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van Alebeek H, Kahveci S, Blechert J. Improving the touchscreen-based food approach-avoidance task: remediated block-order effects and initial findings regarding validity. Open Res Eur 2021; 1:15. [PMID: 37645212 PMCID: PMC10445824 DOI: 10.12688/openreseurope.13241.3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 08/17/2021] [Indexed: 08/31/2023]
Abstract
Approach biases to foods may explain why food consumption often diverges from deliberate dietary intentions. Yet, the assessment of behavioural biases with the approach-avoidance tasks (AAT) is often unreliable and validity is partially unclear. The present study continues a series of studies that develop a task based on naturalistic approach and avoidance movements on a touchscreen (hand-AAT). In the hand-AAT, participants are instructed to respond based on the food/non-food distinction, thereby ensuring attention to the stimuli. Yet, this implies the use of instruction switches (i.e., 'approach food - avoid objects' to 'avoid food - approach objects'), which introduce order effects. The present study increased the number of instruction switches to potentially minimize order effects, and re-examined reliability. We additionally included the implicit association task (IAT) and several self-reported eating behaviours to investigate the task's validity. Results replicated the presence of reliable approach biases to foods irrespective of instruction order. Evidence for validity, however, was mixed: biases correlated positively with external eating, increase in food craving and aggregated image valence ratings but not with desire to eat ratings of the individual images considered within participants or the IAT. We conclude that the hand-AAT can reliably assess approach biases to foods that are relevant to self-reported eating patterns.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hannah van Alebeek
- Department of Psychology, Paris-Lodron-University of Salzburg, Salzburg, Austria
- Center for Cognitive Neuroscience, Paris-Lodron-University of Salzburg, Salzburg, Austria
| | - Sercan Kahveci
- Department of Psychology, Paris-Lodron-University of Salzburg, Salzburg, Austria
- Center for Cognitive Neuroscience, Paris-Lodron-University of Salzburg, Salzburg, Austria
| | - Jens Blechert
- Department of Psychology, Paris-Lodron-University of Salzburg, Salzburg, Austria
- Center for Cognitive Neuroscience, Paris-Lodron-University of Salzburg, Salzburg, Austria
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Zlomuzica A, Lange M, Reher S, Machulska A, Rinck M. The effects of psychological stress on approach tendencies for smoking-related cues in smokers. Eur J Neurosci 2021; 55:2581-2591. [PMID: 33964028 DOI: 10.1111/ejn.15295] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/07/2020] [Revised: 04/19/2021] [Accepted: 04/22/2021] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
Stress may potentiate the chronification of nicotine addiction, but the exact mechanisms remain elusive. We performed an explorative pilot study examining the effects of psychological stress, administered via the socially evaluated cold pressor task (SECPT), on implicit approach bias for smoking-related cues in smokers in the approach-avoidance task (AAT). Smokers (N = 24) were subjected to the stress or control condition of the SECPT by using a within-subject design. Consistent with previous findings, a strong approach bias for smoking-related cues in the AAT was found in smokers. Exposure to stress did not affect the general bias for smoking-related cues in the AAT relative to the control condition of the SECPT. In additional explorative analyses, an interaction among carbon monoxide (CO) levels in expired air, cortisol levels, and stress on approach bias for smoking-related cues was found. Higher CO levels, possibly due to recent smoking, prior to stress exposure were associated with an approach bias for smoking-related cues. Our results suggest that CO levels in interaction with stress can modulate implicit, automatic processing in the context of nicotine addiction. Our findings might provide novel cues to how stress influences cigarette craving and smoking behavior.
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Affiliation(s)
- Armin Zlomuzica
- Behavioral and Clinical Neuroscience, Mental Health Research and Treatment Center, Ruhr University Bochum, Bochum, Germany
| | - Miriam Lange
- Behavioral and Clinical Neuroscience, Mental Health Research and Treatment Center, Ruhr University Bochum, Bochum, Germany
| | - Sarah Reher
- Behavioral and Clinical Neuroscience, Mental Health Research and Treatment Center, Ruhr University Bochum, Bochum, Germany
| | - Alla Machulska
- Department of Clinical Psychology, University of Siegen, Siegen, Germany
| | - Mike Rinck
- Behavioral and Clinical Neuroscience, Mental Health Research and Treatment Center, Ruhr University Bochum, Bochum, Germany.,Behavioral Science Institute, Radboud University Nijmegen, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
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Peeters DGA, Lange WG, von Borries AKL, Franke B, Volman I, Homberg JR, Verkes RJ, Roelofs K. Threat-Avoidance Tendencies Moderate the Link Between Serotonin Transporter Genetic Variation and Reactive Aggression. Front Behav Neurosci 2020; 14:562098. [PMID: 33132858 PMCID: PMC7549659 DOI: 10.3389/fnbeh.2020.562098] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/14/2020] [Accepted: 08/28/2020] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
The short (S) allele of the serotonin transporter-linked promoter region (5-HTTLPR) polymorphism has been linked to reactive aggression in men, but this association is less consistent in females. Reactive aggression has been particularly described as a result of fear-driven defense to threat, but how this interaction between defensive behavior and aggression is expressed in S-allele carriers remains unknown. In order to explore this interplay between 5-HTTLPR genotype, defensive behavior and reactive aggression, we combined genotyping with objective measures of action tendencies toward angry faces in an approach-avoidance task (AAT) and reactive aggression in the Taylor aggression paradigm (TAP) in healthy females, N = 95. This study shows that female S-allele carriers in general display increased implicit reactive aggression (administering aversive white noise) toward opponents. Furthermore, we found that threat-avoidance tendencies moderate the association between 5-HTTLPR genotype and aggression displayed on the TAP. Together, these findings indicate a positive correlation between avoidance of angry faces in the AAT and reactive aggression in the TAP exclusively present in S-allele carriers.
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Affiliation(s)
- Deborah G. A. Peeters
- Department of Cognitive Neuroscience, Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Radboud University Medical Center, Nijmegen, Netherlands
- Department of Psychiatry, Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Radboud University Medical Center, Nijmegen, Netherlands
| | - Wolf-Gero Lange
- Department of Clinical Psychology, Radboud University Nijmegen, Nijmegen, Netherlands
- Behavioural Science Institute, Radboud University Nijmegen, Nijmegen, Netherlands
| | - A. Katinka L. von Borries
- Department of Psychocardiology, Clinic for Internal Medicine and Cardiology, Bergmannsheil und Kinderklinik Buer GmbH, Gelsenkirchen, Germany
- Institute for Stressmedicine, ISM Rhein Ruhr, Gelsenkirchen, Germany
| | - Barbara Franke
- Department of Psychiatry, Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Radboud University Medical Center, Nijmegen, Netherlands
- Department of Human Genetics, Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Radboud University Medical Center, Nijmegen, Netherlands
| | - Inge Volman
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom
- Wellcome Centre for Integrative Neuroimaging, Centre for Functional MRI of the Brain, Nuffield Department of Clinical Neurosciences, John Radcliffe Hospital, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom
| | - Judith R. Homberg
- Department of Cognitive Neuroscience, Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Radboud University Medical Center, Nijmegen, Netherlands
| | - Robbert-Jan Verkes
- Department of Psychiatry, Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Radboud University Medical Center, Nijmegen, Netherlands
| | - Karin Roelofs
- Behavioural Science Institute, Radboud University Nijmegen, Nijmegen, Netherlands
- Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Radboud University Nijmegen, Nijmegen, Netherlands
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Swinkels LMJ, Gramser H, Becker ES, Rinck M. Self-Approach Tendencies: Relations With Explicit and Implicit Self-Evaluations. Front Psychol 2019; 10:309. [PMID: 30846951 PMCID: PMC6394373 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2019.00309] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/16/2018] [Accepted: 01/31/2019] [Indexed: 11/15/2022] Open
Abstract
We used a newly developed Self-Approach-Avoidance Task (Self-AAT) to measure self-approach tendencies in female students. In this task, participants use a joystick to pull portraits of themselves and of others closer or to push them away. In the three studies, we found a significant self-approach tendency: participants were faster to pull mirror-imaged portraits of themselves closer than to push them away. This approach tendency was reduced for non-mirrored self-portraits, and absent for control pictures showing unknown males, unknown females, or empty backgrounds. Moreover, in two out of the three studies, the self-approach tendency was weakly related to explicit self-valuations measured with the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (RSES), and in one out of two studies, it was related to implicit self-evaluations measured with the Implicit Association Task (IAT). Implications and potential applications of the findings are discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lieke M J Swinkels
- Behavioural Science Institute, Radboud University, Nijmegen, Netherlands
| | - Hidde Gramser
- Behavioural Science Institute, Radboud University, Nijmegen, Netherlands
| | - Eni S Becker
- Behavioural Science Institute, Radboud University, Nijmegen, Netherlands
| | - Mike Rinck
- Behavioural Science Institute, Radboud University, Nijmegen, Netherlands
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Boffo M, Smits R, Salmon JP, Cowie ME, de Jong DTHA, Salemink E, Collins P, Stewart SH, Wiers RW. Luck, come here! Automatic approach tendencies toward gambling cues in moderate- to high-risk gamblers. Addiction 2018; 113:289-298. [PMID: 29055971 DOI: 10.1111/add.14071] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/21/2017] [Revised: 08/03/2017] [Accepted: 10/13/2017] [Indexed: 12/19/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND AND AIMS Similar to substance addictions, reward-related cognitive motivational processes, such as selective attention and positive memory biases, have been found in disordered gambling. Despite findings that individuals with substance use problems are biased to approach substance-related cues automatically, no study has yet focused on automatic approach tendencies for motivationally salient gambling cues in problem gamblers. We tested if moderate- to high-risk gamblers show a gambling approach bias and whether this bias was related prospectively to gambling behaviour and problems. DESIGN Cross-sectional assessment study evaluating the concurrent and longitudinal correlates of gambling approach bias in moderate- to high-risk gamblers compared with non-problem gamblers. SETTING Online study throughout the Netherlands. PARTICIPANTS Twenty-six non-treatment-seeking moderate- to high-risk gamblers and 26 non-problem gamblers community-recruited via the internet. MEASUREMENTS Two online assessment sessions 6 months apart, including self-report measures of gambling problems and behaviour (frequency, duration and expenditure) and the gambling approach avoidance task, with stimuli tailored to individual gambling habits. FINDINGS Relative to non-problem gamblers, moderate- to high-risk gamblers revealed a stronger approach bias towards gambling-related stimuli than neutral stimuli (P = 0.03). Gambling approach bias was correlated positively with past-month gambling expenditure at baseline (P = 0.03) and with monthly frequency of gambling at follow-up (P = 0.02). In multiple hierarchical regressions, baseline gambling approach bias predicted monthly frequency positively (P = 0.03) and total duration of gambling episodes (P = 0.01) 6 months later, but not gambling problems or expenditure. CONCLUSIONS In the Netherlands, relative to non-problem gamblers, moderate- to high-risk gamblers appear to have a stronger tendency to approach rather than to avoid gambling-related pictures compared with neutral ones. This gambling approach bias is associated concurrently with past-month gambling expenditure and duration of gambling and has been found to predict persistence in gambling behaviour over time.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marilisa Boffo
- Addiction, Development and Psychopathology (ADAPT) Laboratory, Department of Psychology, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
| | - Ruby Smits
- Addiction, Development and Psychopathology (ADAPT) Laboratory, Department of Psychology, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
| | - Joshua P Salmon
- Mood, Anxiety and Addiction Comorbidity (MAAC) Laboratory, Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Canada
| | - Megan E Cowie
- Mood, Anxiety and Addiction Comorbidity (MAAC) Laboratory, Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Canada
| | - David T H A de Jong
- Addiction, Development and Psychopathology (ADAPT) Laboratory, Department of Psychology, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
| | - Elske Salemink
- Addiction, Development and Psychopathology (ADAPT) Laboratory, Department of Psychology, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
| | - Pam Collins
- Mood, Anxiety and Addiction Comorbidity (MAAC) Laboratory, Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Canada
| | - Sherry H Stewart
- Mood, Anxiety and Addiction Comorbidity (MAAC) Laboratory, Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Canada.,Department of Psychiatry, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Canada.,Department of Community Health and Epidemiology, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Canada
| | - Reinout W Wiers
- Addiction, Development and Psychopathology (ADAPT) Laboratory, Department of Psychology, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
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Tyborowska A, Volman I, Smeekens S, Toni I, Roelofs K. Testosterone during Puberty Shifts Emotional Control from Pulvinar to Anterior Prefrontal Cortex. J Neurosci 2016; 36:6156-64. [PMID: 27277794 DOI: 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.3874-15.2016] [Citation(s) in RCA: 46] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/26/2015] [Accepted: 04/03/2016] [Indexed: 01/02/2023] Open
Abstract
UNLABELLED Increased limbic and striatal activation in adolescence has been attributed to a relative delay in the maturation of prefrontal areas, resulting in the increase of impulsive reward-seeking behaviors that are often observed during puberty. However, it remains unclear whether and how this general developmental pattern applies to the control of social emotional actions, a fundamental adult skill refined during adolescence. This domain of control pertains to decisions involving emotional responses. When faced with a social emotional challenge (e.g., an angry face), we can follow automatic response tendencies and avoid the challenge or exert control over those tendencies by selecting an alternative action. Using an fMRI-adapted social approach-avoidance task, this study identifies how the neural regulation of emotional action control changes as a function of human pubertal development in 14-year-old adolescents (n = 47). Pubertal maturation, indexed by testosterone levels, shifted neural regulation of emotional actions from the pulvinar nucleus of the thalamus and the amygdala to the anterior prefrontal cortex (aPFC). Adolescents with more advanced pubertal maturation showed greater aPFC activity when controlling their emotional action tendencies, reproducing the same pattern consistently observed in adults. In contrast, adolescents of the same age, but with less advanced pubertal maturation, showed greater pulvinar and amygdala activity when exerting similarly effective emotional control. These findings qualify how, in the domain of social emotional actions, executive control shifts from subcortical to prefrontal structures during pubertal development. The pulvinar and the amygdala are suggested as the ontogenetic precursors of the mature control system centered on the anterior prefrontal cortex. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT Adolescents can show distinct behavioral problems when emotionally aroused. This could be related to later development of frontal regions compared with deeper brain structures. This study found that when the control of emotional actions needs to be exerted, more mature adolescents, similar to adults, recruit the anterior prefrontal cortex (aPFC). Less mature adolescents recruit specific subcortical regions, namely the pulvinar and amygdala. These findings identify the subcortical pulvino-amygdalar pathway as a relevant precursor of a mature aPFC emotional control system, opening the way for a neurobiological understanding of how emotion control-related disorders emerge during puberty.
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Kong G, Larsen H, Cavallo DA, Becker D, Cousijn J, Salemink E, Collot D'Escury-Koenigs AL, Morean ME, Wiers RW, Krishnan-Sarin S. Re-training automatic action tendencies to approach cigarettes among adolescent smokers: a pilot study. Am J Drug Alcohol Abuse 2016; 41:425-32. [PMID: 26186485 DOI: 10.3109/00952990.2015.1049492] [Citation(s) in RCA: 40] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND This pilot study conducted a preliminary examination of whether Cognitive Bias Modification (CBM), a computerized task to retrain cognitive-approach biases towards smoking stimuli (a) changed approach bias for cigarettes, and (b) improved smoking cessation outcomes in adolescent smokers. METHODS Sixty adolescent smokers received four weeks of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) for smoking cessation, with CBM (90% avoidance/10% approach for smoking stimuli and 10% avoidance/90% approach for neutral stimuli) or sham (50% avoidance/50% approach for smoking and neutral stimuli) training in the Netherlands (n = 42) and the United States (n = 18). RESULTS While we did not observe changes in action tendencies related to CBM, adolescents with higher smoking approach biases at baseline had greater decreases in approach biases at follow-up, compared to adolescents with smoking avoidance biases, regardless of treatment condition (p = 0.01). Intent-to-treat (ITT) analyses showed that CBM, when compared with sham trended toward higher end-of-treatment, biochemically-confirmed, seven-day point prevalence abstinence, (17.2% vs. 3.2%, p = 0.071). ITT analysis also showed that regardless of treatment condition, cotinine level (p = 0.045) and average number of cigarette smoked (p ≤ 0.001) significantly decreased over the course of treatment. CONCLUSIONS The findings from this pilot study suggests that re-training approach biases toward cigarettes shows promise for smoking cessation among adolescent smokers. Future research should utilize larger samples and increased distinction between CBM and sham conditions, and examine mechanisms underlying the CBM approach.
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Affiliation(s)
- Grace Kong
- a Department of Psychiatry , Yale University School of Medicine , New Haven , CT , USA
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