Value-based decision-making in regular alcohol consumers following experimental manipulation of alcohol value.

BACKGROUND: Devaluation of alcohol leads to reductions in alcohol choice and consumption; however, the cognitive mechanisms that underpin this relationship are not well-understood. In this study we applied a computational model of value-based decision-making (VBDM) to decisions made about alcohol and alcohol-unrelated cues following experimental manipulation of alcohol value. METHOD: Using a pre-registered within-subject design, thirty-six regular alcohol consumers (≥14 UK units per week) completed a two-alternative forced choice task where they chose between two alcohol images (in one block) or two soft drink images (in a different block) after watching videos that emphasised the positive (alcohol value), and separately, the negative (alcohol devalue) consequences of alcohol. On each block, participants pressed a key to select the image depicting the drink they would rather consume. A drift-diffusion model (DDM) was fitted to reaction time and choice data to estimate evidence accumulation (EA) processes and response thresholds during the different blocks in each experimental condition. FINDINGS: In the alcohol devalue condition, soft drink EA rates were significantly higher compared to alcohol EA rates (p = 0.04, d = 0.31), and compared to soft drink EA rates in the alcohol value condition (p = 0.01, d = 0.38). However, EA rates for alcoholic drinks and response thresholds (for either drink type) were unaffected by the experimental manipulation. CONCLUSIONS: In line with behavioural economic models of addiction that emphasise the important role of alternative reinforcement, experimentally manipulating alcohol value is associated with changes in the internal cognitive processes that precede soft drink choice.

Modeling the value-based decision to consume alcohol in response to emotional experiences.

Evidence for negative reinforcement of alcohol use is mixed; one possible explanation for this is that people make value-based decisions whether to regulate their emotions via alcohol or an alternative, and only drink-to-cope when alcohol's reinforcing value is larger than that of available alternatives. If this is the case, immediately following a negative emotional event, the value for alcohol should increase primarily in heavy drinkers, whereas in light drinkers, alternative ways of coping should be valued. We conducted a preregistered online experiment (N = 200) with a mixed design (between: heavy vs. light drinker; within: negative/neutral/positive mood induction). In each of three experimental sessions, participants first provided value ratings for a set of alcohol and food stimuli. Second, they were subjected to a mood induction. Third, they made forced choices between either two alcohol or food stimuli. We then applied a drift-diffusion model to these data and tested whether alcohol- and food-related decision-making parameters are differentially affected following the mood inductions in heavy and light drinkers. In preregistered analyses, we found that heavy drinkers did not value alcohol more but valued food less after the negative mood induction. Exploratory analyses uncovered that both heavy- and light-drinking participants valued alcohol more following the negative mood induction if they reported high alcohol craving at the start of the session. Collectively, these results provide some evidence for the idea that drinking-to-cope might be a value-based decision-making process. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).

Recovery From Nicotine Addiction: A Diffusion Model Decomposition of Value-Based Decision-Making in Current Smokers and Ex-smokers.

INTRODUCTION: A considerable number of people successfully give up tobacco smoking. In nicotine-dependent individuals, tobacco choice is determined by greater expected drug value; however, less is known about the underlying mechanisms through which people quit smoking. AIMS AND METHODS: This study aimed to explore whether computational parameters of value-based decision-making (VBDM) characterize recovery from nicotine addiction. Using a preregistered, between-subject design, current daily smokers (n = 51) and ex-smokers who used to smoke daily (n = 51) were recruited from the local community. Participants completed a two-alternative forced choice task in which they chose between either two tobacco-related images (in one block) or tobacco-unrelated images (in a different block). During each trial, participants pressed a computer key to select the image they rated most positively during a previous task block. To estimate evidence accumulation (EA) processes and response thresholds during the different blocks, a drift-diffusion model was fitted to the reaction time and error data. RESULTS: Ex-smokers had significantly higher response thresholds when making tobacco-related decisions (p = .01, d = 0.45) compared to current smokers, although there were no significant group differences during tobacco-unrelated decisions. Furthermore, there were no significant group differences in EA rates when making tobacco or tobacco-unrelated decisions. CONCLUSIONS: Greater cautiousness when making value-based decisions about tobacco-related cues characterized recovery from nicotine addiction. IMPLICATIONS: The number of people dependent on nicotine has decreased steadily during the past decade; however, the mechanisms that underlie recovery are currently less well understood. The present study applied advances in the measurement of value-based choice. The aim was to explore whether the internal processes that underpin VBDM discriminate current daily tobacco smokers from ex-tobacco smokers who used to smoke daily. Findings revealed that recovery from nicotine addiction was characterized by higher response thresholds when making value-based decisions about tobacco-related cues; this may serve as a novel target for treatment interventions that focus on helping people to stop smoking.

Behavioral economic and value-based decision-making constructs that discriminate current heavy drinkers versus people who reduced their drinking without treatment.

OBJECTIVE: A substantial number of people reduce their consumption of alcohol in the absence of formal treatment; however, less is known about the mechanisms of change. The aim of this study is to explore whether constructs derived from behavioral economics and computational decision-modeling characterize the moderation of alcohol consumption that many heavy drinkers experience without treatment. METHOD: Between-subject, preregistered design. People who reside in the United Kingdom and who drink heavily (n = 60) or used to drink heavily but now consume alcohol in moderation (n = 60) were recruited. Participants completed self-report behavioral economic measures (alcohol demand and alcohol-related and alcohol-free reinforcement) and a two-alternative forced choice task in which they chose between two alcoholic (in one block) or two soft drink images (in a different block). A drift-diffusion model was fitted to responses from this task to yield the underlying parameters of value-based choice. RESULTS: Compared to heavy drinkers, moderated drinkers had significantly lower alcohol demand, Omax, p = .03, Cohen's d = .36; elasticity, p = .03, rank-biserial correlation (rrb) = .21, and higher proportionate alcohol-free reinforcement (p < .001, Cohen's d = .75). However, contrary to hypotheses, there were no robust between-group differences in value-based decision-making (VBDM) parameters. CONCLUSIONS: Self-report behavioral economic measures demonstrate that alcohol moderation without treatment is characterized by lowered alcohol demand and greater behavioral allocation to alcohol-free reinforcement, in line with behavioral economic theory. However, a computerized VBDM measure yielded inconclusive findings. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).

Raising the bar: improving methodological rigour in cognitive alcohol research.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: A range of experimental paradigms claim to measure the cognitive processes underpinning alcohol use, suggesting that heightened attentional bias, greater approach tendencies and reduced cue-specific inhibitory control are important drivers of consumption. This paper identifies methodological shortcomings within this broad domain of research and exemplifies them in studies focused specifically on alcohol-related attentional bias. ARGUMENT AND ANALYSIS: We highlight five main methodological issues: (i) the use of inappropriately matched control stimuli; (ii) opacity of stimulus selection and validation procedures; (iii) a credence in noisy measures; (iv) a reliance on unreliable tasks; and (v) variability in design and analysis. This is evidenced through a review of alcohol-related attentional bias (64 empirical articles, 68 tasks), which reveals the following: only 53% of tasks use appropriately matched control stimuli; as few as 38% report their stimulus selection and 19% their validation procedures; less than 28% used indices capable of disambiguating attentional processes; 22% assess reliability; and under 2% of studies were pre-registered. CONCLUSIONS: Well-matched and validated experimental stimuli, the development of reliable cognitive tasks and explicit assessment of their psychometric properties, and careful consideration of behavioural indices and their analysis will improve the methodological rigour of cognitive alcohol research. Open science principles can facilitate replication and reproducibility in alcohol research.

The association between meaning in life and harmful drinking is mediated by individual differences in self-control and alcohol value.

INTRODUCTION: The adoption of adult roles that provide meaning in life is associated with reduced harmful drinking. The current study examined whether this relationship is mediated by increased self-control and reduced value of alcohol. METHODS: Cross-sectional design. 1043 adults (786 females) ≥18 years old completed an online survey. The outcome variable was scores on the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT), predictor variables were presence of and search for meaning in life (Meaning in Life Questionnaire), and mediating variables were trait self-control (Brief Self-Control Scale) and the value of alcohol (Brief Assessment of Alcohol Demand). RESULTS: Presence of meaning in life had a significant negative association (B = -0.01, SE = 0.00, 95% CI -0.02 to -0.00, p = .015), whilst search for meaning in life had a significant positive association (B = 0.01, SE = 0.00, 95% CI 0.01 to 0.02, p = .001) with AUDIT scores. The negative association was mediated by increased self-control (B = -0.09, SE = 0.01, 95% CI -0.12 to -0.06) and decreased value of alcohol (B = -0.02, SE = 0.01, 95% CI -0.04 to 0.00), whilst the positive association was mediated by decreased self-control (B = 0.05, SE = 0.01, 95% CI 0.03 to 0.07) and increased value of alcohol (B = 0.02, SE = 0.01, 95% CI 0.00 to 0.04), thereby supporting our hypotheses. CONCLUSIONS: The relationships between presence and search for meaning in life and harmful drinking are mediated by individual differences in both trait self-control and the value of alcohol.