Differences in Cold and Hot Decision-Making between Gambling and Other Addictions.

Behavioral and biological addictions can impair decision-making processes, mainly by means of a dysfunction in brain regions associated with reward and frontal areas that may lead to disadvantageous choices. Understanding these differences helps establish appropriate terminology and enhances our ability to recognize, prevent, and treat these disorders effectively. Thus, while behavioral and biological addictions share some common elements, their underlying mechanisms and impact on decision-making vary significantly. Moreover, decision-making can be measured through questionnaires (stable or "cold" measures) or dynamic tasks (hot decisions) such as the Iowa Gambling Task (IGT), which can reflect different dimensions of this process. The aim of this study was to compare decision-making from different perspectives-stable and dynamic measures-in patients with gambling addiction (GA) (n = 42) and patients with biological addictions (BA) (n = 43). Decision-making was assessed using GDMS (Decisional Styles) and the LCT (Loss Aversion), as cold decision-making measures, as well as a hot or situational task called the IGT (Iowa Gambling Task). The results revealed that GA patients exhibited lower rational style scores compared to BA patients. Additionally, GA patients showed greater loss aversion according to the LCT questionnaire. On the other hand, when analyzing the IGT results, no differences were observed between groups in the overall IG index, learning curves, or the loss aversion parameter. However, GA patients showed higher sensitivity to feedback and less consistency in their decisions. These findings highlight the differences between different types of addictions and highlight the importance of considering the type of measure used to evaluate decision-making.

Exploring the impact of smartphone addiction on decision-making behavior in college students: an fNIRS study based on the Iowa Gambling Task.

The pervasive use of smartphones, while enhancing accessibility to information and communication, has raised concerns about its potential negative effects on physical and mental health, including the impairment of decision-making abilities. This study investigates the influence of smartphone addiction on decision-making in college students. A sample of 80 individuals aged 17 to 26 was selected and divided into two groups based on their Smartphone Addiction Scale-Short Version (SAS-SV) scores. Participants underwent the Iowa Gambling Task (IGT) to evaluate their decision-making in risky and uncertain conditions, while fNIRS recorded their prefrontal cortex activity. The study found that individuals prone to smartphone addiction tend to make riskier choices in risky situations. However, when faced with decisions based on ambiguity, the smartphone addiction group showed increased brain activity in the dlPFC (specifically in channels 4, 9, and 11) compared to when making risky decisions. Despite this increased brain activation, there was no observable difference in behavior between the addiction-prone and control groups in ambiguous scenarios. Notably, the left dlPFC (e.g., channel 4) exhibited significantly higher activation in the addiction group compared to the control group. Findings suggest that smartphone addiction can detrimentally influence decision-making, behaviorally and neurologically, particularly in uncertain contexts. This study supports the classification of smartphone addiction as a genuine addiction and underscores its significance in psychiatric research. In essence, our research underscores the adverse effects of excessive smartphone use on decision-making processes, reinforcing the necessity to treat smartphone addiction as a pressing public health issue.

Effects of Excessive High-fructose Corn Syrup Drink Intake in Middle-aged Mice.

BACKGROUND/AIM: The global prevalence of type 2 diabetes (T2D) continues to increase, necessitating the need for understanding the causes of its development. The widespread use of high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS) in drinks and diets is suspected to play a role in metabolic disorders. Although many studies have reported on the effects of excessive HFCS and excessive energy intakes in middle-aged individuals, few have focused on energy restriction. This study aimed to investigate the effects of excessive HFCS drink intake under energy restriction on developing T2D in early middle-aged mice. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Early middle-aged mice were divided in HFCS and control groups; they were provided either 10% HFCS water or deionized water ad libitum for 12 weeks, respectively. Total energy intake was controlled using a standard rodent diet. Oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT), insulin tolerance test (ITT), tissue weight measurements, serum parameter analyses, and mRNA expression assessments were performed. RESULTS: No increase in body and adipose tissue weight was observed with excessive HFCS intake under energy restriction. Moreover, serum lipid parameters did not differ from those of controls. However, in the OGTT and ITT, the HFCS group showed higher blood glucose levels than the control group. Moreover, the pancreatic weight and insulin II mRNA expression were reduced. CONCLUSION: The excessive HFCS drink intake under energy restriction did not induce obesity; however, it induced impaired glucose tolerance, indicating its negative effects on the pancreas in early middle-aged mice. When translated in human physiology, our results show that even if one does not become obese, excessive HFCS may affect the overall metabolic mechanism; these effects may vary depending on age.

Older adults' decision-making following bad advice.

There is minimal research investigating the influence of advice on decision-making in older age. The present study investigated the effect of different types of bad advice, relative to no advice, on young and older adults' decision-making in the Iowa Gambling Task (IGT). Fifty-four older adults and 59 young adults completed the IGT after receiving no advice, or advice to select from disadvantageous deck A (small, high-frequency losses), or disadvantageous deck B (larger, low-frequency losses). Corrugator EMG, memory and fluid intelligence were assessed. Averaged across advice conditions, older adults made more disadvantageous selections than young adults. There were no age-related differences in responding to bad advice, nor in corrugator activity in response to losses (i.e. frowning), or in learning to avoid deck A faster than deck B. Selecting from deck B was associated with reduced education among older adults, and reduced fluid intelligence among young adults. The data suggest that older adults make more disadvantageous decisions than young adults, and this is not exacerbated by bad advice. Both young and older adults are slower at learning to avoid choices resulting in low frequency relative to high-frequency losses, and this may be associated with individual differences in cognitive processing.

Do DEEPER ROOTING 1 Homologs Regulate the Lateral Root Slope Angle in Cucumber (Cucumis sativus)?

The architecture of the root system is fundamental to plant productivity. The rate of root growth, the density of lateral roots, and the spatial structure of lateral and adventitious roots determine the developmental plasticity of the root system in response to changes in environmental conditions. One of the genes involved in the regulation of the slope angle of lateral roots is DEEPER ROOTING 1 (DRO1). Its orthologs and paralogs have been identified in rice, Arabidopsis, and several other species. However, nothing is known about the formation of the slope angle of lateral roots in species with the initiation of lateral root primordia within the parental root meristem. To address this knowledge gap, we identified orthologs and paralogs of the DRO1 gene in cucumber (Cucumis sativus) using a phylogenetic analysis of IGT protein family members. Differences in the transcriptional response of CsDRO1, CsDRO1-LIKE1 (CsDRO1L1), and CsDRO1-LIKE2 (CsDRO1L2) to exogenous auxin were analyzed. The results showed that only CsDRO1L1 is auxin-responsive. An analysis of promoter-reporter fusions demonstrated that the CsDRO1, CsDRO1L1, and CsDRO1L2 genes were expressed in the meristem in cell files of the central cylinder, endodermis, and cortex; the three genes displayed different expression patterns in cucumber roots with only partial overlap. A knockout of individual CsDRO1, CsDRO1L1, and CsDRO1L2 genes was performed via CRISPR/Cas9 gene editing. Our study suggests that the knockout of individual genes does not affect the slope angle formation during lateral root primordia development in the cucumber parental root.

IGT/LAZY genes are differentially influenced by light and required for light-induced change to organ angle.

BACKGROUND: Plants adjust their growth orientations primarily in response to light and gravity signals. Considering that the gravity vector is fixed and the angle of light incidence is constantly changing, plants must somehow integrate these signals to establish organ orientation, commonly referred to as gravitropic set-point angle (GSA). The IGT gene family contains known regulators of GSA, including the gene clades LAZY, DEEPER ROOTING (DRO), and TILLER ANGLE CONTROL (TAC). RESULTS: Here, we investigated the influence of light on different aspects of GSA phenotypes in LAZY and DRO mutants, as well as the influence of known light signaling pathways on IGT gene expression. Phenotypic analysis revealed that LAZY and DRO genes are collectively required for changes in the angle of shoot branch tip and root growth in response to light. Single lazy1 mutant branch tips turn upward in the absence of light and in low light, similar to wild-type, and mimic triple and quadruple IGT mutants in constant light and high-light conditions, while triple and quadruple IGT/LAZY mutants show little to no response to changing light regimes. Further, the expression of IGT/LAZY genes is differentially influenced by daylength, circadian clock, and light signaling. CONCLUSIONS: Collectively, the data show that differential expression of LAZY and DRO genes are required to enable plants to alter organ angles in response to light-mediated signals.

Higher Short-Chain Fermentable Carbohydrates Are Associated with Lower Body Fat and Higher Insulin Sensitivity in People with Prediabetes.

The quality of carbohydrates has metabolic consequences in people with prediabetes. However, the causality of short-chain fermentable carbohydrate intakes and metabolic parameters has not been explored in the prediabetic or diabetic population. We investigated associations between different types of carbohydrates, including fermentable oligosaccharides, disaccharides, monosaccharides, polyols (FODMAPs), and polysaccharides (dietary fibre), and body composition and glucose/insulin responses in subjects with prediabetes. In this prospective cross-sectional study, 177 subjects with impaired glucose tolerance (IGT) (mean age: 60 (54-62) years, 41% men) underwent an assessment of body composition and completed six-point oral glucose tolerance tests (OGTT), Homeostatic Model Assessment of Insulin Resistance (HOMA2-IR), insulin sensitivity, detailed 3-day food records, and physical activity questionnaire. Daily habitual FODMAP intake decreased progressively with increasing BMI, ranging from 7.9 (6.2-12.7) g/d in subjects with normal BMI and 6.6 (4.6-9.9) g/d in subjects with overweight to 5.8 (3.8-9.0) g/d in subjects with obesity (p = 0.038). After adjustment for age and gender, galactooligosaccharides (GOSs) were negatively correlated with body fat (Standardised Beta coefficient ß = -0.156, p = 0.006) and positively associated with insulin sensitivity (ß = 0.243, p = 0.001). This remained significant after adjustment for macronutrients, fibre, and physical activity (p = 0.035 and p = 0.010, respectively). In individuals with IGT, higher dietary GOS intake was associated with lower body fat and higher insulin sensitivity independent of macronutrients and fibre intake, calling for interventional studies to evaluate the effect of FODMAP intake in prediabetes.

Decision-making style explains the withdrawal behavior of shy individuals: evidence from Chinese college students.

Few studies have examined the mechanisms linking motivated behavior and reward-punishment stimuli in shy individuals. This study was designed to probe these mechanisms by examining shy and non-shy college student responses to both monetary rewards and penalties in the Iowa Gambling Task (IGT). Specifically, out of the 280 undergraduates surveyed in East China, 45 participants (18 boys) identified as shy and 45 (19 boys) identified as non-shy based on their shyness questionnaire scores were selected to participate in the IGT. Results revealed that shy participants selected favorable low-risk seeking decks (deck C) more frequently and adverse high-risk seeking decks (deck B) less frequently and were more inclined to change deck selection after incurring a net loss. Furthermore, the net score of shy students was higher than that of nonshy students. Results demonstrated that shy people were the winners of IGT games, indicating that they are more likely to exhibit risk-averse behaviors when making decisions. The results are discussed from the perspective of the decision-making style and practical implications of shy individuals.

Executive functions in the young elderly and oldest old: a preliminary comparison emphasizing decision making

This study aimed at investigating differences in the performance of the young elderly and oldest old in tasks evaluating cognitive flexibility/inhibition (Stroop test), selective attention/working memory (Digit Span Subtest), premorbid intelligence/semantic knowledge (Vocabulary Subtest), and decision making (Iowa Gambling Task - IGT). Twenty healthy individuals were divided into two groups: 10 young elderly (M = 62 years, SD = 2.1) and 10 oldest old (M = 80 years, SD = 3.3), both with high educational level (M = 14 years of study, SD = 2.5). Results showed that the groups were only different in terms of decision making. There was also a difference in the learning process of each group; the young elderly reached more favorable scores in the IGT.