Sweating the small stuff: A meta-analysis of skin conductance on the Iowa gambling task

Normatively irrelevant disgust interferes with decision under uncertainty: Insights from the Iowa gambling task

This study investigates whether a not informative, irrelevant emotional reaction of disgust interferes with decision-making under uncertainty. We manipulate the Iowa Gambling Task (IGT) by associating a disgust-eliciting image with selections from Disadvantageous/Bad decks (Congruent condition) or Advantageous/Good decks (Incongruent condition). A Control condition without manipulations is also included. Results indicate an increased probability of selecting from a Good deck as the task unfolds in all conditions. However, this effect is modulated by the experimental manipulation. Specifically, we detect a detrimental effect (i.e., a significant decrease in the intercept) of the disgust-eliciting image in Incongruent condition (vs. Control), but this effect is limited to the early stages of the task (i.e., first twenty trials). No differences in performance trends are detected between Congruent and Control conditions. Anticipatory Skin Conductance Response, heart rate, and pupil dilation are also assessed as indexes of anticipatory autonomic activation following the Somatic Marker Hypothesis, but no effects are shown for the first two indexes in any of the conditions. Only a decreasing trend is detected for pupil dilation as the task unfolds in Control and Incongruent conditions. Results are discussed in line with the "risk as feelings" framework, the Somatic Marker Hypothesis, and IGT literature.

Investigating the relationship between self-reported interoceptive experience and risk propensity

Risky behaviour may be associated with visceral experiences, such as increased heart rate. Previous studies examining the relationship between perception of such signals (interoception) and risk-taking typically used behavioural tasks with potential for monetary reward. This approach may be less informative for understanding general risk propensity. In addition, such research does not usually consider the varied ways individuals engage with interoceptive signals. However, examining these different forms of engagement may help us understand how subjective experience of interoception influences risk-taking. As such, we performed two surveys (n = 471, primarily young adults) to examine the relationship between self-reported engagement with interoceptive signals (measured using the Multidimensional Assessment of Interoceptive Awareness) and a generalised measure of risk propensity (the General Risk Propensity Scale). Results indicated that different ways of interpreting or engaging with interoceptive signals were differentially associated with risk propensity. In particular, they provide preliminary evidence that those with the ability to ignore or not worry about visceral signals when they are uncomfortable display greater risk propensity (and these effects may possibly be gender-specific).

Testing the somatic marker hypothesis in decisions-from-experience with non-stationary outcome probabilities

Introduction

The Somatic Marker Hypothesis (SMH) posits that in experience-based choice, people develop physiological reactions that mark options as either positive or negative. These somatic markers aid decision making because they differentiate between "good" and "bad" options during pre-choice deliberation.

Methods

We examined this proposed role for somatic states in two decision-from-experience tasks (each N = 36) in which participants selected repeatedly with full feedback (i.e., for obtained and forgone outcomes) between two unlabeled options that returned wins or losses, with half receiving an additional summary of past outcomes. The probabilities of good and bad outcomes changed at an unannounced point. Participants completed a 100-trial game with a switch in the optimal option after trial 40 (Study 1) or a 200-trial game with switch points after trial 40 and trial 120 (Study 2). Skin conductance (SC) was measured continuously as an index of emotional intensity, from which we extracted measures of anticipatory SC (pre-choice) and outcome SC (post-choice).

Results

Participants reliably selected the optimal option prior to any switches. They also altered their choices appropriately when the payoffs changed, though optimal play following payoff switches was reduced. Losses resulted in a greater outcome SC than wins, but only in Study 1, as did the finding that the outcome SC was greater when the forgone outcome was positive. Anticipatory SC did not reliably predict optimal play in either study.

Discussion

These results provide little support for the SMH. Our studies point to the importance of using diverse tasks and measures and very large sample sizes when testing the role of somatic states in decision making.

Decision-Making and Risk-Propensity Changes during and after the COVID-19 Pandemic Lockdown

The imposition of lockdowns during the COVID-19 pandemic placed individuals under conditions of environmental stress, threatening individual and collective wellbeing. This study aimed to investigate the temporal effects of isolation and confinement during and after the Italian lockdown on decision-making, risk propensity, and cognitive control processes. The present study covered almost the entire Italian lockdown period (each week from the end of March to mid-May 2020), plus a follow-up measure (September 2020). At each time-point, respondents completed online behavioral tasks, which involved measuring risk-propensity (Balloon Analogue Risk Task), decision-making (Iowa Gambling Task), and cognitive flexibility (Category Switch Task). They also filled in questionnaires regarding subjective stress and anxiety. The main findings showed that the decision-making abilities of the respondents were affected as the confinement progressed. Furthermore, individuals who were more subjectively impacted by the lockdown/isolation experience exhibited impaired decision-making, especially during the lockdown. The results of the study highlight that prolonged confinement may affect human decision making, and help understand individuals' misbehaviors during emergencies and develop effective countermeasures aimed at reducing the burden of the healthcare system.

Cardiac sensitivity to rewards in cognitively inflexible nonclinical participants

Background

In psychopathologies characterized by compulsive decision-making, core impairments include cognitive inflexibility and excessive sensitivity to rewards. It has been posited that traits shared by nonclinical individuals and psychiatric patients could help explain the pathogenesis of compulsive decision-making.

Methods

To investigate whether cognitive inflexibility predisposes nonclinical individuals to poor choices and hyper-reactivity to reward, we recruited people with high and low scores for cognitive persistence and used the Iowa Gambling Task to assess decision-making and cardiac reactivity to monetary gains/losses.

Results

As is frequently observed in psychophysiological research, the data indicated discrepancies among self-reports, behavior, and physiology. Cognitive inflexibility was not related to worse performance; however, monetary gains, in line with the literature, prompted marked cardiac accelerations. Consistent with our research goal, only inflexible participants showed large cardiac accelerations during the largest monetary wins.

Discussion

Taken together, the data confirm an association between cognitive persistence and physiological reward sensitivity in a nonclinical population. The findings are in line with recent theories on the development of compulsive behaviors that consider cognitive inflexibility as a transdiagnostic impairment and predisposing factor for excessive reactivity to rewards, and might act both as a preexisting individual trait and drug-induced deficit.

The comparison of decision-making in ambiguous situations and galvanic skin responses as somatic markers in patients with posterior cortex epilepsy and mesial temporal lobe epilepsy with hippocampal sclerosis

INTRODUCTION

Decision-making behaviors of patients with mesial temporal lobe epilepsy (MTLE) is a subject that has been studied frequently. However, determining the neuropsychological profiles of patients with different types of epilepsy is also important. Our main purpose was to examine the decision-making behaviors of patients with posterior cortex epilepsy (PCE) through the assumptions of somatic marker hypothesis (SMH) and to compare their performances with those of a MTLE group and a control group.

METHOD

Participants comprised of 13 patients with PCE (mean age 30.92 ± 9.99 years); 14 patients with MTLE with hippocampal sclerosis (MTLE-HS) (mean age 25.53 ± 7.40 years) and 15 controls (mean age 24.60 ± 8.45 years). Decision-making performances were assessed with the Iowa gambling test (IGT) and anticipatory skin responses before each choice were recorded. A comprehensive neuropsychological test battery was also given to all participants in order to examine the relationship of decision-making with other cognitive functions.

RESULTS

Anticipatory responses before choosing from disadvantageous decks were significantly larger than choosing from advantageous decks in the PCE group (p = 0.00). No significant difference was found between the PCE and control group's total net scores. IGT total net scores was significantly correlated with Stroop test interference time (p = 0.03).

CONCLUSION

The study reveals that cognitive impairments of patients with PCE are not limited to brain's posterior areas' functions, and provides evidence for the current paradigm which understands epilepsy as a network disorder.

Decision-making in uncertain contexts: The role of autonomic markers in resolving indecision

Although impulsivity is associated with an increased willingness to make risky decisions, uncertainty intolerance may also contribute to maladaptive decision-making behavior, where individuals neglect to pursue potential rewards even when probabilities for success are in their favor. Several theories have sought to explain the neural systems that guide decision-making in this context, with evidence supporting a role for increased sympathetic activation. However, it remains unclear whether the sympathetic system is associated with greater apprehension in response to uncertain outcomes, or whether it serves to guide behavioral decisions in the context of this uncertainty. Furthermore, although postulated as a within-person process, most research has examined the association between decision behavior and sympathetic activation at the between-person level. We hypothesize that in the context of uncertainty between-person differences in skin conductance will be associated with longer deliberation times; whereas within-person trial-level increases in skin conductance will be associated with a tendency to reject uncertain options. Data were collected from n = 56 children aged 7-11 years, using a computerized card game in which children chose to accept or reject cards of varying point value at varying levels of probability. Skin conductance level (SCL) was recorded throughout the task. No significant between-person associations emerged. However, within-person analyses indicated that momentary deliberation time moderated the association between momentary skin-conductance and decision outcome. This moderation was such that for trials during which the individual deliberated longer (i.e., was more indecisive), a concurrent increase in skin conductance was associated with a significantly higher likelihood of rejecting the card. The within-person nature of these results suggests that skin conductance may help in resolving indecision in the context of uncertainty.

Influence Factors for Decision-Making Performance of Suicide Attempters and Suicide Ideators: The Roles of Somatic Markers and Explicit Knowledge

Impaired decision-making has been observed in suicide attempters during the Iowa Gambling Task (IGT). Decision-making performance is influenced by somatic markers and explicit knowledge, but it is still unclear of the influencing role on decision-making performance in suicidal individuals. We aimed to investigate whether there is a decision-making deficit in suicide attempters, suicide ideators, as well as the distinct roles of somatic markers and explicit knowledge wherein. Thirteen suicide attempters, 23 suicide ideators, and 19 healthy controls performed the IGT. Both somatic markers (by the skin conductance responses, SCRs) and explicit knowledge (by the subjective experience rating and a list of questions) were recorded. No significant differences were found among the three groups on IGT performance, explicit knowledge, and anticipatory SCRs. IGT Performance of suicide attempters was positively correlated with explicit knowledge index while behavior performance was positively associated with the SCRs in healthy controls. These results indicate that the suicide attempters seem to apply a compensatory strategy by mostly utilizing explicit knowledge to perform normally as healthy controls in the IGT.

Normatively Irrelevant Affective Cues Affect Risk-Taking under Uncertainty: Insights from the Iowa Gambling Task (IGT), Skin Conductance Response, and Heart Rate Variability

Being able to distinguish between safe and risky options is paramount in making functional choices. However, deliberate manipulation of decision-makers emotions can lead to risky behaviors. This study aims at understanding how affective reactions driven by normatively irrelevant affective cues can interfere with risk-taking. Good and Bad decks of the Iowa Gambling Task have been manipulated to make them unpleasant through a negative auditory manipulation. Anticipatory skin conductance response (SCR) and heart rate variability (HRV) have been investigated in line with the somatic marker hypothesis. Results showed fewer selections from Good decks when they were negatively manipulated (i.e., Incongruent condition). No effect of the manipulation was detected when Bad decks were negatively manipulated (i.e., Congruent condition). Higher anticipatory SCR was associated with Bad decks in Congruent condition. Slower heart rate was found before selections from Good decks in Control and Congruent condition and from Bad decks in Incongruent condition. Differences in heart rate between Bad and Good decks were also detected in Congruent condition. Results shed light on how normatively irrelevant affective cues can interfere with risk-taking.

Learning to make smart choices in the context of risk: The roles of internal affective feedback and life events

Autonomic arousal may facilitate beneficial decision-making when the link between choices and outcomes is uncertain. However, it is unknown whether greater risk-specific autonomic arousal is linearly associated with faster learning to avoid risky decisions. Furthermore, although the influence of stress on decision-making is well documented, it is unknown whether recent life stress might moderate the relationship between this internal affective feedback and decision-making. We report two studies using the Iowa Gambling Task with diverse community samples. Each study demonstrated a linear relationship between the level of autonomic arousal prior to risky decision-making and the rate of learning to avoid risk. Additionally, participants' recent life events conditionally moderated this association. Specifically, the relationship between risk-specific arousal and advantageous learning was strongest for participants who experienced relatively more positive and fewer negative life events in the previous four months. These findings suggest that autonomic arousal may generally inform decision-making, but less so when life circumstances are relatively poor.

Autonomic responses to choice outcomes: Links to task performance and reinforcement-learning parameters

Previous work has shown that autonomic responses to choice feedback can predict subsequent decision-making. In this study, we tested whether skin conductance responses (SCRs) and heart rate (HR) decelerations following the presentation of choice outcomes predict Iowa Gambling Task performance in nonclinical participants (n = 64). We also examined how these signals related to parameters of a reinforcement-learning (RL) model. Feedback SCRs and HR decelerations were greater following outcomes that included losses and choices from the bad decks defined by their negative expected value. In addition, SCRs predicted task performance. A hierarchical Bayesian RL model indicated that greater feedback SCR for the bad decks compared to good decks was associated with stronger loss aversion and a lower learning rate, both of which predicted higher performance. These results suggest that feedback-related SCRs are linked to individual differences in outcome evaluation and learning processes that guide reinforcement-learning.

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

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