A review of delay-discounting research with humans: relations to drug use and gambling

Moderating Effect of Impulsivity on the Association Between Entrapment and Problem Gambling

Impulsivity as measure by delay discounting and entrapment have been known to influence gambling, but their individual and joint influence on problem gambling among Soccer gamblers are not yet understood. We examine the direct and moderation influences of entrapment and delay discounting on problem gambling among 174 Soccer gamblers in Nigeria. Data were obtained by means of self-report questionnaires of entrapment, delay discounting and problem gambling. Results from Hayes PROCESS moderated regression showed that delay discounting moderated the association between entrapment and problem gambling such that the association between entrapment and problem gambling was strong when delay discounting was high and diminished when delay discounting was low. Our findings provide insight into the conditional effect of delay discounting on the entrapment-problem gambling association.

Linking RDoC and HiTOP: A new interface for advancing psychiatric nosology and neuroscience

The Research Domain Criteria (RDoC) and the Hierarchical Taxonomy of Psychopathology (HiTOP) represent major dimensional frameworks proposing two alternative approaches to accelerate progress in the way psychopathology is studied, classified, and treated. RDoC is a research framework rooted in neuroscience aiming to further the understanding of transdiagnostic biobehavioral systems underlying psychopathology and ultimately inform future classifications. HiTOP is a dimensional classification system, derived from the observed covariation among symptoms of psychopathology and maladaptive traits, which seeks to provide more informative research and treatment targets (i.e., dimensional constructs and clinical assessments) than traditional diagnostic categories. This article argues that the complementary strengths of RDoC and HiTOP can be leveraged in order to achieve their respective goals. RDoC's biobehavioral framework may help elucidate the underpinnings of the clinical dimensions included in HiTOP, whereas HiTOP may provide psychometrically robust clinical targets for RDoC-informed research. We present a comprehensive mapping between dimensions included in RDoC (constructs and subconstructs) and HiTOP (spectra and subfactors) based on narrative review of the empirical literature. The resulting RDoC-HiTOP interface sheds light on the biobehavioral correlates of clinical dimensions and provides a broad set of dimensional clinical targets for etiological and neuroscientific research. We conclude with future directions and practical recommendations for using this interface to advance clinical neuroscience and psychiatric nosology. Ultimately, we envision that this RDoC-HiTOP interface has the potential to inform the development of a unified, dimensional, and biobehaviorally-grounded psychiatric nosology.

The Abuse Characteristics of Amphetamine-Type Stimulants in Patients Receiving Methadone Maintenance Treatment and Buprenorphine Maintenance Treatment

Objective

The purpose of this study was to retrospectively investigate the abuse characteristics of amphetamine-type stimulants (ATS) in patients receiving methadone maintenance treatment (MMT) and buprenorphine maintenance treatment (BMT).

Methods

A total of 58 MMT and 51 BMT patients abusing ATS were recruited from the drug maintenance treatment clinic of Ningbo Addiction Research and Treatment Center from January 2018 to December 2019. They were assessed using the amphetamine abuse questionnaire (AAQ), addiction severity index (ASI) and Barratt impulsiveness scale (BIS). Moreover, 40 MMT control patients, 40 BMT control patients and 20 healthy controls were also assessed using the BIS. All information was collected using the amphetamine abuse questionnaire (AAQ), Chinese version of addiction severity index (ASI-C) and Chinese version of Barratt impulsiveness scale (BIS-C) conducted by qualified psychologists.

Results

The interval of amphetamine use in the MMT group was shorter than the BMT group (P < 0.05). The drug use subscale score of ASI was higher in the MMT group than the BMT group (P < 0.05). The respective and total scores of attentional impulsiveness, motor impulsiveness and non-planning impulsiveness in BIS in the MMT group were all higher than the MMT control group (P < 0.05). The scores of motor impulsiveness and non-planning impulsiveness in the BMT group were higher than the BMT control group (P < 0.05). The respective and total scores in BIS in the MMT control group and the BMT control group were all higher than those in the healthy controls.

Conclusion

The patients showing amphetamine abuse in maintenance therapy had a greater impulsiveness than those having other simple maintenance treatments, and patients under MMT may be more addicted to amphetamines in comparison with those having BMT.

Gambling, Substance Use and Violence in Male and Female Adolescents

The study systematically examined the link between history of gambling, and substance-use and violence-related measures in male and female adolescents, and compared association differences between genders in representative youth risk behavior surveillance data. An anonymous survey was administered to 2425 9th- to 12th-grade students in the state of Connecticut to assess risk behaviors that impact health. Reported past-12-months gambling was the independent variable of interest. Chi squares and adjusted odds-ratios were computed to determine gambling associations with demographic variables, substance-use, and violence-related measures, and whether associations were different between genders. Among students, 18.6% reported gambling. Reported gambling in males and females associated with lifetime use of any drugs, marijuana, cocaine, inhalants, heroin, methamphetamines, ecstasy, synthetic marijuana, non-medical pain-relievers, and injected drugs, in addition to past-30-days cigarette smoking, alcohol and heavy alcohol drinking, and marijuana use. Gambling associated with reported weapon-carrying, being threatened or injured with a weapon, forced sexual intercourse, bullying, and electronic bullying in males; physical dating violence in females; and physical fighting and sexual dating violence in both groups. Gambling and gender interaction terms did not associate with outcome measures except synthetic marijuana use, which trended towards significance (P = 0.052). Gambling in adolescence was similarly linked to risk behaviors involving substance-use in males and females, though gambling relationships with different violence-measures varied between genders. Assessing gambling behavior may be important for targeted preventions focused on adolescents at risk for substance-use disorder and physical violence.

Impulsivity and self-control in elementary school children and adult females: Using identical task and procedural parameters

Results of studies examining the relationship between impulsivity and age are limited because different tasks, procedural parameters, and different reinforcers have been used with different aged participants. Thus, the current study sought to rectify these differences in two experiments with children (42, ages 5-12) and adults (69 college-aged females) using the same task with identical procedural parameters. In the Self-Control Video Software Task (SCVST; Forzano and Schunk, 2008; Forzano et al., 2014) participants repeatedly choose between larger, more delayed and smaller, less delayed access to viewing video cartoons. No differences in impulsivity were found between adults and children. No age or gender differences were found among children. Differences in task and procedural parameters are identified as important in their implications for research on impulsivity.

Individual Differences in Intertemporal Choice

Intertemporal choice involves deciding between smaller, sooner and larger, later rewards. People tend to prefer smaller rewards that are available earlier to larger rewards available later, a phenomenon referred to as temporal or delay discounting. Despite its ubiquity in human and non-human animals, temporal discounting is subject to considerable individual differences. Here, we provide a critical narrative review of this literature and make suggestions for future work. We conclude that temporal discounting is associated with key socio-economic and health-related variables. Regarding personality, large-scale studies have found steeper temporal discounting to be associated with higher levels of self-reported impulsivity and extraversion; however, effect sizes are small. Temporal discounting correlates negatively with future-oriented cognitive styles and inhibitory control, again with small effect sizes. There are consistent associations between steeper temporal discounting and lower intelligence, with effect sizes exceeding those of personality or cognitive variables, although socio-demographic moderator variables may play a role. Neuroimaging evidence of brain structural and functional correlates is not yet consistent, neither with regard to areas nor directions of effects. Finally, following early candidate gene studies, recent Genome Wide Association Study (GWAS) approaches have revealed the molecular genetic architecture of temporal discounting to be more complex than initially thought. Overall, the study of individual differences in temporal discounting is a maturing field that has produced some replicable findings. Effect sizes are small-to-medium, necessitating future hypothesis-driven work that prioritizes large samples with adequate power calculations. More research is also needed regarding the neural origins of individual differences in temporal discounting as well as the mediating neural mechanisms of associations of temporal discounting with personality and cognitive variables.

The phenotype of recovery V: Does delay discounting predict the perceived risk of relapse among individuals in recovery from alcohol and drug use disorders

BACKGROUND

Substance use recovery is a dynamic process. Relapse, often part of the recovery process, is a persistent problem for individuals seeking freedom from their harmful substance use and has become a focus of research on the improvement of recovery outcomes. Delay discounting is associated with substance use disorder severity, both its negative outcomes and the propensity to relapse. However, the association between delay discounting and perceived risk of relapse as measured by the Alcohol Warning of Relapse Questionnaire has not previously been examined in a population of individuals in long-term recovery from substance misuse.

METHODS

In this study, using data collected from the International Quit and Recovery Registry, we investigated the association between delay discounting, self-reported time in recovery, and perceived risk of relapse. Data from 193 individuals self-reporting to be in recovery from harmful substance use were included in the study.

RESULTS

Delay discounting rates were significantly negatively associated with length of recovery (p = 0.036) and positively with perceived risk of relapse (p = 0.027) even after controlling for age, gender, education, marital status, ethnicity, race, primary substance, and length in the registry. Moreover, a mediation analysis using Hayes' methods revealed that the association between the length of recovery and perceived relapse risk was partially mediated by delay discounting, accounting for 21.2% of the effect.

CONCLUSIONS

Our finding supports previous characterizations of delay discounting as a candidate behavioral marker of substance misuse and may help to identify individuals at higher perceived risk of relapse in an extended recovery population.

Do ADHD Symptoms, Executive Function, and Study Strategies Predict Temporal Reward Discounting in College Students with Varying Levels of ADHD Symptoms? A Pilot Study

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between temporal reward discounting and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) symptoms in college students. Additionally, we examined whether temporal reward discounting was associated with executive functioning in daily life and with learning and study strategies in this group. Thirty-nine college students (19 with ADHD and 20 controls) participated after meeting criteria for ADHD or non-ADHD based on standardized assessment. Strong preferences for small immediate rewards were specifically associated with the ADHD symptom domain hyperactivity–impulsivity. Additionally, these preferences were associated with daily life executive function problems and with weak learning and study strategies. This suggests that steep temporal discounting may be a key mechanism playing a role in the daily life challenges that college students with ADHD symptoms face. If these findings are replicated in larger samples, then intervention strategies may profitably be developed to counteract this strong preference for small immediate rewards in college students with ADHD symptoms.

Testing the factor structure underlying behavior using joint cognitive models: Impulsivity in delay discounting and Cambridge gambling tasks

Neurocognitive tasks are frequently used to assess disordered decision making, and cognitive models of these tasks can quantify performance in terms related to decision makers' underlying cognitive processes. In many cases, multiple cognitive models purport to describe similar processes, but it is difficult to evaluate whether they measure the same latent traits or processes. In this article, we develop methods for modeling behavior across multiple tasks by connecting cognitive model parameters to common latent constructs. This approach can be used to assess whether 2 tasks measure the same dimensions of cognition, or actually improve the estimates of cognitive models when there are overlapping cognitive processes between 2 related tasks. The approach is then applied to connecting decision data on 2 behavioral tasks that evaluate clinically relevant deficits, the delay discounting task and Cambridge gambling task, to determine whether they both measure the same dimension of impulsivity. We find that the discounting rate parameters in the models of each task are not closely related, although substance users exhibit more impulsive behavior on both tasks. Instead, temporal discounting on the delay discounting task as quantified by the model is more closely related to externalizing psychopathology like aggression, while temporal discounting on the Cambridge gambling task is related more to response inhibition failures. The methods we develop thus provide a new way to connect behavior across tasks and grant new insights onto the different dimensions of impulsivity and their relation to substance use. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).

Hypnotic suggestions of safety reduce neuronal signals of delay discounting

Waiting for delayed rewards is important to reach long-term goals, yet most people prefer immediate rewards. This tendency is called delay discounting. Evidence shows that people are more willing to wait for delayed rewards when they believe that the delayed reward is certain. We hypothesized that feeling safe makes delayed outcomes subjectively more certain, which should in turn reduce neuronal signals of delay discounting. We hypnotized 24 highly suggestible participants and gave them a suggestion to feel safe. We then used EEG to measure their brain responses to immediate and delayed rewards while they played a delayed gratification game. As compared to a control condition without hypnosis, participants that were suggested to feel safe under hypnosis reported feeling significantly safer. Further, their reward-related brain activity differentiated less between immediate and delayed rewards. We conclude that feeling safe makes delayed outcomes subjectively more certain and therefore reduces neuronal signals of delay discounting.

Data-driven experimental design and model development using Gaussian process with active learning

Interest in computational modeling of cognition and behavior continues to grow. To be most productive, modelers should be equipped with tools that ensure optimal efficiency in data collection and in the integrity of inference about the phenomenon of interest. Traditionally, models in cognitive science have been parametric, which are particularly susceptible to model misspecification because their strong assumptions (e.g. parameterization, functional form) may introduce unjustified biases in data collection and inference. To address this issue, we propose a data-driven nonparametric framework for model development, one that also includes optimal experimental design as a goal. It combines Gaussian Processes, a stochastic process often used for regression and classification, with active learning, from machine learning, to iteratively fit the model and use it to optimize the design selection throughout the experiment. The approach, dubbed Gaussian process with active learning (GPAL), is an extension of the parametric, adaptive design optimization (ADO) framework (Cavagnaro, Myung, Pitt, & Kujala, 2010). We demonstrate the application and features of GPAL in a delay discounting task and compare its performance to ADO in two experiments. The results show that GPAL is a viable modeling framework that is noteworthy for its high sensitivity to individual differences, identifying novel patterns in the data that were missed by the model-constrained ADO. This investigation represents a first step towards the development of a data-driven cognitive modeling framework that serves as a middle ground between raw data, which can be difficult to interpret, and parametric models, which rely on strong assumptions.

Financial incentives to improve glycemic control in African American adults with type 2 diabetes: a pilot randomized controlled trial

Background

Financial incentives is emerging as a viable strategy for improving clinical outcomes for adults with type 2 diabetes. However, there is limited data on optimal structure for financial incentives and whether financial incentives are effective in African Americans with type 2 diabetes. This pilot study evaluated impact of three financial incentive structures on glycemic control in this population.

Methods

Sixty adults with type 2 diabetes were randomized to one of three financial incentive structures: 1) single incentive (Group 1) at 3 months for Hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) reduction, 2) two-part equal incentive (Group 2) for home testing of glucose and HbA1c reduction at 3 months, and 3) three-part equal incentive (Group 3) for home testing, attendance of weekly telephone education classes and HbA1c reduction at 3 months. The primary outcome was HbA1c reduction within each group at 3 months post-randomization. Paired t-tests were used to test differences between baseline and 3-month HbA1c within each group.

Results

The mean age for the sample was 57.9 years and 71.9% were women. Each incentive structure led to significant reductions in HbA1c at 3 months with the greatest reduction from baseline in the group with incentives for multiple components: Group 1 mean reduction = 1.25, Group 2 mean reduction = 1.73, Group 3 mean reduction = 1.74.

Conclusion

Financial incentives led to significant reductions in HbA1c from baseline within each group. Incentives for multiple components led to the greatest reductions from baseline. Structured financial incentives that reward home monitoring, attendance of telephone education sessions, and lifestyle modification to lower HbA1c are viable options for glycemic control in African Americans with type 2 diabetes.

Trial registration

Trial registration: NCT02722499. Registered 23 March 2016, url.

The Association between Reward Sensitivity and Activity Engagement: the Influence of Delay Discounting and Anhedonia

Aim

Reward sensitivity affects individuals’ motivation to engage in goal-directed behavior. Other concepts, critical for reward appraisal, that potentially influence activity participation encompass delay discounting and anhedonia. The aim of this study was to test the hypothesis that anhedonia and delay discounting influence the relationship between reward sensitivity and activity engagement.

Methods

In total, 37 inpatient patients with an alcohol use disorder (AUD) and 37 matched healthy controls completed the behavioral activation system scale (BAS scale), the Pleasant Activities List (PAL), the Snaith–Hamilton Pleasure Scale (SHAPS) and the Delay Discounting Task (DDT).

Results

Patients differed from controls on SHAPS, DDT-k, PAL substance-related activities (SRA), but not BAS and PAL non-substance-related activities (non-SRA). Correlational analyses revealed a strong correlation between BAS and PAL non-SRA in both patients (r = 0.53) and controls (r = 0.47), but also with PAL-SRA in patients (r = 0.40), although not controls (r = 0.09). BAS was negatively correlated with SHAPS in both groups and with DDT in controls. SHAPS was negatively linked to PAL non-SRA in both groups. The BAS-PAL non-SRA relationship was influenced by discount rates in controls.

Conclusion

A strong link exists between reward sensitivity and engagement in non-SRA in both groups. Delay discounting affects the reward sensitivity and non-SRA association in healthy controls, while anhedonia did not impact the association between reward sensitivity and engagement in (non-)SRA in both conditions.

Shared and unique risk factors for tobacco use among rural versus urban adolescents

Researchers have proposed numerous factors that may contribute to rural adolescents' heightened risk for tobacco use. Some of these include well-known risk factors for tobacco use, whereas others concern factors unique to rural populations, reflecting norms and values ("rural culture") that accept and encourage tobacco use. This study aimed to test a broad range of tobacco-use risk factors to determine which were a) universal risk factors for both urban and rural adolescents vs. b) unique risk factors for rural adolescents. Data came from a prospective cohort study of 1220 adolescent males in Ohio who were aged 11-16 (average = 14 years) when surveyed at baseline (2015-2016). Follow-up surveys occurred every 6 months. The present study examined tobacco-use outcomes-prevalent use and incident use-by the two-year follow-up (2017-2018). Findings indicated a higher prevalence of ever-use of cigarette and smokeless tobacco among rural, vs. urban, adolescents at baseline. By the two-year follow-up, the urban/rural difference was attenuated but remained. Stratified multivariable logistic regression indicated that some baseline risk factors were associated with subsequent tobacco use for both rural and urban adolescents. Having an adult tobacco user in the home (for prevalent use) and susceptibility to a male family member offer of tobacco products (for both prevalent and incident use) were associated with tobacco use only for rural adolescents. These findings align with qualitative work demonstrating that masculinity and an intergenerational tobacco culture are important to male adolescents. This unique rural profile should be considered when developing prevention efforts.

Improvement of Working Memory is a Mechanism for Reductions in Delay Discounting Among Mid-Age Individuals in an Urban Medically Underserved Area

BACKGROUND

Delay discounting, or the tendency to devalue rewards as a function of their delayed receipt, is associated with myriad negative health behaviors. Individuals from medically underserved areas are disproportionately at risk for chronic health problems. The higher rates of delay discounting and consequent adverse outcomes evidenced among low-resource and unstable environments suggest this may be an important pathway to explain health disparities among this population.

PURPOSE

The current study examined the effectiveness of a computerized working memory training program to decrease rates of delay discounting among residents of a traditionally underserved region.

METHODS

Participants (N = 123) were recruited from a community center serving low income and homeless individuals. Subjects completed measures of delay discounting and working memory and then took part in either an active or control working memory training.

RESULTS

Analyses indicated that participants in the active condition demonstrated significant improvement in working memory and that this improvement mediated the relation between treatment condition and reductions in delay discounting.

CONCLUSIONS

Results suggest that a computerized intervention targeting working memory may be effective in decreasing rates of delay discounting in adults from medically underserved areas (ClinicalTrials.gov number NCT03501706).

Interactions between decision-making and emotion in behavioral-variant frontotemporal dementia and Alzheimer's disease

Negative and positive emotions are known to shape decision-making toward more or less impulsive responses, respectively. Decision-making and emotion processing are underpinned by shared brain regions including the ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC) and the amygdala. How these processes interact at the behavioral and brain levels is still unclear. We used a lesion model to address this question. Study participants included individuals diagnosed with behavioral-variant frontotemporal dementia (bvFTD, n = 18), who typically present deficits in decision-making/emotion processing and atrophy of the vmPFC, individuals with Alzheimer’s disease (AD, n = 12) who present with atrophy in limbic structures and age-matched healthy controls (CTRL, n = 15). Prior to each choice on the delay discounting task participants were cued with a positive, negative or neutral picture and asked to vividly imagine witnessing the event. As hypothesized, our findings showed that bvFTD patients were more impulsive than AD patients and CTRL and did not show any emotion-related modulation of delay discounting rate. In contrast, AD patients showed increased impulsivity when primed by negative emotion. This increased impulsivity was associated with reduced integrity of bilateral amygdala in AD but not in bvFTD. Altogether, our results indicate that decision-making and emotion interact at the level of the amygdala supporting findings from animal studies.

Neural and behavioral correlates of episodic memory are associated with temporal discounting in older adults

When facing decisions involving trade-offs between smaller, sooner and larger, delayed rewards, people tend to discount the value of future rewards. There are substantial individual differences in this tendency toward temporal discounting, however. One neurocognitive system that may underlie these individual differences is episodic memory, given the overlap in the neural circuitry involved in imagining the future and remembering the past. Here we tested this hypothesis in older adults, including both those that were cognitively normal and those with amnestic mild cognitive impairment (MCI). We found that performance on neuropsychological measures of episodic memory retrieval was associated with temporal discounting, such that people with better memory discounted delayed rewards less. This relationship was specific to episodic memory and temporal discounting, since executive function (another cognitive ability) was unrelated to temporal discounting, and episodic memory was unrelated to risk tolerance (another decision-making preference). We also examined cortical thickness and volume in medial temporal lobe regions critical for episodic memory. Entorhinal cortical thickness was associated with reduced temporal discounting, with episodic memory performance partially mediating this association. The inclusion of MCI participants was critical to revealing these associations between episodic memory and entorhinal cortical thickness and temporal discounting. These effects were larger in the MCI group, reduced after controlling for MCI status, and statistically significant only when including MCI participants in analyses. Overall, these findings suggest that individual differences in temporal discounting are driven by episodic memory function, and that a decline in medial temporal lobe structural integrity may impact temporal discounting.

Delayed Homelessness After Military Discharge: Examination of a Sleeper Effect

INTRODUCTION

Addressing veteran homelessness is a major federal priority, but there has been little research on the period between military discharge and homelessness. There are public concerns about new waves of homelessness among recent veterans and questions about a possible sleeper effect, that is, a delayed risk that becomes stronger with time.

METHODS

Data from 2 national samples were analyzed: Department of Veterans Affairs administrative records of a population-based sample of 275,775 homeless Department of Veterans Affairs service users in 2000-2019 and a nationally representative community survey of 115 veterans with a history of homelessness conducted in 2018.

RESULTS

In the Department of Veterans Affairs sample, the average time between discharge and homelessness was 5.5 (SD=4.2) years. In the community veteran sample, the average time between discharge and homelessness was 9.9 (SD=10.5) years. Service in Iraq and Afghanistan was significantly associated with shorter duration between discharge and homelessness. Service in Vietnam, younger age at military discharge, more chronic medical conditions, depression, and alcohol use problems were associated with longer interval between discharge and homelessness. Among homeless service users who were discharged from 2000 to 2003, the rate of homelessness doubled between 10 and 15 years after discharge. Similarly, among those discharged from 2009 to 2013, the rate of homelessness more than doubled between 2 and 5 years after discharge.

CONCLUSIONS

There appears to be a sleeper effect in veteran homelessness after military discharge. The primary and secondary preventions focused on chronic health conditions, and social adjustment may be needed to address homelessness among recent veterans.

Neural Responses to Reward in a Gambling Task: Sex Differences and Individual Variation in Reward-Driven Impulsivity

Previous work suggests sex differences in reward sensitivity. However, it remains unclear how men and women differ in the neural processes of reward-driven impulsivity. With a data set of 968 subjects (502 women) curated from the Human Connectome Project, we investigated sex differences in regional activations to reward and to punishment in a gambling task. Individual variations in reward-driven impulsivity were quantified by the difference in reaction time between reward and punishment blocks in the gambling task, as well as by a behavioral measure of delay discounting. At a corrected threshold, men and women exhibited significant differences in regional activations to reward and to punishment. Longer reaction times during reward versus punishment blocks, indicative of more cautious responding, were associated with left-hemispheric lateral prefrontal cortical activation to reward in men but not women. Steeper discounting was associated with higher activation to reward in the right-hemispheric dorsal anterior cingulate cortex and angular gyrus in women but not men. These sex differences were confirmed in slope tests. Together, the results highlight the sex-specific neural processes of reward-driven impulsivity with left-hemispheric prefrontal cortex supporting impulse control in men and right-hemispheric saliency circuit playing a more important role in diminished impulse control in women.

Delay discounting and risky choice: Meta-analytic evidence regarding single-process theories

Preferences about delayed rewards and preferences about risk are central to the literature on decision making. Several proposals suggest that such preferences arise from a single process and thus predict strong associations between preferences about delay and risk. Although there is a wealth of data on this association, the evidence is inconclusive; some studies have reported significant associations but many have not. Consequently, it is unclear whether the association between delay preferences and risk preferences is strong enough to support single-process theories. To further explore this question, we took a meta-analytic approach surveying 26 studies totaling 32 effect sizes. Results reveal a small to moderate association between risk preferences and delay preferences. This result provides little support for existing proposals because the observed relationship is no stronger than associations observed between either delay preferences or risk preferences and other variables. Moderating variables provide some explanation for inconsistencies across studies. Implications, including the apparent discrepancy between this literature and the conventional construct of impulsivity, are also discussed.

Promoting self-control in overweight and obese children

Introduction

Background and objective: impulsiveness might affect the ability of an individual to plan meals, eat regularly, and resist impulses to enjoy foods that are high in fat and sugars in a particular way. The objective of the present study was to evaluate the effectiveness of a fading strategy regarding a reinforcer dimension to promote the development of self-control and decrease impulsive choice among 14 overweight and obese children. Material and methods: to meet this objective, an experimental procedure of choice behavior was used to evaluate the impulsivity and self-control choices influenced by four reinforcer dimensions on a computer: reinforcement rate, reinforcer quality, immediacy of the reinforcement, and response effort. Results: the results indicate that the children's decisions were influenced primarily by the immediacy of the reinforcement and the reinforcement rate; therefore, the children's behavior can be classified as impulsive. Based on these results, a fading procedure was implemented for self-control training in which the immediacy values of the reinforcement and other influential dimensions that devalued the reinforcer were progressively increased. Conclusions: after this fading strategy, a change in preference was observed among the children with regard to the proportion of alternative responses that produced high rates of reinforcement or were of higher quality compared with the allocation of choices associated with immediate reinforcement, which required less effort and were of lower quality. It is possible to design strategies regarding the development of self-control based on the contrasting qualities of these dimensions and the gradual training of tolerance of restrictions on access to the reinforcer.

Links between autobiographical memory richness and temporal discounting in older adults

When making choices between smaller, sooner rewards and larger, later ones, people tend to discount future outcomes. Individual differences in temporal discounting in older adults have been associated with episodic memory abilities and entorhinal cortical thickness. The cause of this association between better memory and more future-oriented choice remains unclear, however. One possibility is that people with perceptually richer recollections are more patient because they also imagine the future more vividly. Alternatively, perhaps people whose memories focus more on the meaning of events (i.e., are more "gist-based") show reduced temporal discounting, since imagining the future depends on interactions between semantic and episodic memory. We examined which categories of episodic details - perception-based or gist-based - are associated with temporal discounting in older adults. Older adults whose autobiographical memories were richer in perception-based details showed reduced temporal discounting. Furthermore, in an exploratory neuroanatomical analysis, both discount rates and perception-based details correlated with entorhinal cortical thickness. Retrieving autobiographical memories before choice did not affect temporal discounting, however, suggesting that activating episodic memory circuitry at the time of choice is insufficient to alter discounting in older adults. These findings elucidate the role of episodic memory in decision making, which will inform interventions to nudge intertemporal choices.

Uncommitted Commitment: Behavioral Strategy to Prevent Preference Reversals

When both smaller-sooner (SS) and larger-later (LL) rewards are temporally distal, individuals frequently prefer the LL. However, because both outcomes become proximal, individuals frequently switch to preferring the SS. These preference reversals are predicted by hyperbolic delay discounting, and may model the essential challenge of self-control. Using smokers, a population known to have high rates of delay discounting, and thus more vulnerable to preference reversals, this pilot study sought to examine soft commitment as a strategy that may prevent preference reversals. Eleven smokers were assigned to an experimental commitment condition, operationalized as 3 weeks of daily commitment trials indicating preference between an SS and LL. Ten smokers were assigned to a control commitment condition. These 3 weeks were followed by 8 days of daily choice trials indicating preference between an impending SS and LL, for both experimental and control conditions. Though no overall difference of preference was observed between groups during the choice trials, hierarchical linear modeling revealed a decrease in preference for the LL over time by the control group (e.g., increasing trend of preference reversals) but no changes by the experimental group. This pilot study provides an initial indication that soft commitment can facilitate choice persistence and prevent preference reversals.

Childhood ADHD and Delayed Reinforcement: A Direct Comparison of Performance on Hypothetical and Real-Time Delay Tasks

Objective: Individuals with ADHD have been shown to prefer smaller sooner over larger later rewards. This has been explained in terms of abnormally steeper discounting of the value of delayed reinforcers. Evidence for this comes from different experimental paradigms. In some, participants experience delay in the laboratory (real-time delay tasks; R-TD), in others they imagine the delay to reinforcers (hypothetical delay tasks; HD). Method: We directly contrasted the performance of 7- to 12-year-old children with ADHD (n = 23) and matched controls (n = 23) on R-TD and HD tasks with monetary rewards. Results: Children with ADHD displayed steeper temporal discounting on the R-TD, but not the HD tasks. Conclusion: These findings suggest that the experience of waiting prior to the delivery of rewards is an important determinant of heightened temporal discounting in ADHD-a finding consistent with models that emphasize the aversive nature of delay for children.

Neurocognitive and Psychiatric Markers for Addiction: Common vs. Specific Endophenotypes for Heroin and Amphetamine Dependence

BACKGROUND

The differential utility of neurocognitive impulsivity and externalizing/ internalizing traits as putative endophenotypes for dependence on heroin vs. amphetamine is unclear.

OBJECTIVE

This exploratory study aims to determine: (1) whether neurocognitive impulsivity dimensions and externalizing/internalizing traits are correlated between siblings discordant for heroin and amphetamine dependence; and (2) which of these associations are common across substances and which are substance- specific.

METHODS

Pearson correlations between individuals with 'pure' heroin and amphetamine dependence and their unaffected biological siblings (n = 37 heroin sibling pairs; n = 30 amphetamine sibling pairs) were run on 10 neurocognitive measures, 6 externalizing measures, and 5 internalizing measures. Sibling pair effects were further examined using regression.

RESULTS

Siblings discordant for heroin dependence were significantly correlated on delay aversion on the Cambridge Gambling Task, risk-taking on the Balloon Analogue Risk Task, sensation seeking, and hopelessness. Siblings discordant for amphetamine dependence were significantly correlated on the quality of decision-making on the Cambridge Gambling Task, discriminability on the Immediate Memory Task, commission errors on the Go/No Go Task, trait impulsivity, ADHD and anxiety sensitivity.

CONCLUSION

Dimensions of impulsivity and externalizing/internalizing traits appear to aggregate among siblings discordant for substance dependence. Risk-taking propensity, sensation seeking and hopelessness were specific for heroin sibling pairs. Motor/action impulsivity, trait impulsivity, and anxiety sensitivity were specific to amphetamine sibling pairs. Decisional/choice impulsivity was common across both heroin and amphetamine sibling pairs. These findings provide preliminary evidence for the utility of neurocognitive impulsivity and externalizing/ internalizing traits as candidate endophenotypes for substance dependence in general and for substance-specific dependencies.

Wired to be connected? Links between mobile technology engagement, intertemporal preference and frontostriatal white matter connectivity

Youth around the world are increasingly dependent on social media and mobile smartphones. This phenomenon has generated considerable speculation regarding the impacts of extensive technology engagement on cognitive development and how these habits might be ‘rewiring’ the brains of those growing up in a heavily digital era. In an initial study conducted with healthy young adults, we utilized behavioral and self-report measures to demonstrate associations between smartphone usage habits (assessed both subjectively and objectively) and individual differences in intertemporal preference and reward sensitivity. In a follow-up neuroimaging study, we used probabilistic tractography of diffusion-weighted images to determine how these individual difference characteristics might relate to variation in white matter connectivity, focusing on two dissociable pathways—one connecting the ventral striatum (vSTR) with the ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC) and the other connecting the vSTR with the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (dlPFC). Regression analyses revealed opposing patterns of association, with stronger vSTR–vmPFC connectivity corresponding to increased mobile technology engagement but stronger vSTR–dlPFC connectivity corresponding to decreased engagement. Taken together, the results of these two studies provide important foundational evidence for both neural and cognitive factors that can be linked to how individuals engage with mobile technology.

A computational model of the Cambridge gambling task with applications to substance use disorders

BACKGROUND

Impulsivity is central to all forms of externalizing psychopathology, including problematic substance use. The Cambridge Gambling task (CGT) is a popular neurocognitive task used to assess impulsivity in both clinical and healthy populations. However, the traditional methods of analysis in the CGT do not fully capture the multiple cognitive mechanisms that give rise to impulsive behavior, which can lead to underpowered and difficult-to-interpret behavioral measures.

OBJECTIVES

The current study presents the cognitive modeling approach as an alternative to traditional methods and assesses predictive and convergent validity across and between approaches.

METHODS

We used hierarchical Bayesian modeling to fit a series of cognitive models to data from healthy controls (N = 124) and individuals with histories of substance use disorders (Heroin: N = 79; Amphetamine: N = 76; Polysubstance: N = 103; final total across groups N = 382). Using Bayesian model comparison, we identified the best fitting model, which was then used to identify differences in cognitive model parameters between groups.

RESULTS

The cognitive modeling approach revealed differences in quality of decision making and impulsivity between controls and individuals with substance use disorders that traditional methods alone did not detect. Crucially, convergent validity between traditional measures and cognitive model parameters was strong across all groups.

CONCLUSION

The cognitive modeling approach is a viable method of measuring the latent mechanisms that give rise to choice behavior in the CGT, which allows for stronger statistical inferences and a better understanding of impulsive and risk-seeking behavior.

Single- and cross-commodity delay discounting of money and e-cigarette liquid in experienced e-cigarette users

BACKGROUND

Delay discounting (DD) research has improved our understanding of important behavioral processes associated with tobacco use. Little research has explored DD among e-cigarette users, and these studies have exclusively examined money as the only available commodity. This secondary analysis of a laboratory study explored discounting for money and e-liquid among e-cigarette users using two single-commodity discounting (SCD) tasks and one cross-commodity discounting (CCD) task. A secondary goal was to explore the extent to which results from the SCD and CCD tasks were correlated to each other and with measures of e-cigarette use.

METHODS

E-cigarette users (N = 27) completed two SCD tasks and one CCD task. The SCD tasks assessed choices between various amounts of either money now versus money later (M-M) or e-liquid now versus e-liquid later (mL-mL). The CCD task assessed choices between e-liquid now versus money later (mL-M). Discounting results were compared using logk and AUClog.

RESULTS

Discounting was greatest in the mL-mL task, followed by the M-M task, and then the mL-M task. AUClog and logk were significantly correlated across all discounting tasks. Attempts to quit vaping was positively associated with logk and negatively associated with AUClog and in both SCD tasks.

CONCLUSIONS

E-cigarette users discount e-liquid more than money in a SCD task. However, when the two commodities, money and e-liquid (CCD), are compared the substance of abuse is discounted to a lesser extent. Interventions that provide alternative reinforcers to compete with the reinforcing effects of nicotine intake may be especially indicated for treating e-cigarette dependence.

Deficient Decision Making in Pathological Gamblers Correlates With Gray Matter Volume in Medial Orbitofrontal Cortex

Individuals suffering from pathological gambling (PG) show impaired decision making, but it is still not clear how this impairment is related to other traits and neuroanatomical characteristics. In this study, we investigated how the influence of PG on decision making (1) is connected to different impulsivity facets and (2) how it is related to gray matter volume (GMV) in various brain regions. Twenty-eight diagnosed PG patients and 23 healthy controls completed the cups task to measure decision making. In this task, participants had to decide between safe and risky options, which varied in expected value (EV) between risk advantageous, equal EV, and risk disadvantageous choices. A delay discounting task and the Barrant Impulsiveness Scale were applied to assess multiple impulsivity facets. In addition, structural magnetic resonance images were acquired. In comparison to the control group PG patients demonstrated more deficits in decision making, indicated by less EV sensitivity, but there was no significant difference in number of overall risky choices. Also, PG patients showed increased impulsivity in nearly every dimension. Results revealed (1) a positive correlation between decision making impairments and non-planning impulsivity but no significant relation to other impulsivity facets. Although we found no GMV differences between PG patients and controls, (2) a regions of interest analysis showed a correlation between medial orbitofrontal GMV and EV sensitivity in PG patients. Our findings showed that (1) the association between decision making and impulsivity can also be found in PG patients, but only for certain impulsivity facets. This suggests that it is essential to consider measuring different dimensions, when investigating impulsivity in a PG sample. Secondly, our findings revealed that (2) dysfunctional decision making-particularly the component of risk evaluation-is related to decreased GMV in the medial orbitofrontal cortex, a brain region concerned with processing of rewards. Interestingly, we did not find more risky choices for PG patients, and thus, we assume that decision making deficits in PG are primarily related to risk evaluation, not risk seeking, which is in line with our GMV findings.

Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) over vmPFC modulates interactions between reward and emotion in delay discounting

Delay discounting requires computing trade-offs between immediate-small rewards and later-larger rewards. Negative and positive emotions shift decisions towards more or less impulsive responses, respectively. Models have conceptualized this trade-off by describing an interplay between “emotional” and “rational” processes, with the former involved during immediate choices and relying on the ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC), and the latter involved in long-term choices and relying on the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (dlPFC). Whether stimulation of the vmPFC modulates emotion-induced delay discounting remains unclear. We applied tDCS over the vmPFC in 20 healthy individuals during a delay discounting task following an emotional (positive, negative) or neutral induction. Our results showed that cathodal tDCS increased impulsivity after positive emotions in high impulsivity trials. For low impulsivity trials, anodal tDCS decreased impulsivity following neutral induction compared with emotional induction. Our findings demonstrate that the vmPFC integrates reward and emotion most prominently in situations of increased impulsivity, whereas when higher cognitive control is required the vmPFC appears to be less engaged, possibly due to recruitment of the dlPFC. Understanding how stimulation and emotion influence decision-making at the behavioural and neural levels holds promise to develop interventions to reduce impulsivity.

Behavioral trainings and manipulations to reduce delay discounting: A systematic review

In everyday decision-making, individuals make trade-offs between short-term and long-term benefits or costs. Depending on many factors, individuals may choose to wait for larger delayed reward, yet in other situations they may prefer the smaller, immediate reward. In addition to within-subject variation in the short-term versus long-term reward trade-off, there are also interindividual differences in delay discounting (DD), which have been shown to be quite stable. The extent to which individuals discount the value of delayed rewards turns out to be associated with important health and disorder-related outcomes: the more discounting, the more unhealthy or problematic choices. This has led to the hypothesis that DD can be conceptualized as trans-disease process. The current systematic review presents an overview of behavioral trainings and manipulations that have been developed to reduce DD in human participants aged 12 years or older. Manipulation studies mostly contain one session and measure DD directly after the manipulation. Training studies add a multiple session training component that is not per se related to DD, in between two DD task measurements. Ninety-eight studies (151 experiments) were identified that tested behavioral trainings and manipulations to decrease DD. Overall, results indicated that DD can be decreased, showing that DD is profoundly context dependent and changeable. Most promising avenues to pursue in future research seem to be acceptance-based/mindfulness-based trainings, and even more so manipulations involving a future orientation. Limitations and recommendations are discussed to identify the mechanistic processes that allow for changes in discount rate and behavior accordingly.

Association between impulsivity and neural activation to alcohol cues in heavy drinkers

This study examines associations between two measures of impulsivity and brain response to alcohol taste cues. Impulsivity is both a risk factor for and a consequence of alcohol use and misuse. Frontostriatal circuits are linked to both impulsivity and addiction-related behaviors, including response to alcohol cues. Non-treatment-seeking heavy drinkers (n = 55) completed (i) an fMRI alcohol taste cue-reactivity paradigm; (ii) the monetary choice questionnaire (MCQ), a measure of choice impulsivity where participants choose between smaller, sooner rewards and larger, delayed rewards; (iii) and the UPPS-P Impulsive Behavior Scale, a self-report measure assessing five impulsivity factors. General linear models identified associations between neural alcohol taste cue-reactivity and impulsivity, adjusting for age, gender, and smoking status. Self-reported sensation seeking was positively associated with alcohol taste cue-elicited activation in frontostriatal regions, such that individuals who reported higher sensation seeking displayed greater neural response to alcohol taste cues. Conversely, delay discounting was negatively associated with activation in frontoparietal regions, such that individuals who reported greater discounting showed less cue-elicited activation. There were no significant associations between other self-reported impulsivity subscales and alcohol taste cue-reactivity. These results indicate that sensation seeking is associated with reward responsivity, while delay discounting is associated with recruitment of self-control circuitry.

A neural network for information seeking

Humans and other animals often show a strong desire to know the uncertain rewards their future has in store, even when they cannot use this information to influence the outcome. However, it is unknown how the brain predicts opportunities to gain information and motivates this information-seeking behavior. Here we show that neurons in a network of interconnected subregions of primate anterior cingulate cortex and basal ganglia predict the moment of gaining information about uncertain rewards. Spontaneous increases in their information prediction signals are followed by gaze shifts toward objects associated with resolving uncertainty, and pharmacologically disrupting this network reduces the motivation to seek information. These findings demonstrate a cortico-basal ganglia mechanism responsible for motivating actions to resolve uncertainty by seeking knowledge about the future.

Animals resolve uncertainty by seeking knowledge about the future. How the brain controls this is unclear. The authors show that a network including primate anterior cingulate cortex and basal ganglia encodes opportunities to gain information about uncertain rewards and mediates information seeking.

Measuring delay discounting in a crowdsourced sample: An exploratory study

Delay discounting is a measure of preferences for smaller immediate rewards over larger delayed rewards. Discounting has been assessed in many ways; these methods have variably and inconsistently involved measures of different lengths (single vs. multiple items), forced-choice methods, self-report methods, online and laboratory assessments, monetary and non-monetary compensation. The majority of these studies have been conducted in laboratory settings. However, over the past 20 years, behavioral data collection has increasingly shifted online. Usually, these experiments involve completing short tasks for small amounts of money, and are thus qualitatively different than experiments in the lab, which are typically more involved and in a strongly controlled environment. The present study aimed to determine how to best measure future discounting in a crowdsourced sample using three discounting measures (a single shot measure, the 27-item Kirby Monetary Choice Questionnaire, and a one-time Matching Task). We examined associations of these measures with theoretically related variables, and assessed influence of payment on responding. Results indicated that correlations between the discounting tasks and conceptually related measures were smaller than in prior laboratory experiments. Moreover, our results suggest providing monetary compensation may attenuate correlations between discounting measures and related variables. These findings suggest that incentivizing discounting measures changes the nature of measurement in these tasks.

Delay Discounting in Impulsive Behavior

Abstract. Delay discounting (DD) is the process of devaluing results that happen in the future. With this review, we intend to identify specificities in the processes of DD in impulsive behavior. Studies were retrieved from multiple literature databases, through rigorous criteria (we included systematic reviews and empirical studies with adult human subjects), following the procedures of the Cochrane Collaboration initiative. Of the 174 documents obtained, 19 were considered eligible for inclusion and were retained for in-depth analysis. In addition, 13 studies from the manual search were included. Thus, a total of 32 studies were selected for review. The objectives/hypotheses, results, and the main conclusion(s) were extracted from each study. Results show that people with pronounced traits of impulsivity discount rewards more markedly, that is, they prefer immediate rewards, though of less value, or postponed losses, even though they worsen in the future. Taken together, the existing data suggest the importance of inserting DD as a tool for initial assessment in conjunction with measures of addiction and stress level, as well as the consideration of new therapies.

Spatial and sociodemographic correlates of gambling participation and disorder among female Filipino migrant workers in Macao, People's Republic of China

BACKGROUND AND AIMS

Correlates and risk factors for gambling disorder among vulnerable or transient populations such as transnational migrant workers are unknown. The current study examined sociodemographic and spatial correlates of gambling disorder among female Filipino domestic workers in Macao (SAR), China.

DESIGN

Survey-based, respondent-driven sampling study administered from November 2016 to August 2017.

SETTING

Macao (SAR), which encompassed 38 casinos within its 30.4 km² area at the time of this study.

PARTICIPANTS

Representative sample of N = 1194 female Filipino domestic workers in Macao.

MEASUREMENTS

Symptoms of gambling disorder based on Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition (DSM-5). Correlates evaluated included sociodemographic information, proximity to venues, perceived social support, and symptoms of depression and anxiety.

FINDINGS

Prevalence of gambling disorder was 5.1%. Multivariable regression analyses indicated that likelihood of gambling participation (i.e., ever gambling) was associated with current indebtedness (RR = 1.56, 95%CI = 1.08-2.25, p = .017) and worse self-reported health (RR = 1.31, 95%CI = 1.04-1.65, p = .02). Increased symptoms of gambling disorder were independently associated with lower perceived social support (RR = 0.92, 95%CI = 0.87-0.98, p = .006), increased dependents relying upon monthly remittances (RR = 1.10, 95%CI = 1.06-1.16, p < .001), increased depression severity (RR = 1.16, 95%CI = 1.07-1.25, p < .001), decreased salary quintile (RR = 0.97, 95%CI = 0.94-1.00, p = .04), and proximity to the nearest Mocha Club gaming venues (RR = 1.04, 95%CI = 1.02-1.07, p = .005). The association between proximity to casinos and increased symptoms of gambling disorder was significant only for domestic workers living apart from employers (RR = 1.07, 95%CI = 1.00-1.14, p = .04).

CONCLUSIONS

Increased spatial proximity to gambling venues and greater financial and psychosocial burdens are associated with gambling disorder among domestic workers in Macao.

Response rate correlates with indifference points in a delay-discounting procedure

To study how effort affects reward value, we replicated Fortes, Vasconcelos and Machado's (2015) study using an adjusting-delay task. Nine pigeons chose between a standard alternative that gave access to 4 s of food, after a 10 s delay, and an adjusting-delay alternative that gave access to 12 s of food after a delay that changed dynamically with the pigeons' choices, decreasing when they preferred the standard alternative, and increasing when they preferred the adjusting alternative. The delay value at which preference stabilized defined the indifference point, a measure of reward value. To manipulate effort across phases, we varied the response rate required during the delay of the standard alternative. Results showed that a) the indifference point increased in the higher-response-rate phases, suggesting that reward value decreased with effort, and b) in the higher-response-rate phases, response rate in the standard alternative was linearly related to the indifference point. We advance several conceptions of how effort may change perceived delay or amount and thereby affect reward value.

The Near-Miss Effect in Slot Machines: A Review and Experimental Analysis Over Half a Century Later

In games of chance, a near miss is said to occur when feedback for a loss approximates a win. For instance, obtaining “cherry–cherry–lemon” on a slot machine could be considered a near miss. Sixty-six years ago, B.F. Skinner first proposed the idea that near-miss events might reinforce continued play in slot machines, and despite some inconsistencies in the experimental literature, belief in this “near-miss effect” has remained strong. In the present manuscript, we will review this literature and present experimental assessments of the near-miss effect on the frequency of the gambling response. Experiment 1 used a tightly controlled resistance-to-extinction procedure in pigeons to evaluate the putative reinforcing effect of near misses relative to a control “far-miss” reel pattern. Experiment 2 extended Experiment 1’s procedure to human participants. The results of both experiments failed to support the near-miss effect hypothesis. Experiment 3 used a further simplified procedure to assess the validity of the resistance-to-extinction paradigm when a probable conditional reinforcer was present on the reel stimuli. Although a clear conditional response was obtained from the reel, subsequent testing in extinction revealed no conditionally reinforcing function of this stimulus on operant response frequency.

Neural correlates of intertemporal choice in aggressive behavior

People often have to make decisions between immediate rewards and more long-term goals. Such intertemporal judgments are often investigated in the context of monetary choice or drug use, yet not in regard to aggressive behavior. We combined a novel intertemporal aggression paradigm with functional neuroimaging to examine the role of temporal delay in aggressive behavior and the neural correlates thereof. Sixty-one participants (aged 18-22 years; 37 females) exhibited substantial variability in the extent to which they selected immediate acts of lesser aggression versus delayed acts of greater aggression against a same-sex opponent. Choosing delayed-yet-more-severe aggression was increased by provocation and associated with greater self-control. Preferences for delayed aggression were associated with greater activity in the ventromedial prefrontal cortex (VMPFC) during such choices, and reduced functional connectivity between the VMPFC and brain regions implicated in motor impulsivity. Preferences for immediate aggression were associated with reduced functional connectivity between the VMPFC and the frontoparietal control network. Dispositionally aggressive participants exhibited reduced VMPFC activity, which partially explained and suppressed their preferences for delayed aggression. Blunted VMPFC activity may thus be a neural mechanism that promotes reactive aggression towards provocateurs among dispositionally aggressive individuals. These findings demonstrate the utility of an intertemporal framework for investigating aggression and provide further evidence for the similar underlying neurobiology between aggression and other rewarding behaviors.

Posttraumatic stress disorder and substance use: Identifying the underlying role of difficulties regulating positive emotions

The co-occurrence of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and substance use is clinically-relevant. Emotion dysregulation is one factor that has been shown to underlie this association. However, literature in this area has been limited in its exclusive focus on emotion dysregulation stemming from negative emotions. The goal of the current study was to extend prior research by exploring the role of difficulties regulating positive emotions in the associations between PTSD symptom severity and both alcohol use and problems from drug use. Participants were 463 trauma-exposed individuals recruited from Amazon's MTurk (M age = 35.66 years; 55.7% female; 76.6% White). PTSD symptom severity, difficulties regulating positive emotions, alcohol use, and problems from drug use demonstrated significant positive zero-order correlations. Further, difficulties regulating positive emotions were found to account for the associations between PTSD symptom severity and both alcohol use and problems from drug use. Our results suggest the potential utility of addressing difficulties regulating positive emotions in interventions aimed at reducing substance use and abuse among individuals with PTSD.

Improving Self-Control: The Influence of Role Models on Intertemporal Choices

The ability to delay rewards is one of the most useful qualities one may wish to develop. People who possess this quality achieve more successful careers, display better interpersonal skills and are less vulnerable to psychopathology, obesity or addictions. In the present online studies, we investigated the extent to which delay-of-reward behaviors in female participants can be improved by observing others mastering it. We developed an intertemporal choice (IC) paradigm in which participants had to make fictitious choices between sooner smaller rewards and later bigger ones (e.g., $150 in 1 week vs. $170 in 4 weeks). In Study 1 (N = 186), we found that participants who delayed more had higher socioeconomic statuses and were less likely to procrastinate, smoke or develop obesity. In Study 2 (N = 178), we exposed female participants to a role model who, faced with ICs, chose most of the time the delayed option. Results showed that, although participants were only asked to memorize the model's decisions, they tended to choose the delayed option more often after than before exposure to the model. In Study 3 (N = 148), we found that the direction of the influence depended on the model's behavior: our female participants delayed more after having seen a high delay than a low delay model. In Study 4 (N = 370), we confirmed the effect of modeling on ICs in comparison to a control condition and showed that this effect was still significant 3 months after exposure to the model. Altogether, these results speak in favor of a high efficacy of modeling to develop self-control in women.

Dysregulation as a correlate of cannabis use and problem use

OBJECTIVE

Cannabis users with a dysregulatory risk factor may be particularly vulnerable to engaging in more frequent and problematic cannabis use. Contemporary models of dysregulated behavior suggest that dysregulation emerges due to distinct mechanisms. The current study seeks to examine the dysregulatory correlates of cannabis involvement, including working memory capacity, delay discounting, impulsivity, and reward sensitivity.

METHOD

Participants were 104 non-treatment seeking frequent cannabis users (the average participant used cannabis 71% of the days/past 60 days [SD = 22%], with an average of two uses per day [SD = 1.2]). Mean age was 21.3 (SD = 4.3); 36.5% were female. Working memory was assessed via the Trail-Making Test-B and the Digit Span subtests of the WAIS-III, delay discounting was assessed via a computer-based task, trait impulsivity was self-reported via the Barratt Impulsiveness Scale, and reward sensitivity was self-reported via the Reward Dependence Scale and the Snaith-Hamilton Pleasure Scale.

RESULTS

Structural equation modeling estimated the associations between different facets of dysregulation and cannabis involvement. Results suggest that poor working memory capacity and high trait impulsivity were associated with both use and problem use. Greater delay discounting was associated with problem use, but not with frequency of use. Low reward sensitivity was associated with more frequent cannabis use, but not with problem use.

CONCLUSIONS

Results confirm that the dysregulatory correlates of cannabis involvement consist of multiple dimensions of functioning. Prospective studies that assess the multidimensional structure of dysregulation and cannabis involvement are needed in order to disaggregate the dysregulatory antecedents and consequences of cannabis involvement.