Prefrontal activity during IOWA Gambling Task in young adult women.

This study aims to investigate the relationships between personality traits of impulsivity, using the UPPS-P Impulsive Behaviour Scales shortened version, and prefrontal cortex (PFC) activity during the IOWA Gambling Task (IGT) in young adult women. The study included a sample of 83 young, healthy females (19.8 ± 1.4 years), who voluntarily took part in the study. Repeated measures analysis during the IGT revealed a significant increase in HbO (all p <.001; ηp2 >.31) and a decrease in Hbr (all p <.003; ηp2 >.08) in all prefrontal quadrants. This increase in oxygenation occurs primarily during the choice period under ambiguity (r =.23; p =.039). Additionally, there was a significant linear decrease in selecting the decks associated with a high frequency of losses (p <.001), while the favorable deck with low losses showed a linear increase (F = 12.96; p <.001). Notably, discrepancies were found between UPPS-P and IGT impulsivity ratings. The Lack of Perseverance and Lack of Premeditation scales from the UPPS-P were identified as significant predictors of HbO levels, mainly in the two quadrants of the left hemisphere's, lateral (adjusted R2 =.23; p <.001; f2 =.34) and rostral (adjusted R2 =.13; p <.002; f2 =.17). These findings suggest that young adult women predominantly adopt a punishment-avoidance strategy during IGT, exhibiting increased activation in the left hemisphere, especially during the task's initial phase characterized by ambiguity.

Decision-making deficits in obsessive-compulsive disorder are associated with abnormality of recency and response consistency parameter in prospect valence learning model.

Background: Patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) have deficits in decision-making in the Iowa Gambling Task (IGT). However, no study has investigated the parameters of the prospect valence learning (PVL) model in the IGT for OCD. Aims: This study aimed to investigate deficits in decision-making in OCD using the PVL model and identify whether the parameters of the PVL model were associated with obsessive-compulsive severity. Methods: Forty-seven medication-free patients with OCD were compared with 47 healthy controls (HCs). Decision-making was measured using the total net and block net scores of the IGT. A PVL model with a decay-reinforcement learning rule (PVL-DecayRI) was used to investigate the parameters of the model. Correlation analysis was conducted between each parameter of the PVL-DecayRL and obsessive-compulsive symptoms. Results: The total net score of patients with OCD was significantly lower than that of the HCs. The block net scores of the OCD group did not differ across the five blocks, whereas in the HCs, the fifth block net score was significantly higher than the block net scores of the first and second blocks. The values of the recency and response consistency parameters of the PVL-DecayRI in patients with OCD were significantly lower than those in HCs. The recency parameter positively correlated with the Y-BOCS obsessive score. Meanwhile, there was no correlation between consistency parameter values and symptom severity in OCD. Conclusion: Our detailed analysis of the decision-making deficit in OCD suggests that the most recent outcome has a small influence on the expectancy of prospect valence, as indicated by the lower recency parameter, and is characterized by more impulsive choices, as indicated by the lower consistency parameter.

Harm Avoidance is Correlated with the Reward System in Adult Patients with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder: A Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging Study.

Objective: Hypoactivity in the reward system among patients with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a well-known phenomenon. Whether the activity in the reward pathway is related to harm avoidance, such as in sensitivity to punishment, is unclear. Evidence regarding the potential difference between ADHD patients and controls in terms of this association is scarce. Methods: Event-related functional magnetic resonance imaging was conducted on subjects performing the Iowa gambling test. Fourteen adults with ADHD and 14 controls were enrolled in the study. Results: Harm avoidance was found to be positively correlated with the activities of the bilateral orbitofrontal cortex and right insula in individuals with ADHD. A group difference was also confirmed. Conclusion: Understanding the roles of harm avoidance and brain activation during risk tasks is important.

A pilot study on the association between the blood oxygen level-dependent signal in the reward system and dopamine transporter availability in adults with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.

BACKGROUND: It is well-known that attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is associated with changes in the dopaminergic system. However, the relationship between central dopaminergic tone and the blood oxygen level-dependent (BOLD) signal during receipt of rewards and penalties in the corticostriatal pathway in adults with ADHD is unclear. METHODS: Single-photon emission computed tomography with [99mTC]TRODAT-1 was used to assess striatal dopamine transporter (DAT) availability. Event-related functional magnetic resonance imaging was conducted on subjects performing the Iowa Gambling Test. RESULT: DAT availability was found to be associated with the BOLD response, which was a covariate of monetary loss, in the medial prefrontal cortex (r = 0.55, P = .03), right ventral striatum (r = 0.69, P = .003), and right orbital frontal cortex (r = 0.53, P = .03) in adults with ADHD. However, a similar correlation was not found in the controls. CONCLUSIONS: The results confirmed that dopaminergic tone may play a different role in the penalty-elicited response of adults with ADHD. It is plausible that a lower neuro-threshold accompanied by insensitivity to punishment could be exacerbated by the hypodopaminergic tone in ADHD.

Investigating the relationship between decision-making processes and cognitive processes, personality traits, and affect via the structural equation model in young adults.

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between decision making and set-shifting, working memory, planning, selective attention, personality and affect, and to investigate these relations with the help of the structural equation model (SEM). A total of 100 participants, 59 female and 41 male, participated in the study. The mean age of the participants was 20.42 years (SD = 1.37). Decision making, set-shifting, selective attention, planning, working memory, personality, and affect were measured via the Iowa Gambling Test (IGT), Wisconsin Card Sorting Test, Stroop Test TBAG Version, Tower of London Test, Wechsler Memory Scale-III Letter-Number Sequencing Subtest, Basic Personality Traits Inventory (BPTI), and Positive and Negative Affect Scale (PANAS), respectively, all of which were administered individually. Results of the correlation analyses revealed that various IGT scores were correlated with the four neuropsychological tests as well as the PANAS negative-affect subscale and the BPTI openness to experience factor. Furthermore, the first SEM analysis indicated that the independent latent variables of working memory, set-shifting and planning were significant in predicting the decision making. Finally, the second model of the Block Net Scores revealed the independent latent variables of set-shifting and planning as being significant in decision-making prediction.

Corrigendum: Bad Choices Make Good Stories: The Impaired Decision-Making Process and Skin Conductance Response in Subjects With Smartphone Addiction.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.3389/fpsyt.2019.00073.].

Neuropsychology of reward learning and negative symptoms in schizophrenia.

We used the Iowa Gambling Test (IGT) to examine the relationship of reward learning to both neuropsychological functioning and symptom formation in 65 individuals with schizophrenia. Results indicated that compared to controls, participants with schizophrenia showed significantly reduced reward learning, which in turn correlated with reduced intelligence, memory and executive function, and negative symptoms. The current findings suggested that a disease-related disturbance in reward learning may underlie both cognitive and motivation deficits, as expressed by neuropsychological impairment and negative symptoms in schizophrenia.

Initial evidence for sex-specific effects of early emotional abuse on affective processing in bipolar disorder.

PURPOSE: This study investigates the effect of sex and childhood trauma on affective processing in bipolar disorder (BPD) patients. METHODS: In a sample of fifty-six BPD patients, we administered the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (CTQ), and the Iowa Gambling Task (IGT) and the Affective Go/No-Go (AGNG) to measure affective processing. Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) was used to evaluate the effect of sex and childhood trauma on IGT; Repeated-Measures ANOVAs to measure accuracy and bias measures across conditions on the AGNG. RESULTS: In the context of childhood abuse, females evidenced a more conservative cognitive style than males by selecting fewer cards from the disadvantageous decks [F(1, 49)=14.218; P<0.001] and showed an improvement throughout the task, as noted in a normal learning curve [F(1.49)=4.385; P=0.041)]. For the AGNG, an interaction specific to the negative valence stimuli on response bias measures was found. Abused females scored higher (mean=8.38; SD=6.39) than abused males (mean=0.69; SD=1.19) [F(1.46)=6.348; P=0.015]. CONCLUSION: Severity of childhood trauma was significantly different between sexes. In the context of a history of emotional abuse, male bipolar patients tended toward a more risk-taking behavior compared to female. Further investigations are needed to elucidate potential pathophysiological mechanisms underlying this interaction.

O Desempenho de idosos quanto a tomada de decisão em duas variações do Iowa Gambling Test / Performance of older adults in two versions of the Iowa Gambling Task

O Iowa Gambling Test é utilizado na avaliação da tomada de decisão. O objetivo do presente estudo foi investigar se alterações nos procedimentos de aplicação do instrumento interferem na tarefa. Foi realizado um estudo transversal comparando dois grupos de idosos saudáveis em duas variações do instrumento. Vinte e sete participantes executaram a tarefa sem pista de reforço visual, enquanto 17 participantes foram submetidos à tarefa com pista. Os dados foram analisados por meio dos testes t de Student para amostras independentes e ANOVA para medidas repetidas. Houve diferença estatisticamente significativa entre os grupos quanto à aversão ao risco. Os resultados indicam que uma pista de reforço visual permite a alocação de recursos atencionais e de memória de trabalho, possibilitando decisões menos arriscadas.

The Iowa Gambling Test is used in decision making assessment. The aim of this study was to investigate if changes in the instrument application procedures interfere in the task execution.Across sectional study was carried out comparing two groups of healthy elderly in two variations of the instrument. Twenty seven participants executed the task without visual reinforcement clues, while 17 participants were submitted to the task with clues. Statistically significant difference was found between the two groups in relation to risk aversion. Results indicate that a clue of visual reinforcement permits the allocation of attention resources and working memory, allowing less risky decisions.

O desempenho de idosos com e sem declínio cognitivo leve nos Testes Wisconsin de Classificação de Cartas e Iowa Gambling Test / Desempeño de ancianos con y sin Deterioro Cognitivo Ligero (DCL) en el Test de Ordenamiento de Cartas de Wisconsin y en el Iowa Gambling Test / Performance of elderly with and without mild cognitive impairment in the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test and Iowa Gambling Test

Estudos recentes sugerem a existência de disfunções executivas no Declínio Cognitivo Leve (DCL), além das de memória. O objetivo deste trabalho foi verificar a presença de disfunções executivas em pacientes com DCL. Os instrumentos utilizados foram o Teste Wisconsin de Classificação de Cartas (WCST) e o Iowa Gambling Test (IGT). Foram estudados dez pacientes com e 27 sem DCL. Os dados foram analisados através do teste t de Student para amostras independentes e da análise de variância (ANOVA) para medidas repetidas. Os resultados não evidenciaram diferença significativa entre os grupos nos índices de resposta do WCST e no número de cartas retiradas de cada baralho no IGT. O estudo da evolução do desempenho no IGT revelou diferença qualitativa entre os grupos. Idosos sem DCL aprendem ao longo da tarefa, enquanto idosos com DCL não o fazem, sugerindo uma interferência dos sistemas de memória na tomada de decisão.

Recent studies suggest the existence of executive dysfunctions in Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI). The aim of this work was to verify the presence of executive dysfunctions in patients with MCI. The instruments used were the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (WCST) and the Iowa Gambling Test (IGT). Ten patients with and 27 without MCI were assessed. The data were analyzed through Student t test for independent samples and analysis of variance (ANOVA) for repeated measures. The results did not show significant difference between groups in the answer rates of WCST and in the number of cards with drawn from each pack of cards in the IGT. The study of the performance evolution in the IGT revealed a qualitative difference between the groups. Elderly without MCI learn along the task, while elderly with MCI did not, suggesting an interference of memory systems in decision making.

Recientes estudios hacen sugerencia a la existencia de disfunciones ejecutivas, más allá de las de la memoria, en el Deterioro Cognitivo Ligero (DCL). El objetivo de ese trabajo fue verificar la presencia de disfunciones ejecutivas en ancianos con DCL en comparación a un grupo control. Los instrumentos utilizados fueran el Test de Ordenamiento de Cartas de Winsconsin (WCST) y el Iowa Gambling Test (IGT). Fueran estudiados diez pacientes con DCL y 27 controles. Los datos fueran analizados a través del test t de Student para muestras independientes y de la ANOVA para medidas repetidas. Los resultados no traen evidencia de significativa distinción entre los grupos en los índices de respuesta del WCST en el número de cartas tiradas de cada baraja en IGT. El estudio de la evolución del desempeño en el IGT revelo diferencia cualitativa entre los grupos. Ancianos sin DCL aprenden a lo longo de la tarea, mientras ancianos con DCL no lo hacen, haciendo sugerencia de una interferencia de los sistemas de memoria en la tomada de decisión.