Health Care System East Orange, NJ, USA
| | - Mark A Gluck
- Center for Molecular and Behavioral Neuroscience, Rutgers University Newark, NJ, USA
| | - Mohammad M Herzallah
- Center for Molecular and Behavioral Neuroscience, Rutgers University Newark, NJ, USA ; Al-Quds Cognitive Neuroscience Lab, Palestinian Neuroscience Initiative, Faculty of Medicine, Al-Quds University Jerusalem, Palestine
| | - Catherine E Myers
- Department of Veterans Affairs, New Jersey Health Care System East Orange, NJ, USA ; Department of Pharmacology, Physiology and Neuroscience, Rutgers-New Jersey Medical School Newark, NJ, USA ; Department of Psychology, Rutgers University-Newark Newark, NJ, USA
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Moustafa AA. On and Off switches in the brain. Front Behav Neurosci 2015; 9:114. [PMID: 25972796 PMCID: PMC4413777 DOI: 10.3389/fnbeh.2015.00114] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/25/2015] [Accepted: 04/17/2015] [Indexed: 12/01/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Ahmed A Moustafa
- Department of Veterans Affairs East Organge, New Jersey, USA ; Marcs Institute for Brain and Behaviour and School of Social Sciences and Psychology, University of Western Sydney Sydney, NSW, Australia
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Moustafa AA, Krishna R, Frank MJ, Eissa AM, Hewedi DH. Cognitive correlates of psychosis in patients with Parkinson's disease. Cogn Neuropsychiatry 2015; 19:381-98. [PMID: 24446773 DOI: 10.1080/13546805.2013.877385] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/25/2022]
Abstract
INTRODUCTION Psychosis and hallucinations occur in 20-30% of patients with Parkinson's disease (PD). In the current study, we investigate cognitive functions in relation to the occurrence of psychosis in PD patients. METHODS We tested three groups of subjects - PD with psychosis, PD without psychosis and healthy controls - on working memory, learning and transitive inference tasks, which are known to assess prefrontal, basal ganglia and hippocampal functions. RESULTS In the working memory task, results show that patients with and without psychosis were more impaired than the healthy control group. In the transitive inference task, we did not find any difference among the groups in the learning phase performance. Importantly, PD patients with psychosis were more impaired than both PD patients without psychosis and controls at transitive inference. We also found that the severity of psychotic symptoms in PD patients [as measured by the Unified Parkinson Disease Rating Scale Thought Disorder (UPDRS TD) item] is directly associated with the severity of cognitive impairment [as measured by the mini-mental status exam (MMSE)], sleep disturbance [as measured by the Scales for Outcome in Parkinson Disease (SCOPA) sleep scale] and transitive inference (although the latter did not reach significance). CONCLUSIONS Although hypothetical, our data may suggest that the hippocampus is a neural substrate underlying the occurrence of psychosis, sleep disturbance and cognitive impairment in PD patients.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ahmed A Moustafa
- a Department of Veterans Affairs , New Jersey Health Care System , East Orange , NJ , USA
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Napier TC, Corvol JC, Grace AA, Roitman JD, Rowe J, Voon V, Strafella AP. Linking neuroscience with modern concepts of impulse control disorders in Parkinson's disease. Mov Disord 2015; 30:141-9. [PMID: 25476402 PMCID: PMC4318759 DOI: 10.1002/mds.26068] [Citation(s) in RCA: 62] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/30/2014] [Revised: 08/01/2014] [Accepted: 08/25/2014] [Indexed: 12/27/2022] Open
Abstract
Patients with Parkinson's disease (PD) may experience impulse control disorders (ICDs) when on dopamine agonist therapy for their motor symptoms. In the last few years, a rapid growth of interest for the recognition of these aberrant behaviors and their neurobiological correlates has occurred. Recent advances in neuroimaging are helping to identify the neuroanatomical networks responsible for these ICDs, and together with psychopharmacological assessments are providing new insights into the brain status of impulsive behavior. The genetic associations that may be unique to ICDs in PD are also being identified. Complementing human studies, electrophysiological and biochemical studies in animal models are providing insights into neuropathological mechanisms associated with these disorders. New animal models of ICDs in PD patients are being implemented that should provide critical means to identify efficacious therapies for PD-related motor deficits while avoiding ICD side effects. Here, we provide an overview of these recent advances, with a particular emphasis on the neurobiological correlates reported in animal models and patients along with their genetic underpinnings.
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Affiliation(s)
- T. Celeste Napier
- Departments of Pharmacology and Psychiatry, Center for Compulsive Behavior and Addiction, Rush University Medical Center, Chicago, IL, USA
| | - Jean-Christophe Corvol
- UPMC, APHP, ICM, INSERM CIC-1422 and UMRS 1027, Department of Neurology, Pitié-Salpêtrière Hospital, Paris, France
| | - Anthony A. Grace
- Departments of Neuroscience, Psychiatry and Psychology, Center for Neuroscience, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - Jamie D. Roitman
- Department of Psychology and Laboratory of Integrative Neuroscience, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL USA
| | - James Rowe
- Department of Clinical Neurosciences; Behavioural and Clinical Neuroscience Institute; and Medical Research Council Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
| | - Valerie Voon
- Department of Clinical Neurosciences; University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
| | - Antonio P. Strafella
- Morton and Gloria Shulman Movement Disorder Unit - E.J. Safra Parkinson Disease Program, Toronto Western Hospital and Research Institute, UHN & Research Imaging Centre, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, University of Toronto, Ontario, Canada
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46
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Kelm MK, Boettiger CA. Age moderates the effect of acute dopamine depletion on passive avoidance learning. Pharmacol Biochem Behav 2015; 131:57-63. [PMID: 25636601 DOI: 10.1016/j.pbb.2015.01.014] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/09/2014] [Revised: 01/16/2015] [Accepted: 01/20/2015] [Indexed: 10/24/2022]
Abstract
Despite extensive links between reinforcement-based learning and dopamine (DA), studies to date have not found consistent effects of acute DA reduction on reinforcement learning in both men and women. Here, we tested the effects of reducing DA on reward- and punishment-based learning using the deterministic passive avoidance learning (PAL) task. We tested 16 (5 female) adults (ages 22-40) in a randomized, cross-over design to determine whether reducing global DA by administering an amino acid beverage deficient in the DA precursors, phenylalanine and tyrosine (P/T[-]), would affect PAL task performance. We found that P/T[-] beverage effects on PAL performance were modulated by age. Specifically, we found that P/T depletion significantly improved learning from punishment with increasing participant age. Participants committed 1.49 fewer passive avoidance errors per additional year of age (95% CI, -0.71 - -2.27, r=-0.74, p=0.001). Moreover, P/T depletion improved learning from punishment in adults (ages 26-40) while it impaired learning from punishment in emerging adults (ages 22-25). We observed similar, but non-significant trends in learning from reward. While there was no overall effect of P/T-depletion on reaction time (RT), there was a relationship between the effect of P/T depletion on PAL performance and RT; those who responded more slowly on the P/T[-] beverage also made more errors on the P/T[-] beverage. When P/T-depletion slowed RT after a correct response, there was a worsening of PAL task performance; there was no similar relationship for the RT after an incorrect response and PAL task performance. Moreover, among emerging adults, changes in mood on the P/T[-] beverage negatively correlated with learning from reward on the P/T[-] beverage. Together, we found that both reward- and punishment-based learning are sensitive to central catecholamine levels, and that these effects of acute DA reduction vary with age.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mary Katherine Kelm
- Department of Psychology, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, United States; Bowles Center for Alcohol Studies, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, United States
| | - Charlotte Ann Boettiger
- Department of Psychology, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, United States; Bowles Center for Alcohol Studies, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, United States; Biomedical Research Imaging Center, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, United States; Neurobiology Curriculum, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, United States.
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47
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Cox SML, Frank MJ, Larcher K, Fellows LK, Clark CA, Leyton M, Dagher A. Striatal D1 and D2 signaling differentially predict learning from positive and negative outcomes. Neuroimage 2015; 109:95-101. [PMID: 25562824 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2014.12.070] [Citation(s) in RCA: 110] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/09/2014] [Revised: 12/17/2014] [Accepted: 12/27/2014] [Indexed: 01/05/2023] Open
Abstract
The extent to which we learn from positive and negative outcomes of decisions is modulated by the neurotransmitter dopamine. Dopamine neurons burst fire in response to unexpected rewards and pause following negative outcomes. This dual signaling mechanism is hypothesized to drive both approach and avoidance behavior. Here we test a prediction deriving from a computational reinforcement learning model, in which approach is mediated via activation of the direct cortico-striatal pathway due to striatal D1 receptor stimulation, while avoidance occurs via disinhibition of indirect pathway striatal neurons secondary to a reduction of D2 receptor stimulation. Using positron emission tomography with two separate radioligands, we demonstrate that individual differences in human approach and avoidance learning are predicted by variability in striatal D1 and D2 receptor binding, respectively. Moreover, transient dopamine precursor depletion improved learning from negative outcomes. These findings support a bidirectional modulatory role for striatal dopamine in reward and avoidance learning via segregated D1 and D2 cortico-striatal pathways.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sylvia M L Cox
- Montreal Neurological Institute, McGill University, 3801 University Street, Montreal, Quebec H3A 2B4, Canada; Department of Psychiatry, McGill University, 1033 Pine Avenue West, Montreal, Quebec H3A 1A1, Canada
| | - Michael J Frank
- Department of Cognitive, Linguistic & Psychological Sciences, Brown Institute for Brain Science, Brown University, 190 Thayer Street, Providence, RI 02912-1821, USA
| | - Kevin Larcher
- Montreal Neurological Institute, McGill University, 3801 University Street, Montreal, Quebec H3A 2B4, Canada; Department of Psychiatry, McGill University, 1033 Pine Avenue West, Montreal, Quebec H3A 1A1, Canada
| | - Lesley K Fellows
- Montreal Neurological Institute, McGill University, 3801 University Street, Montreal, Quebec H3A 2B4, Canada
| | - Crystal A Clark
- Montreal Neurological Institute, McGill University, 3801 University Street, Montreal, Quebec H3A 2B4, Canada
| | - Marco Leyton
- Department of Psychiatry, McGill University, 1033 Pine Avenue West, Montreal, Quebec H3A 1A1, Canada
| | - Alain Dagher
- Montreal Neurological Institute, McGill University, 3801 University Street, Montreal, Quebec H3A 2B4, Canada.
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48
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Computational neurostimulation for Parkinson's disease. PROGRESS IN BRAIN RESEARCH 2015; 222:163-90. [DOI: 10.1016/bs.pbr.2015.09.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/06/2023]
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49
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Kayser AS, Mitchell JM, Weinstein D, Frank MJ. Dopamine, locus of control, and the exploration-exploitation tradeoff. Neuropsychopharmacology 2015; 40:454-62. [PMID: 25074639 PMCID: PMC4443960 DOI: 10.1038/npp.2014.193] [Citation(s) in RCA: 56] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/19/2014] [Revised: 07/25/2014] [Accepted: 07/28/2014] [Indexed: 12/29/2022]
Abstract
Whether to continue to exploit a source of reward, or to search for a new one of potentially greater value, is a fundamental and underconstrained decision. Recent computational studies of this exploration-exploitation tradeoff have found that variability in exploration across individuals is influenced by a functional polymorphism (Val158Met) in the catechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT) gene, whose protein product degrades synaptically released dopamine. However, these and other genotype-phenotype associations have rarely been causally tested. To directly test this association and to evaluate additional behavioral characteristics, including perceived locus of control (LOC), here we used the COMT inhibitor tolcapone in a randomized, double-blind, counterbalanced, within-subject study of 66 subjects genotyped for the Val158Met allele to assess the hypothesis that reducing COMT enzymatic activity interacts with genotype to increase uncertainty-driven exploration. In keeping with our initial hypothesis, tolcapone led to an increase in exploratory, but not exploitative, behavior in Met/Met rather than Val/Val subjects. Independent of genotype, those subjects with a more external LOC also showed increases in uncertainty-driven exploration on tolcapone relative to placebo. However, we did not replicate our previous finding that Met/Met subjects show greater exploration at baseline. Together these findings support a model in which exploration is hypothesized to have a dopaminergic basis. Moreover, in keeping with findings in other behavioral and cognitive domains, the response to an increase in presumptively frontal dopamine is dependent upon baseline dopamine tone.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrew S Kayser
- Department of Neurology, University of California, San Francisco, CA, USA,Ernest Gallo Clinic & Research Center, Emeryville, CA, USA,Department of Neurology, VA Northern California Health Care System, Martinez, CA, USA,Department of Neurology, U.C. San Francisco, Ernest Gallo Clinic & Research Center, 5858 Horton Street, Suite 200, Emeryville, CA 94608, USA, Tel: +510 985 3100, Fax: +510 985 3101, E-mail:
| | - Jennifer M Mitchell
- Department of Neurology, University of California, San Francisco, CA, USA,Ernest Gallo Clinic & Research Center, Emeryville, CA, USA
| | - Dawn Weinstein
- Department of Neurology, University of California, San Francisco, CA, USA,Ernest Gallo Clinic & Research Center, Emeryville, CA, USA
| | - Michael J Frank
- Department of Cognitive, Linguistic, and Psychological Sciences, Brown University, Providence, RI, USA
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50
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Robbins TW, Cools R. Cognitive deficits in Parkinson's disease: a cognitive neuroscience perspective. Mov Disord 2014; 29:597-607. [PMID: 24757109 DOI: 10.1002/mds.25853] [Citation(s) in RCA: 176] [Impact Index Per Article: 17.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/26/2013] [Revised: 02/04/2014] [Accepted: 02/06/2014] [Indexed: 10/25/2022] Open
Abstract
Progress in characterization of the nature, neural basis, and treatment of cognitive deficits in Parkinson's disease is reviewed from the perspective of cognitive neuroscience. An initial emphasis on fronto-striatal executive deficits is surveyed along with the discoveries of disruption as well as remediation of certain impairments by dopaminergic mediation and their association with theories of reinforcement learning. Subsequent focus on large cohorts has revealed considerable heterogeneity in the cognitive impairments as well as a suggestion of at least two distinct syndromes, with the dopamine-dependent fronto-striatal deficits being somewhat independent of other signs commonly associated with Parkinson's disease dementia. The utility is proposed of a new, integrated cognitive neuroscience approach based on combining genetic and neuroimaging methodologies with neuropsychological and, ultimately, psychopharmacological approaches.
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Affiliation(s)
- Trevor W Robbins
- Department of Psychology and Behavioural and Clinical Neuroscience Institute, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom
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