Construct Validity of the Iowa Gambling Task

SK609, a novel dopamine D3 receptor agonist and norepinephrine transporter blocker with putative pro-cognitive actions, does not induce psychostimulant-like increases in risky choice during probabilistic discounting

RATIONALE

Psychostimulants, such as amphetamine (AMPH) and methylphenidate (MPH), non-selectively elevate extracellular concentrations of the catecholamine neurotransmitters, dopamine (DA) and norepinephrine (NE), and are common pharmacological strategies used to improve prefrontal cortex (PFC)-dependent cognitive dysfunction. However, this approach can be problematic given AMPH has been shown to increase preference for risky choices in a rodent assay of risk/reward decision making. SK609 is a novel NE reuptake blocker that selectively activates DA D3 receptors without affinity for the DA transporter. SK609 has been shown to improve cognitive performance without increasing psychostimulant-like spontaneous locomotor activity, suggesting SK609 may benefit neurocognitive function without psychostimulant-like side effect liability.

OBJECTIVES

We compared AMPH, MPH, and SK609 within dose ranges that display their cognitive enhancing properties in a probabilistic discounting task (PDT) of risk/reward decision making behavior to assess their potential to increase risky choice preference.

METHODS

Rats chose between small/certain rewards delivered with 100% certainty and large/risky rewards delivered with descending probabilities across a session (100 - 6.25%) following administration of AMPH (0.25-1 mg/kg), MPH (2-8 mg/kg), and SK609 (4 mg/kg).

RESULTS

AMPH and MPH increased risky choice behavior at doses previously reported to enhance cognition, whereas SK609 did not. AMPH and MPH also reduced sensitivity to non-rewarded risky choices.

CONCLUSIONS

These data highlight the combination of NE transporter blockade and selective D3 activation in pro-cognitive action without psychostimulant-like side effect liability. The absence of DA transporter blockade and non-selective dopaminergic activation are beneficial properties of SK609 that differentiates it from the traditional pro-cognitive psychostimulants.

Dynamic impacts of sleep disruption on ecologically assessed affective, behavioral, and cognitive risk factors for suicide: a study protocol

Diminished sleep health is a known warning sign for suicide. However, the contexts and time periods within which diminished sleep elevates suicide risk are unknown. Modeling the complex process by which diminished sleep health impacts daily functioning and establishing proximal suicide risk factors can aid in addressing these important knowledge gaps. This paper describes the methods and research protocol for a study that aims to elucidate the nature of the sleep-suicide relationship and develop an integrated model of proximal suicide risk. Participants will be 200 adults at high risk for suicide recruited from a psychiatric inpatient unit. They will complete a baseline assessment including clinical interviews and self-reports, and laboratory tasks with concurrent electroencephalography to phenotype-relevant risk processes. This baseline assessment will be followed by 4 weeks of ecological momentary assessment and digital phenotyping, coupled with assessments of sleep via a wearable used to generate a minute-by-minute metric of cognitive effectiveness using the Sleep Activity, Fatigue, and Task Effectiveness algorithm index. Follow-up assessments will be conducted 1-, 3-, and 6-months post-hospital discharge to determine how the developed proximal model of risk prospectively predicts suicidal ideation and behavior. The results of this study have the potential to greatly enhance understanding of how and why diminished sleep health is related to real-world fluctuations in suicide risk, knowledge that can inform efforts to better prevent, and intervene to reduce suicides.

Decision-making and performance in the Iowa Gambling Task: recent ERP findings and clinical implications

The Iowa Gambling Task (IGT) is a widely used tool for assessing decision-making in clinical populations. In each trial of the task, participants freely select from different playing card decks that vary in the magnitude and frequency of rewards and punishments. Good decks offer relatively smaller rewards on each trial yielding greater overall winnings while bad decks result in a net loss over time as high penalties negate any rewards earned. Comparing participants' rate of selecting good to bad decks can provide insight into learning in uncertain conditions across time. However, inconsistent patterns of deficits and learning within clinical and control populations are often observed in the task (eg., in depression). Thus, a clearer mechanistic understanding of the IGT is needed to fully understand the decision-making process. The goal of the current review is to synthesize the predominant empirical and theoretical literature of the IGT using event-related potentials (ERPs) derived from electroencephalogram (EEG). The review then explores how modifications of the IGT allow for event-related potentials to be captured at each stage of decision-making. Lastly, the review discusses how the modified version with ERPs can be further applied to directly assess the impact of emotion processing on decision-making, using findings from depression research as an example.

The Iowa Gambling Task: Men and Women Perform Differently. A Meta-analysis

The Iowa Gambling Task (IGT) was designed to assess decision-making under conditions of complexity and uncertainty; it is currently one of the most widely used tests to assess decision-making in both experimental and clinical settings. In the original version of the task, participants are given a loan of play money and four decks of cards and are asked to maximize profits. Although any single card unpredictably yields wins/losses, variations in frequency and size of gains/losses ultimately make two decks more advantageous in the long term. Several studies have previously suggested that there may be a sex-related difference in IGT performance. Thus, the present study aimed to explore and quantify sex differences in IGT performance by pooling the results of 110 studies. The meta-analysis revealed that males tend to perform better than females on the classic 100-trial IGT (UMD = 3.381; p < 0.001). Furthermore, the significant heterogeneity observed suggests high variability in the results obtained by individual studies. Results were not affected by publication bias or other moderators. Factors that may contribute to differences in male and female performance are discussed, such as functional sex-related asymmetries in the ventromedial prefrontal cortex and amygdala, as well as differences in sensitivity to wins/losses.

The prediction of emotional decision making from working memory and inhibitory control in preschool children: using decision tree model

While there is a theoretical distinction between cool (cognitive) and hot (emotional) executive functions, potential relationships can be identified between tasks associated with these two aspects. A decision tree serves as a model for training and analyzing data, predicting the target variable based on independent variables in a hierarchical fashion. In contrast to other predictive methods, this model doesn't necessitate statistical expertise and makes decisions akin to human decision-making through hierarchical "if" and "then" rules, providing an easily interpretable framework. To date, no studies have explored the relationship between cool and hot executive functions using decision tree models. In this study, preschool children specifically Persian-speaking Iranian children aged 4 to 5 years (N = 71, M age = 59.07; SD = 6.03), participated in cool (Forward Digit Span, Backward Digit Span, Day-Night inhibitory control, and Happy-Sad Inhibitory control) and hot (Children Gambling Task) executive function tasks. Analyses were performed using MATLAB programming software. The C4.5 version of the decision tree was employed to predict the final CGT blocks' scores using scores from cool executive function tasks as inputs. By employing this method, a minimal prediction error (approaching zero) was achieved, significantly showing the robust predictive capability of cool executive function in anticipating hot executive function. This outcome suggests potential relationships between the cognitive and emotional aspects of executive function.

Individual differences in training time in the rat gambling task are unrelated to subsequent decision-making strategies

Introduction

Decision-making requires individuals to perceive probabilities and risks associated with different options. The Iowa gambling task (IGT) is a widely used instrument that assesses decision-making under uncertainty and risk by varying monetary reinforcer/loss contingencies. The rat gambling task (rGT), based on the IGT, is a preclinical test using varying number of palatable reinforcers as wins and different duration of timeouts as punishment, mimicking losses. The rGT requires extensive operant training prior to the free choice sessions. The aim of the present study was to investigate if task acquisition and number of training days affected subsequent individual differences in decision-making strategies in the rGT, and if behavioral profiles impacted on task learning.

Method

Training time and performance of 70 male Lister Hooded rats from previously published studies were herein used to investigate whether learning time affected later decision-making strategies in the free choice rGT. Behavioral profiles generated from a subset of animals were used to study the impact of underlying behavior on learning time.

Results

There were differences in training days between fast, intermediate and slow learners. However, time required to acquire the rGT did not affect subsequent decision-making strategies in the free choice rGT. Finally, learning time was independent of underlying behavioral profiles.

Discussion

In conclusion, neither decision-making strategies in the rGT nor behavioral profiles were correlated or differed between animals with different learning speed. This suggests that the large variation in training time between animals is unrelated to subsequent decision-making strategies during free choice rGT. Such information is valuable for researchers using the rGT.

Executive functioning and treatment outcome among adolescents undergoing cognitive-behavioral therapy for binge-eating disorder

BACKGROUND

Cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) is an evidence-supported treatment for adolescents with binge-eating disorder (BED). Executive dysfunctions, which are associated with binge eating and elevated body weight in youth, may undermine CBT outcomes by making it difficult for youth to engage with or adhere to treatment, including recalling and/or implementing intervention strategies in real-world contexts.

METHODS

We assessed 73 adolescents [82.2% female; Mage = 15.0 ± 2.5 year; M baseline standardized body mass index (zBMI) = 1.9 ± 1.0 kg/m2] with BED at baseline, posttreatment, 6-, 12-, and 24-month follow-up. Linear mixed models examined the effects of baseline executive functioning (EF) on loss of control (LOC) eating and weight change following CBT. Linear and logistic regressions probed associations between EF, attendance, and attrition.

RESULTS

More impulsive decision-making, as reflected in higher baseline scores on the Iowa Gambling Task, predicted better attendance (β = .07; p = .019) and more frequent LOC eating following treatment (β = .12; p = .017). Lower cognitive flexibility, as reflected in lower baseline T-scores on the Comprehensive Trail Making Test complex sequencing index, predicted higher zBMI following treatment (β = -.03; p = .003). Inhibition, concentration, attention, and parent-reported EF behavior symptoms were not associated with outcome, attendance, or attrition.

CONCLUSIONS

More impulsive decision-making and lower cognitive flexibility were associated with suboptimal response to CBT for BED, although findings should be interpreted with caution in light of the sample size and waitlist control design. Future research should examine whether strengthening EF could improve eating and weight outcomes among adolescents with BED who have lower pre-treatment EF.

The Bangor Gambling Task: Computerized replication and reappraisal of an emotion-based decision task

Emotion-based decision making (EBDM) is the capacity to make decisions based on prior emotional consequences of actions. Several neuropsychological tasks, using different gambling paradigms and with different levels of complexity, have been designed to assess EBDM. The Bangor Gambling Task (BGT) was created as a brief and simple card gambling-task to assess EBDM. BGT contains a single-card deck and requires participants to decide whether to gamble or not, which can result in wins or losses. Unknown to the participant, the winning probabilities decrease throughout the task (from 0.75 in the first block to 0.25 in the fifth block), requiring participants to reduce their gambling probability to avoid long-term losses. A few studies have offered evidence regarding the BGT convergent validity. However, there are no computerized versions of BGT available, thus slowing the process of gathering information to explore the EBDM mechanisms behind the task, its validity, and clinical usefulness. In this article, we present a computerized version of the BGT using the Matlab environment and make all our code available. We explore BGT's replicability and analyze its probabilistic structure, providing trial-level and block-level analyses. Eighty-one participants performed the computerized version, which followed the same structure as the original version. It took participants 8.5 ± 3.3 minutes to complete the task, which is faster than the paper version. Replicating previous studies, participants diminished their gambling probability throughout the task, learning to inhibit the initially rewarded gambling behavior. This change in gambling probability could be considered a proxy for EBDM. Our analyses suggest that the last blocks are especially sensitive to capturing deficits in EBDM, and we propose some modifications to BGT's original version to enhance the initial exploratory and learning phase. Our results show that the BGT constitutes a quick and simple task to evaluate EBDM capacities.

Iowa Gambling Task performance in individuals with schizophrenia: the role of general versus specific cognitive abilities

Objective

We aimed to explore how specific cognitive processes, such as attention and executive functions, account for variance in decision-making measured by Iowa Gambling Task (IGT) performance among individuals with schizophrenia spectrum disorders.

Methods

Adults (N = 65, M age = 25.4) with schizophrenia spectrum disorders participating in a clinical trial (registered at clinicaltrials.gov NCT03048695) completed the IGT, neuropsychological tests of attention, response inhibition, mental flexibility, working memory, and planning, as well as subtests from the Wechsler tests of intelligence to estimate IQ. Associations between performance on specific tasks, a composite score of executive function and attention, and IGT performance measured in two ways, one using the total net score, decks (C+D) - (A+B) and the other as preference for decks with more frequent gains than losses, decks (B+D) - (A+C), were analyzed with correlational and hierarchical regression analysis controlling for estimated IQ and psychotic symptoms, measured by the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale.

Results

In the regression analyses, the strongest predictor of IGT performance measured as the total net score was estimated IQ (b = 1.43, p <.001). Neither specific cognitive tasks nor the composite score of executive functioning significantly contributed to explaining variance in IGT total net score beyond IQ and symptoms of psychosis. However, IQ and symptoms of psychosis did not predict tendency towards selecting decks with different gain-to-loss frequency, whereas poorer composite executive functioning predicted a pattern of selecting decks A and C with more frequent losses, (b = 8.30, p <.05).

Discussion

The results suggest that both IQ and executive functions contribute to IGT performance, but in distinct ways. Whereas lower IQ may contribute to overall more disadvantageous decision-making, poorer executive functioning may contribute to a more risk-aversive decision-making style. A clinical implication may be that individuals with schizophrenia and lower IQ or poorer executive functioning will have a higher need for support and interventions targeting decision-making.

Influences of sleep, cortisol reactivity, and risk/reward-based decision-making on suicide

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES

Poor sleep quality is a known contributor to suicidal thoughts and behaviors. This study examines whether sleep quality modulates the effect of an individual's stress response and risk/reward-based decision making on suicide risk.

METHODS

Participants were 160 adults at a residential substance use treatment facility with lifetime exposure to trauma who completed a clinician-administered measure of suicide risk, the Iowa Gambling Task (IGT), and a self-report measure of sleep. Cortisol reactivity (i.e., changes in cortisol before and after a personalized trauma script) was used to measure stress response. We used quantile regression to examine the effects of sleep, cortisol, and risk/reward decision-making on suicide risk.

RESULTS

We found poor sleep quality to be increasingly salient in individuals at greater risk for suicide than those at lower risk for suicide. Furthermore, individuals with moderate to moderate-high levels of suicide risk seem to have greater cortisol reactivity. In the low-moderate quantile, we found suicide risk to be associated with both high stress reactivity and low-risk, high-reward decision-making, as well as low stress reactivity and high-risk/low-reward decision-making.

LIMITATIONS

These findings should be interpreted considering several methodological constraints, such as the use of a pre-determined sample and instruments not tailored for our hypotheses, the MINI 'Suicide' Module's limited differentiation between suicidal ideation and behavior, and variably timed cortisol sampling.

CONCLUSIONS

Despite these limitations, the findings from this study support the use of evidence-based interventions focused on improving sleep quality and managing emotional reactivity to decrease suicide risk.

A demonstration of superior judgement? Exploring league of legends players' performance in risky and ambiguous decision-making tasks

In three studies, we investigated how League of Legends (LOL) game experience and game skill relate to players' performance in the Iowa Gambling Task (IGT), Balloon Analogue Risk Task (BART), and Probability Discounting Task (PDT). Additionally, the present study examined the relationship between players' in-game risk preferences and their performance in three types of decision-making tasks. To achieve this, we utilized a self-developed League of Legends Risk Propensity Scale (LRPS) to characterize LOL players' in-game risk preferences. The LRPS demonstrated appropriate reliability and validity in this study. Overall, our results indicated that the differences between LOL players' and non-players' decision-making performance were significant only in the PDT. Moreover, among LOL players, the relationship between game skill and decision-making performance was significant in the IGT (especially in the last sixty trials) and the PDT, but not in the BART. Furthermore, LRPS scores could predict performance in the PDT, but not in the IGT or BART. Our results suggest that experience and game skill in LOL are primarily linked to players' performance in risky decision-making tasks. Similarly, participants' in-game risk preferences in LOL are only related to their performance in the risky decision-making process, not in the ambiguous decision-making process. We propose that LOL players' in-game ambiguous decision-making processes may exhibit domain-specific characteristics.

Effects of Dialectical Behavior Therapy on Cognitive and Executive Functions in Men With Substance Use Disorder Under Methadone Maintenance Treatment: A Randomized Clinical Trial

ABSTRACT

Substance use disorder is a major public health problem, and its treatment is one of the most challenging issues facing clinical professionals. This clinical trial study investigated the effects of the dialectical behavior therapy (DBT) on cognitive and executive functions in patients under methadone maintenance treatment (MMT). Participants included 50 people under MMT who referred to addiction treatment clinics in Kashan in 2018. They were randomly assigned to intervention (DBT + MMT) and control (MMT) groups. Participants in the intervention group received twelve 90-minute sessions of the DBT skills. The used assessments included Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-5 Axis I Disorders, Iowa Gambling Task, Wisconsin Card Sorting Task, and Tower of London Task. The results showed that DBT improved cognitive and executive function. Risky decision making (F = 4.1, p = 0.04), attention (F = 18.2, p = 0.001), cognitive flexibility (F = 18.5, p = 0.001), problem-solving (F = 18.5, p = 0.001), and planning (F = 14.10, p = 0.003) showed improvement in the intervention group following DBT. Therefore, it can be said that DBT alongside the MMT can be useful for patients under MMT.

The effects of threat on complex decision-making: evidence from a virtual environment

Individuals living and working in dangerous settings (e.g., first responders and military personnel) make complex decisions amidst serious threats. However, controlled studies on decision-making under threat are limited given obvious ethical concerns. Here, we embed a complex decision-making task within a threatening, immersive virtual environment. Based on the Iowa Gambling Task (IGT), a paradigm widely used to study complex decision-making, the task requires participants to make a series of choices to escape a collapsing building. In Study 1 we demonstrate that, as with the traditional IGT, participants learn to make advantageous decisions over time and that their behavioural data can be described by reinforcement-learning based computational models. In Study 2 we created threatening and neutral versions of the environment. In the threat condition, participants performed worse, taking longer to improve from baseline and scoring lower through the final trials. Computational modelling further revealed that participants in the threat condition were more responsive to short term rewards and less likely to perseverate on a given choice. These findings suggest that when threat is integral to decision-making, individuals make more erratic choices and focus on short term gains. They furthermore demonstrate the utility of virtual environments for making threat integral to cognitive tasks.

Decision-Making, Pro-variance Biases and Mood-Related Traits

In value-based decision-making there is wide behavioural variability in how individuals respond to uncertainty. Maladaptive responses to uncertainty have been linked to a vulnerability to mental illness, for example, between risk aversion and affective disorders. Here, we examine individual differences in risk sensitivity when subjects confront options drawn from different value distributions, where these embody the same or different means and variances. In simulations, we show that a model that learns a distribution using Bayes' rule and reads out different parts of the distribution under the influence of a risk-sensitive parameter (Conditional Value at Risk, CVaR) predicts how likely an agent is to prefer a broader over a narrow distribution (pro-variance bias/risk-seeking) under the same overall means. Using empirical data, we show that CVaR estimates correlate with participants' pro-variance biases better than a range of alternative parameters derived from other models. Importantly, across two independent samples, CVaR estimates and participants' pro-variance bias negatively correlated with trait rumination, a common trait in depression and anxiety. We conclude that a Bayesian-CVaR model captures individual differences in sensitivity to variance in value distributions and task-independent trait dispositions linked to affective disorders.

Test-retest reliability of the play-or-pass version of the Iowa Gambling Task

The Iowa Gambling Task (IGT) is used to assess decision-making in clinical populations. The original IGT does not disambiguate reward and punishment learning; however, an adaptation of the task, the "play-or-pass" IGT, was developed to better distinguish between reward and punishment learning. We evaluated the test-retest reliability of measures of reward and punishment learning from the play-or-pass IGT and examined associations with self-reported measures of reward/punishment sensitivity and internalizing symptoms. Participants completed the task across two sessions, and we calculated mean-level differences and rank-order stability of behavioral measures across the two sessions using traditional scoring, involving session-wide choice proportions, and computational modeling, involving estimates of different aspects of trial-level learning. Measures using both approaches were reliable; however, computational modeling provided more insights regarding between-session changes in performance, and how performance related to self-reported measures of reward/punishment sensitivity and internalizing symptoms. Our results show promise in using the play-or-pass IGT to assess decision-making; however, further work is still necessary to validate the play-or-pass IGT.

The decision-making task: Development and evaluation in a paediatric traumatic brain injury population

Assessment measures that quantify decision-making abilities in children and adolescents are limited. In the current study, a novel computerized Decision-Making Task (DMT), which identifies the process that is involved in decision-making, was developed based on an existing information-boards paradigm. The overall aim was to validate the DMT in a paediatric TBI population. This prospective study investigated the performance on the DMT for children post-TBI (n = 49; 7-15 years) compared to typically developing controls (n = 22; 7-15 years), and investigated the psychometric properties of the DMT by examining internal consistency-related reliability, convergent validity (measures of decision-making, working memory, functional outcomes, and behaviour), and divergent validity (vocabulary). Significant differences were detected for performance on the DMT between children post-TBI and the control group. Psychometric properties of the DMT were acceptable, with variable findings for convergent validity (working memory, functional outcomes, and behaviour). This is the first study to develop and investigate a novel computerised task to assess decision-making skills in a paediatric TBI population. Results cautiously suggest that the DMT is a valid and a reliable measure of decision-making in our clinical sample.

Executive functions and their relationship with age: Insights from a novel neuropsychological Assessment Battery in Children-a pilot study

Executive functions (EFs) are a set of cognitive processes that enable individuals to manage and coordinate their thoughts and actions toward achieving specific goals. EFs include planning, organizing, initiating, and monitoring actions, and have been found to improve with age due to the maturation of the brain, especially during childhood. Therefore, our correlational study sought to determine the relationship between the performance in executive functions and age in 79 children (36 girls, 45.6%) throughout development, between the ages of 6 and 12 (mean = 9.25; SD = 2.05), using a battery designed in Chile: BEFE (Batería de Evaluación de las Funciones Ejecutivas: Executive Function Assessment Battery) based on traditional neuropsychological tests to evaluate Working Memory, Inhibitory Control, Cognitive Flexibility, and Planning skills. Our results showed various correlations between the variables age and performance in various behavioral parameters, demonstrating an increase in the number of correct responses (positive correlation) and/or a decrease in errors (negative correlation) with age (6-12) in the subtests that correspond to dimensions of Cognitive Flexibility (Semantic and Phonological Fluency, Card Sorting Game, and Tracing Tasks), Inhibitory Control (ENA-F and Sentence Completion), Working Memory (Audio-verbal WM Forward and Ordering, and Visuospatial WM Forward and Backward), and Planning (La Portada de Antofagasta and FISA Maps). These results are consistent with previous empirical evidence and support the notion of a developmental relationship between EF performance and age. Additionally, this study contributes to understanding EF development in culturally specific contexts, highlighting the importance of contextually relevant assessment tools in evaluating cognitive development.

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.

D2 dopamine receptor expression, reactivity to rewards, and reinforcement learning in a complex value-based decision-making task

Different dopamine (DA) subtypes have opposing dynamics at postsynaptic receptors, with the ratio of D1 to D2 receptors determining the relative sensitivity to gains and losses, respectively, during value-based learning. This effective sensitivity to different reward feedback interacts with phasic DA levels to determine the effectiveness of learning, particularly in dynamic feedback situations where the frequency and magnitude of rewards need to be integrated over time to make optimal decisions. We modeled this effect in simulations of the underlying basal ganglia pathways and then tested the predictions in individuals with a variant of the human dopamine receptor D2 (DRD2; -141C Ins/Del and Del/Del) gene that associates with lower levels of D2 receptor expression (N = 119) and compared their performance in the Iowa Gambling Task to noncarrier controls (N = 319). Ventral striatal (VS) reactivity to rewards was measured in the Cards task with fMRI. DRD2 variant carriers made less effective decisions than noncarriers, but this effect was not moderated by VS reward reactivity as is hypothesized by our model. These results suggest that the interaction between DA receptor subtypes and reactivity to rewards during learning may be more complex than originally thought.

The relationship between mental health and risky decision-making in children and adolescents: a scoping review

BACKGROUND

Evidence from studies on adult participants and clinical samples of children suggest an association between risky decision-making and mental health problems. However, the extent and nature of this association in the general youth population remains unknown. Therefore, this scoping review explores the current evidence on the relationship between mental health (internalising and externalising symptoms) and risky decision-making in the general youth population.

METHODS

A three-step search strategy was followed and applied to four databases. Selection criteria included participants < 18 years representative of the general population, and information on both risky decision-making (assessed using gambling tasks) and internalising /externalising symptoms. Data were extracted and synthesised for study and participant characteristics, aspects and measures for the main variables, and key findings.

RESULTS

Following screening, twenty-one studies were retrieved. Non-significant associations were more frequent than significant associations for both internalising and externalising symptoms, particularly for social difficulties and broad externalising symptoms. Among the significant associations, hyperactivity/inattention and conduct problems appeared to be positively associated with risk-taking and negatively associated with quality of decision-making. However, patterns were less clear for links between risky decision-making and internalising symptoms, especially between risk-taking and anxiety symptoms.

CONCLUSIONS

The present review suggests predominantly a lack of relationship between risky decision-making and mental health problems, and outlines several possible reasons for it. However, when specificity is considered carefully there seems to be a link between risk-taking and specific externalising problems. Future research should employ study designs aimed at disentangling the direction of this relationship and identifying specific aspects of mental health and risky decision-making that could be eventually addressed by tailored interventions.

A systematic review and meta-analysis of test-retest reliability and stability of delay and probability discounting

In this meta-analysis, we describe a benchmark value of delay and probability discounting reliability and stability that might be used to (a) evaluate the meaningfulness of clinically achieved changes in discounting and (b) support the role of discounting as a valid and enduring measure of intertemporal choice. We examined test-retest reliability, stability effect sizes (dz; Cohen, 1992), and relevant moderators across 30 publications comprising 39 independent samples and 262 measures of discounting, identified via a systematic review of PsychInfo, PubMed, and Google Scholar databases. We calculated omnibus effect-size estimates and evaluated the role of proposed moderators using a robust variance estimation meta-regression method. The meta-regression output reflected modest test-retest reliability, r = .670, p < .001, 95% CI [.618, .716]. Discounting was most reliable when measured in the context of temporal constraints, in adult respondents, when using money as a medium, and when reassessed within 1 month. Testing also suggested acceptable stability via nonsignificant and small changes in effect magnitude over time, dz = 0.048, p = .31, 95% CI [-0.051, 0.146]. Clinicians and researchers seeking to measure discounting can consider the contexts when reliability is maximized for specific cases.

Test-Retest Reliability of Common Behavioral Decision-Making Tasks: A Multi-Sample, Repeated Measures Study

OBJECTIVE

Decision-making is responsible for the best and worst of human nature. The field of decision science has done much to elucidate the psychological process of decision-making, variables that affect decision-making, and outcomes of disadvantageous decision-making. However, understanding any psychological process requires creation of reliable measures. Few studies focus on the test-retest reliability of behavioral decision-making tasks despite their utility in repeated assessment batteries.

METHOD

The present study examined the extent to which common behavioral decision-making tasks are reliable across time. Across two samples and two time points, participants completed multiple decision-making assessments.

RESULTS

Results revealed moderate at best evidence of test-retest reliability across a 10-week interval in any of the tasks assessed.

CONCLUSIONS

These findings raise large questions for the field of behavioral decision-making and the utility for tasks to track changes in decision-making across time in clinical populations.

A scoping review on self-regulation and reward processing measured with gambling tasks: Evidence from the general youth population

Aberrant reward processing and poor self-regulation have a crucial role in the development of several adverse outcomes in youth, including mental health disorders and risky behaviours. This scoping review aims to map and summarise the evidence for links between aspects and measures of reward processing and self-regulation among children and adolescents in the general population. Specifically, it examined the direct associations between self-regulation (emotional or cognitive regulation) and reward processing. Studies were included if participants were <18 years and representative of the general population. Quantitative measures were used for self-regulation, and gambling tasks were used for reward processing. Of the eighteen studies included only two were longitudinal. Overall, the direction of the significant relationships identified depended on the gambling task used and the self-regulation aspect explored. Emotional regulation was measured with self-report questionnaires only, and was the aspect with the most significant associations. Conversely, cognitive regulation was mainly assessed with cognitive assessments, and most associations with reward processing were non-significant, particularly when the cognitive regulation aspects included planning and organisational skills. Nonetheless, there was some evidence of associations with attention, cognitive control, and overall executive functioning. More longitudinal research is needed to draw accurate conclusions on the direction of the association between self-regulation and reward processing.

Decision-making and ageing: everyday life situations under risk and under ambiguity

Cognitive modifications during ageing can affect decision-making competence (DMC). As this ability is central to the preservation of autonomy, our study aims to investigate how it changes in elderly adults and to determine whether such changes are linked to the deterioration of executive functions and working memory. To this end, 50 young adults and 50 elderly adults were assessed with executive, working memory, and DMC tasks. The latter comprised the Iowa Gambling Task (IGT) and a scenario task based on situations inspired by everyday life, under conditions of both risk and ambiguity. The results revealed lower performances in old than in young adults for the updating, inhibition, and working memory tasks. The IGT failed to distinguish between the two age groups. However, the scenario task did permit such a distinction, with young adults seeking more risky and ambiguous choices than elderly adults. Moreover, updating and inhibition capacities appeared to influence DMC.

Dual-process modeling of sequential decision making in the balloon analogue risk task

People are often faced with repeated risky decisions that involve uncertainty. In sequential risk-taking tasks, like the Balloon Analogue Risk Task (BART), the underlying decision process is not yet fully understood. Dual-process theory proposes that human cognition involves two main families of processes, often referred to as System 1 (fast and automatic) and System 2 (slow and conscious). We cross models of the BART with different architectures of the two systems to yield a pool of computational dual-process models that are evaluated on multiple performance measures (e.g., parameter identifiability, model recovery, and predictive accuracy). Results show that the best-performing model configuration assumes the two systems are competitively connected, an evaluation process based on the Scaled Target Learning model of the BART, and an assessment rate that incorporates sensitivity to the trial number, pumping opportunity, and bias to engage in System 1. Findings also shed light on how modeling choices and response times in a dual-process framework can benefit our understanding of sequential risk-taking behavior.

Bittersweet memories and somatic marker hypothesis: adaptive control in emotional recall facilitates long-term decision-making in the Iowa Gambling Task

The somatic marker hypothesis states that emotional recall and its somatic influence guide long-term decision-making. However, the mechanism through which decision-making benefits from emotional recall is unclear; whether emotional recall and the induced affect increase the regulatory demand or amplify the affect state that requires inhibition. It is unclear if controlling the automatic flow of emotion in recall improves adaptive decision-making. Two studies examine the hypothesis that affect control in emotional recall facilitates inhibitory control and benefits long-term decision-making. In Experiment 1 (n = 137), affect control was assessed in emotional recall to examine if switching of affect in recall of positive and negative valence (order: positive-negative memory recall vs. negative-positive memory recall) is linked with long-term decision-making. Results for long-term decision-making showed that negative-positive recall sequence was associated with higher long-term decision-making, whereas automatic frequency-based decision-making remained unaffected by the recall sequence. In experiment 2 (n = 71, all male), emotional recall (positive vs. negative), recall specificity (i.e., specific vs. overgeneralized recall), and post-recall mood regulation (post-recall positive mood regulation vs. no regulation) was expected to facilitate long-term decision-making. Results showed that emotional recall and post-recall mood regulation (i.e., negative recall - positive mood and positive recall - negative mood) were associated with higher long-term decision-making (decks C' and D'). Results of frequency decision-making showed that positive emotional recall, and poor recall specificity led to infrequent punishment deck choices (decks B' and D'). Hierarchical regression indicated that emotional recall increased infrequent deck choices and accounted for 10% of choices made, recall specificity increased the explanatory power to 19%, and higher recall specificity was associated with fewer infrequent punishment deck choices. Affect control engaged via negative emotional recall, post-recall mood regulation, and recall specificity might be a potential mechanism through which affect control in emotional recall might facilitate long-term decision-making.

A systematic review and meta-analysis of risky decision-making in specific domains of problematic use of the internet: Evidence across different decision-making tasks

This systematic review summarizes empirical evidence on risky decision-making (objective risk and ambiguity) in specific domains of problematic use of the internet (PUI) focusing on online addictive behaviors. We conducted a pre-registered (PROSPERO: CRD42020188452) PubMed search for PUI domains: gaming, social-network use, online buying-shopping, online pornography use, and unspecified PUI. We used the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale for quality assessment. Relevant studies were identified only for gaming (n = 19), social-network use (n = 8), unspecified PUI (n = 7), and online gambling (n = 1). The meta-analyses included 25 studies (2498 participants) comparing PUI and control groups regarding decision-making performance under objective risk and ambiguity. Across PUI domains, individuals with PUI compared to control participants showed more disadvantageous decision-making in measures of objective risk (g = -0.42 [-0.69, -0.16], p = .002) but not ambiguity (g = -0.22 [-0.47, -0.04], p = .096). PUI domain and gender were significant moderators. In the risk domain, effects were particularly present in gaming disorder, especially in exclusively male samples. Overall, the paucity of empirical studies in the considered area necessitates further research to identify probable gender- and disorder-specific cognitive relationships.

Decision-making and frontoparietal resting-state functional connectivity among impulsive-compulsive diagnoses. Insights from a Bayesian approach

The Iowa Gambling Task (IGT) is one of the most widely used paradigms for assessing decision-making. An impairment in this process may be linked to several psychopathological disorders, such as obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), substance abuse disorder (SUD) or attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), which could make it a good candidate for being consider a transdiagnostic domain. Resting-state functional connectivity (rsFC) has been proposed as a promising biomarker of decision-making. In this study, we aimed to identify idiosyncratic decision-making profiles among healthy people and impulsive-compulsive spectrum patients during the IGT, and to investigate the role of frontoparietal network (FPN) rsFC as a possible biomarker of different decision-making patterns. Using functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS), rsFC of 114 adults (34 controls; 25 OCD; 41 SUD; 14 ADHD) was obtained. Then, they completed the IGT. Hybrid clustering methods based on individual deck choices yielded three decision-makers subgroups. Cluster 1 (n = 27) showed a long-term advantageous strategy. Cluster 2 (n = 25) presented a maladaptive decision-making strategy. Cluster 3 (n = 62) did not develop a preference for any deck during the task. Interestingly, the proportion of participants in each cluster was not different between diagnostic groups. A Bayesian general linear model showed no credible differences in the IGT performance between diagnostic groups nor credible evidence to support the role of FPN rsFC as a biomarker of decision-making under the IGT context. This study highlights the importance of exploring in depth the behavioral and neurophysiological variables that may drive decision-making in clinical and healthy populations.

Anodal Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation over the Right Dorsolateral Prefrontal Cortex Boosts Decision Making and Functional Impulsivity in Female Sports Referees

We investigated the effect of anodal transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) over the right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (rDLPFC) on the sensitive decision making of female team sports referees. Twenty-four female referees voluntarily participated in this randomized, double-blind, crossover, and sham-controlled study. In three different sessions, participants received either anodal (a-tDCS; anode (+) over F4, cathode (-) over the supraorbital region (SO)), cathodal (c-tDCS; -F4/+SO), or sham tDCS (sh-tDCS) in a randomized and counterbalanced order. a-tDCS and c-tDCS were applied with 2 mA for 20 min. In sh-tDCS, the current was turned off after 30 s. Before and after tDCS, participants performed the computerized Iowa Gambling Task (IGT) and Go/No Go impulsivity (IMP) tests. Only a-tDCS improved IGT and IMP scores from pre to post. The delta (Δ = post-pre) analysis showed a significantly higher ΔIGT in a-tDCS compared to c-tDCS (p = 0.02). The ΔIMP was also significantly higher in a-tDCS compared to sh-tDCS (p = 0.01). Finally, the reaction time decreased significantly more in a-tDCS (p = 0.02) and sh-tDCS (p = 0.03) than in c-tDCS. The results suggest that the a-tDCS improved factors related to sensitive decision making in female team sports referees. a-tDCS might be used as an ergogenic aid to enhance decision performance in female team sports referees.

Risky Decision-Making in Adults with Alcohol Use Disorder-A Systematic and Meta-Analytic Review

Alcohol use disorder (AUD) forms a major health concern and is the most common substance use disorder worldwide. The behavioural and cognitive deficits associated with AUD have often been related to impairments in risky decision-making. The aim of this study was to examine the magnitude and type of risky decision-making deficits of adults with AUD, as well as to explore the potential mechanisms behind these deficits. To this end, existing literature comparing risky decision-making task performance of an AUD group to a control group (CG) was systematically searched and analysed. A meta-analysis was performed to address overall effects. In total, 56 studies were included. In the majority of studies (i.e., 68%), the performance of the AUD group(s) deviated from the CG(s) on one or more of the adopted tasks, which was confirmed by a small to medium pooled effect size (Hedges' g = 0.45). This review therefore provides evidence of increased risk taking in adults with AUD as compared to CGs. The increased risk taking may be due to deficits in affective and deliberative decision-making. Making use of ecologically valid tasks, future research should investigate whether risky decision-making deficits predate and/or are consequential to the addiction of adults with AUD.

Impulsivity Predicts Relapse—but Not Dropout—in Outpatients with SUD: a Longitudinal Study

The objective of this study was to compare performance on a comprehensive impulsivity battery of SUD outpatients who dropout versus those who do not dropout and of abstainers versus relapsers at 3 and 12 months of treatment follow-up. Impulsivity was measured at the start of treatment and adherence and relapse at 3 and 12 months. The participants are 115 outpatients with SUD. Motor impulsivity (Affective Go/No Go), attentional impulsivity (Stroop), delay discounting (Monetary Choice Questionnaire; MCQ), and decision making (Iowa Gambling Task; IGT) were assessed. Impulsivity was not associated with dropout. There were no relationships between treatment outcomes and the MCQ and IGT. Stroop and affective Go-No Go were associated with relapse at 3 and 12 months. Affective motor disinhibition and cognitive disinhibition predict relapse in outpatients. No cognitive aspect of impulsiveness is related to dropout.

Sex-specific decision-making impairments and striatal dopaminergic changes after binge drinking history in rats

Binge drinking (BD) is a harmful behavior for health and is a predictive factor for the development of alcohol addiction. Weak decision-making (DM) capacities could play a role in the vulnerability to BD which in turn would lead to DM impairments, thus perpetuating BD. Longitudinal preclinical studies are however lacking and necessary to understand this complex relationship. Both DM and BD are influenced by sex and involve dopamine release in the core of the nucleus accumbens, a central mechanism regulated by dopamine D2/3 autoreceptors. In this context, we used an operant self-administration procedure of BD in male and female rats, and longitudinally assessed DM capacity, memory and anxiety-like behavior. To better understand the mechanisms potentially involved in the relationship between DM and BD, ex vivo dopamine transmission was assessed short term after the end of the binge exposure in the core of the nucleus accumbens (NAc) using the fast-scan cyclic voltammetry (FSCV) technique and the D2/3 agonist quinpirole. We found important basal sex differences in DM, with female rats showing better performances at baseline. Choice processes were impaired exclusively in males after BD history, associated with a decrease in impulse control in both sexes, while memory and anxiety-like behavior were not affected. Our neurobiological results demonstrate that BD did not affect basal dopamine signaling in the NAc core, regardless of the sex, but reveal changes in the sensitivity to the inhibitory effects of quinpirole in females. DM impairments were neither associated with changes in basal dopamine signaling nor pre-synaptic D2 activity. Overall, our findings show that BD affects both DM processes and dopamine transmission in the core of the NAc in a sex-related manner, further suggesting that these effects may play a role in the vicious cycle leading to BD perpetuation and the early onset of AUD. Our results may inform novel strategies for therapeutic and prevention interventions.

Neural correlates of impulsive compulsive behaviors in Parkinson's disease: A Japanese retrospective study

BACKGROUND

Impulsive compulsive behaviors (ICBs) often disturb patients with Parkinson's Disease (PD), of which impulse control disorder (ICD) and dopamine dysregulation syndrome (DDS) are two major subsets. The nucleus accumbens (NAcc) is involved in ICB; however, it remains unclear how the NAcc affects cortical function and defines the different behavioral characteristics of ICD and DDS.

OBJECTIVES

To identify the cortico-striatal network primarily involved in ICB and the differences in these networks between patients with ICD and DDS using structural and resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging.

METHODS

Patients with PD were recruited using data from a previous cohort study and divided into those with ICB (ICB group) and without ICB (non-ICB group) using the Japanese version of the Questionnaire for Impulsive Compulsive Disorders in Parkinson's Disease (J-QUIP). From these two groups, we extracted 37 pairs matched for age, sex, disease duration, and levodopa equivalent daily dose of dopamine agonists. Patients with ICB were further classified as having ICD or DDS based on the J-QUIP subscore. General linear models were used to compare gray matter volume and functional connectivity (FC) of the NAcc, caudate, and putamen between the ICB and non-ICB groups and between patients with ICD and those with DDS.

RESULTS

We found no significant differences in gray matter volumebetween the ICB and non-ICB groups or between patients with ICD and those with DDS. Compared with the non-ICB group, the FC of the right NAcc in the ICB group was lower in the bilateral ventromedial prefrontal cortex and higher in the left middle occipital gyrus. Furthermore, patients with DDS showed higher FC between the right putamen and left superior temporal gyrus and higher FC between the left caudate and bilateral middle occipital gyrus than patients with ICD. In contrast, patients with ICD exhibited higher FC between the left NAcc and the right posterior cingulate cortex than patients with DDS.

CONCLUSIONS

The functionally altered network between the right NAcc and ventromedial prefrontal cortex was associated with ICB in PD. In addition, the surrounding cortico-striatal networks may differentiate the behavioral characteristics of patients with ICD and those with DDS.

Aging-related changes in reward-based decision-making depend on punishment frequency: An fMRI study

Introduction

Aging is often accompanied by significant cognitive decline and altered decision making. Previous studies have found that older adults have difficulty in processing reward/risk information, leading to suboptimal decision strategy. However, it is still under investigated about the neural substrates of risky decision-making under ambiguity in aging.

Methods

Using the Iowa Gambling Task, the current study investigated inter-individual differences of risk-taking behaviors in healthy older adults with task-related functional magnetic resonance imaging.

Results

It was found that participants were able to improve their decisions in advantageous decks, but failed to avoid disadvantageous decks during task performance. The task-related activations within multiple brain regions were observed significantly different across the four decks, and showed negative correlations with age in disadvantageous decks but not in advantageous decks. Consistently, age-related whole brain analyses confirmed the negative age-effect on brain activations in disadvantageous decks, especially in high punishment frequency. In addition, the relationship between age and task performance in high punishment frequency was mediated by activation in the frontal subregions such as the middle frontal cortex and superior medial frontal cortex.

Discussion

Our findings shed light on the neural substrates of altered risk-taking behaviors in aging, suggesting a greater sensitivity to high punishment frequency in older adults.

Integrated versus trial specific focus improves decision-making in older preschoolers

This study explored the effect of integrated-focus (focusing on a depiction of overall gains/losses) versus trial-focus (focusing on gains/losses at each trial) on choice in a preschool variant of the Iowa Gambling task. Participants included 65 preschoolers (M = 47.82, SD = 7.29). Children completed two versions of the Preschool Gambling task, three cool executive function tasks, a moral reasoning task, and an affective perspective taking task. The results indicated that while the integrated-focus condition led to improvement in the awareness of the game, the condition effect was moderated by age for decision-making choice; older preschoolers showed improvement in decision-making in the integrated focus condition, while younger preschoolers showed no condition effect. Further analysis indicated that differences in the increase of advantageous choice across blocks and the condition effect were partly explained by these differences in awareness. Furthermore, a component of cool executive function (shifting) was associated with the latter phase of decision-making. The findings additionally indicated an association of advantageous decision-making with moral/emotional measures, suggesting that the PGT may be a potentially useful clinical tool for early assessment. Finally, the findings of the current study have implications for how hot and cool executive function abilities may work together to enable adaptive decisions.

Intranasal Oxytocin Modulates Decision-Making Depending on Outcome Predictability-A Randomized Within-Subject Controlled Trial in Healthy Males

Oxytocin (OT) has been extensively studied with regard to its socio-cognitive and -behavioral effects. Its potential as a therapeutic agent is being discussed for a range of neuropsychiatric conditions. However, there is limited evidence of its effects on non-social cognition in general and decision-making in particular, despite the importance of these functions in neuropsychiatry. Using a crossover/within-subject, blinded, randomized design, we investigated for the first time if intranasal OT (24 IU) affects decision-making differently depending on outcome predictability/ambiguity in healthy males. The Iowa Gambling Task (IGT) and the Cambridge Risk Task (CRT) were used to assess decision-making under low outcome predictability/high ambiguity and under high outcome probability/low ambiguity, respectively. After administration of OT, subjects performed worse and exhibited riskier performance in the IGT (low outcome predictability/high ambiguity), whereas they made borderline-significant less risky decisions in the CRT (high outcome probability/low ambiguity) as compared to the control condition. Decision-making in healthy males may therefore be influenced by OT and adjusted as a function of contextual information, with implications for clinical trials investigating OT in neuropsychiatric conditions.

Decision-Making in Alzheimer's Disease: The Role of Working Memory and Executive Functions in the Iowa Gambling Task and in Tasks Inspired by Everyday Situations

BACKGROUND

Alzheimer's disease (AD) negatively impacts patients' ability to make advantageous decisions, i.e., a core ability contributing to the preservation of autonomy.

OBJECTIVE

The present study aims to analyze the changes that occur in the decision-making competence (DMC) in AD patients and to determine if these changes are related to the deterioration of executive functions and working memory.

METHOD

To this end, 20 patients with AD and 20 elderly control adults were assessed using executive, working memory, and DMC tasks. The latter comprised the Iowa Gambling Task (IGT) and a scenarios task based on situations inspired by everyday life and performed under conditions of risk and ambiguity.

RESULTS

Results revealed lower performances in AD patients than in elderly control adults for all the tasks assessing cognitive functions. The AD patients also made more strategy changes during the IGT. In the scenarios tasks, the two groups took as many ambiguous or risky decisions, but AD patients tended to take more risks in the context of gain than elderly control adults did. Switching and updating ability, as well as working memory, appeared to be involved in decisions in tasks inspired by everyday life, while inhibition was more related to the IGT performances.

CONCLUSION

Working memory and executive functions seem to be involved in decision-making, but in different ways in gambling and daily-life situations.

Exploring decision-making strategies in the Iowa gambling task and rat gambling task

Decision-making requires that individuals perceive the probabilities and risks associated with different options. Experimental human and animal laboratory testing provide complimentary insights on the psychobiological underpinnings of decision-making. The Iowa gambling task (IGT) is a widely used instrument that assesses decision-making under uncertainty and risk. In the task participants are faced with a choice conflict between cards with varying monetary reinforcer/loss contingencies. The rat gambling task (rGT) is a pre-clinical version using palatable reinforcers as wins and timeouts mimicking losses. However, interspecies studies elaborating on human and rat behavior in these tasks are lacking. This study explores decision-making strategies among young adults (N = 270) performing a computerized version of the IGT, and adult outbred male Lister Hooded rats (N = 72) performing the rGT. Both group and individual data were explored by normative scoring approaches and subgroup formations based on individual choices were investigated. Overall results showed that most humans and rats learned to favor the advantageous choices, but to a widely different extent. Human performance was characterized by both exploration and learning as the task progressed, while rats showed relatively consistent pronounced preferences for the advantageous choices throughout the task. Nevertheless, humans and rats showed similar variability in individual choice preferences during end performance. Procedural differences impacting on the performance in both tasks and their potential to study different aspects of decision-making are discussed. This is a first attempt to increase the understanding of similarities and differences regarding decision-making processes in the IGT and rGT from an explorative perspective.

Decision Making and Fibromyalgia: A Systematic Review

Decision making (DM) is the ability to choose among multiple options, considering external and internal variables and identifying potential paths of action that need to be assessed. Some brain areas involved in decision making are also implicated in pain processing, such as in fibromyalgia (FM). FM is a syndrome characterized by chronic widespread musculoskeletal pain and cognitive difficulties. We conducted a systematic review with the aim of identifying articles that evaluated DM in people with fibromyalgia, highlighting the main assessment tools. This work was conducted according to the PRISMA statement by consulting six online databases and providing a quality assessment of each search that met the inclusion criteria. In line with the limited interest in this in the scientific landscape to date, we found nine studies that evaluated the performance of DM in patients with FM; furthermore, we discovered that only certain types of DM were tested. The importance of our work lies in shedding light on a cognitive ability that is often undervalued in the scientific landscape but essential in everyday life. This review can serve as a starting point for further studies to clarify the relationship between DM and FM, improving understanding of the topic.

Top-down modulation impairs priming susceptibility in complex decision-making with social implications

Could social context variables prime complex decisions? Could top-down processes impair this priming susceptibility? Complex decisions have been mainly studied from economic and moral perspectives, and Dual Process Theories provide evidence of how these processes could be affected. To address these issues from a political perspective, online experiments were conducted. Participants (n = 252) were asked to choose a face from 4 options, each associated with different frequencies (repetition priming) or with phrases with different emotional valence (emotional priming), for an unspecified task (UST group) or an important task (IMT group). The most repeated face was chosen most in the UST group, and was associated with lower response times. Positive faces were equally chosen by both groups. To compare results in a more ecological situation, a social study was conducted during the 2019 Argentine Presidential Election, including online surveys (n = 3673) and analysis of news media mentioning candidates. The familiarity and trust to each candidate explained the voting-probability for most of them, as well as correlated with their frequency of mentions in the news, their positive associations, and election results. Our results suggest complex decision-making is susceptible to priming, depending on top-down modulation.

A Systematic Review of Behavior-Outcome Psychological Assessments as Correlates of Suicidality

AIM

Identifying correlates of suicidality is an important goal for suicide researchers because these correlates may predict suicidal behaviors. Psychological tasks that assess sensitivity to the outcomes of actions (i.e., consequence-based learning) have been commonly used by researchers seeking to identify correlates of suicidality. This is likely due to the straightforward integration of the tasks within most theoretical frameworks for understanding suicidality. Contextual factors have been shown to have a substantial effect on responding in behavior-outcome tasks. However, the direct relevance of these factors as determinants of behavior in suicide research is not clear. Thus, the purpose of this review was to assess the role of context in tasks involving behavior-outcome relations in suicide research.

METHODS

Four databases were searched using terms from general learning theory. Articles that featured evaluation of tasks with hypothetical or real outcomes to differentiate suicidality were included.

RESULTS

Eighty-two studies met inclusion criteria. Across studies there were 27 different tasks. Most instances of tasks across studies involved rewards (76.9%), while others emphasized punishment (15.7%), social (5.6%), or virtual suicide (1.8%) outcomes. Differentiation of suicidality was detected by 43.4%, 64.7%, 83.3%, and 50% of tasks featuring reward, punishment, social contexts, and virtual suicide respectively. All but five studies were retrospective.

CONCLUSION

Tasks that more closely mimic contexts and outcomes related to suicide appear to produce more pronounced differentiation of people with suicidality from people without suicidality. The lack of prospective designs is an important limitation of the literature.HIGHLIGHTSTasks that involve punishment or social outcomes better discriminate suicidality.Reward-based tasks are overused in suicide research.The conditioning hypothesis of suicidality is closely aligned with the literature.Only 5 of 82 studies incorporated prospective measures.

“Hot” executive functions are comparable across monolingual and bilingual elementary school children: Results from a study with the Iowa Gambling Task

Past research found performance differences between monolingual and bilingual children in the domain of executive functions (EF). Furthermore, recent studies have reported advantages in processing efficiency or mental effort in bilingual adults and children. These studies mostly focused on the investigation of “cold” EF tasks. Studies including measures of “hot” EF, i.e., tasks operating in an emotionally significant setting, are limited and hence results are inconclusive. In the present study, we extend previous research by investigating performance in a task of the “hot” EF domain by both behavioral data and mental effort via pupillary changes during task performance. Seventy-three monolingual and bilingual school children (mean age = 107.23 months, SD = 10.26) solved the Iowa Gambling Task in two different conditions. In the standard task, characterized by constant gains and occasional losses, children did not learn to improve their decision-making behavior. In a reversed task version, characterized by constant losses and occasional gains, both monolinguals and bilinguals learned to improve their decision-making behavior over the course of the task. In both versions of the task, children switched choices more often after losses than after gains. Bilinguals switched their choices less often than monolinguals in the reversed task, indicating a slightly more mature decision-making strategy. Mental effort did not differ between monolinguals and bilinguals. Conclusions of these findings for the bilingual advantage assumption will be discussed.

Enhancing the Psychometric Properties of the Iowa Gambling Task Using Full Generative Modeling

Poor psychometrics, particularly low test-retest reliability, pose a major challenge for using behavioral tasks in individual differences research. Here, we demonstrate that full generative modeling of the Iowa Gambling Task (IGT) substantially improves test-retest reliability and may also enhance the IGT's validity for use in characterizing internalizing pathology, compared to the traditional analytic approach. IGT data ( n = 50 ) was collected across two sessions, one month apart. Our full generative model incorporated (1) the Outcome Representation Learning (ORL) computational model at the person-level and (2) a group-level model that explicitly modeled test-retest reliability, along with other group-level effects. Compared to the traditional 'summary score' (proportion good decks selected), the ORL model provides a theoretically rich set of performance metrics (Reward Learning Rate ( A + ) , Punishment Learning Rate ( A - ) , Win Frequency Sensitivity ( β f ) , Perseveration Tendency ( β p ) , Memory Decay ( K ) ), capturing distinct psychological processes. While test-retest reliability for the traditional summary score was only moderate (r = . 37 , BCa 95% CI [.04, .63]), test-retest reliabilities for ORL performance metrics produced by the full generative model were substantially improved, with test-retest correlations ranging between r = . 64 - . 82 for the five ORL parameters. Further, while summary scores showed no substantial associations with internalizing symptoms, ORL parameters were significantly associated with internalizing symptoms. Specifically, Punishment Learning Rate was associated with higher self-reported depression and Perseveration Tendency was associated with lower self-reported anhedonia. Generative modeling offers promise for advancing individual differences research using the IGT, and behavioral tasks more generally, through enhancing task psychometrics.

Shuffle the Decks: Children Are Sensitive to Incidental Nonrandom Structure in a Sequential-Choice Task

As children age, they can learn increasingly complex features of environmental structure-a key prerequisite for adaptive decision-making. Yet when we tested children (N = 304, 4-13 years old) in the Children's Gambling Task, an age-appropriate variant of the Iowa Gambling Task, we found that age was negatively associated with performance. However, this paradoxical effect of age was found only in children who exhibited a maladaptive deplete-replenish bias, a tendency to shift choices after positive outcomes and repeat choices after negative outcomes. We found that this bias results from sensitivity to incidental nonrandom structure in the canonical, deterministic forms of these tasks-and that it would actually lead to optimal outcomes if the tasks were not deterministic. Our results illustrate that changes in decision-making across early childhood reflect, in part, increasing sensitivity to environmental structure.

The Mexican magnetic resonance imaging dataset of patients with cocaine use disorder: SUDMEX CONN

Cocaine use disorder (CUD) is a substance use disorder (SUD) characterized by compulsion to seek, use and abuse of cocaine, with severe health and economic consequences for the patients, their families and society. Due to the lack of successful treatments and high relapse rate, more research is needed to understand this and other SUD. Here, we present the SUDMEX CONN dataset, a Mexican open dataset of 74 CUD patients (9 female) and matched 64 healthy controls (6 female) that includes demographic, cognitive, clinical, and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) data. MRI data includes: 1) structural (T1-weighted), 2) multishell high-angular resolution diffusion-weighted (DWI-HARDI) and 3) functional (resting state fMRI) sequences. The repository contains unprocessed MRI data available in brain imaging data structure (BIDS) format with corresponding metadata available at the OpenNeuro data sharing platform. Researchers can pursue brain variability between these groups or use a single group for a larger population sample.

Measurement(s)	functional brain measurement • Diffusion Weighted Imaging • Abnormality of brain morphology • Alteration Of Cognitive Function • Clinical Study
Technology Type(s)	Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging • Diffusion Weighted Imaging • Turbo Field Echo MRI • neuropsychological test • Clinical Evaluation
Factor Type(s)	Cocaine Dependence
Sample Characteristic - Organism	Homo
Sample Characteristic - Location	Mexico City

Contextual Factors Affecting Risky Decision Making: The Influence of Music on Task Performance and Perceived Distraction

Previous research has investigated factors that contribute to the development of different risk-taking behaviors, such as can occur on lab-based behavioral risky decision making tasks. On several of the most common tasks, participants must develop an adequate understanding of the relative risks and benefits associated with each decision in order to learn to decide advantageously. However, contextual factors can affect the decision making process and one's ability to weigh the risks and benefits of a decision. The present study investigates the extent to which music may be an additional contextual factor that can disrupt decision making and other executive functions. Across four studies we examine whether having music playing passively in the background or having participants actively listen to music affects performance on measures of risky decision making, working memory, processing speed, and problem solving. Participants reported greater distraction for rock music than classical music in the passive listening studies but did not report any differences in distraction across conditions in the active listening studies. Despite this self-reported increased level of distraction, few significant differences were found in task performance across groups and across studies. The Angling Risk Task (ART) was sensitive to differences in risk by condition, with music leading to greater risk-taking in a passive listening study, but less risk-taking in an active listening study, compared to no music. The extent to which music serves as a contextual factor disrupting performance on measures of risky decision making and other executive functions may depend in part on whether individuals are actively versus passively listening to the music.

Relationships between Dota 2 expertise and decision-making ability

Esports is an often time-consuming activity that has become increasingly popular with billions of players all over the world. The objective of this study was to investigate if there is a relationship between skill level in the strategy video game Dota 2, a game that places many demands on decision making to be successful, and decision making under ambiguity and experience as measured by performance in the Iowa Gambling Task (IGT), a task known to have ecological validity. Two indicators of players’ performance in Dota 2, namely match-making rating (MMR) and Medal, were used as predictors of performance in the IGT in path models. Results showed that Medal was a significant predictor of performance in IGT, while MMR score was borderline significant. The cognitive reflection task, included in the models as an indicator of the ability to engage in conscious, analytical, rational, and logical thinking, was a significant predictor of performance in IGT, and was significantly and positively related to MMR. The findings from this study give insight into the cognitive demands related to performance in Dota 2. Although results suggest that strategy video gaming may be a factor that contributes to increased decision making abilities, a reversed relationship is also possible, whereby individuals who are better at decision making are also more likely to become successful in Dota-2. More studies, preferably longitudinal, are needed to replicate the findings of this study and to establish the directionality between factors.

Risky Decision Making Under Stressful Conditions: Men and Women With Smaller Cortisol Elevations Make Riskier Social and Economic Decisions

Men often make riskier decisions than women across a wide range of real-life behaviors. Whether this sex difference is accentuated, diminished, or stable under stressful conditions is, however, contested in the scientific literature. A critical blind spot lies amid this contestation: Most studies use standardized, laboratory-based, cognitive measures of decision making rather than complex real-life social simulation tasks to assess risk-related behavior. To address this blind spot, we investigated the effects of acute psychosocial stress on risk decision making in men and women (N = 80) using a standardized cognitive measure (the Iowa Gambling Task; IGT) and a novel task that simulated a real-life social situation (an online chatroom in which participants interacted with other men and women in sexually suggestive scenarios). Participants were exposed to either an acute psychosocial stressor or an equivalent control condition. Stressor-exposed participants were further characterized as high- or low-cortisol responders. Results confirmed that the experimental manipulation was effective. On the IGT, participants characterized as low-cortisol responders (as well as those in the Non-Stress group) made significantly riskier decisions than those characterized as high-cortisol responders. Similarly, in the online chatroom, participants characterized as low-cortisol responders (but not those characterized as high-cortisol responders) were, relative to those in the Non-Stress group, significantly more likely to make risky decisions. Together, these results suggest that at lower levels of cortisol both men and women tend to make riskier decisions in both economic and social spheres.

The role of primary school composition in affective decision-making: a prospective cohort study

PURPOSE

School-level characteristics are known to be associated with pupils' academic and cognitive ability but also their socioemotional development. This study examines, for the first time, whether primary school characteristics are associated with pupils' affective decision-making too.

METHODS

The sample included 3,141 children participating in the Millennium Cohort Study with available data on their school's characteristics, according to the National Pupil Database, at age 7 years. Decision-making was measured using the Cambridge Gambling Task at age 11 years. We modelled data using a series of sex-stratified linear regression analyses of decision-making (risk-taking, quality of decision-making, risk adjustment, deliberation time, and delay aversion) against four indicators of school composition (academic performance and proportions among pupils who are native speakers of English, are eligible for free school meals and have special educational needs).

RESULTS

After adjustment for individual and family-level confounding, schools with a higher average academic performance showed more delay aversion among males, and among females, higher deliberation time and lower risk-taking. Schools with proportionally more native English speakers had higher deliberation time among males. Schools with proportionally more pupils eligible for free school meals showed lower scores on quality of decision-making among males. Schools with proportionally more children with special educational needs showed better quality of decision-making among males and lower risk-taking among females.

CONCLUSION

The findings of this study can be used to target support for primary schools. Interventions aiming to support lower-achieving schools and those with less affluent intakes could help to improve boys' affective decision-making.