Neural activation during risky decision-making in youth at high risk for substance use disorders

AbstractRisky decision making, a hallmark phenotype of substance use disorders (SUD), is thought to be associated with deficient feedback processing. Whether these aberrations are present prior to SUD onset or reflect merely a consequence of chronic substance use on the brain remains unclear. The present study investigated whether blunted feedback processing during risky decision making reflects a biological predisposition to SUD. We assessed event-related potentials elicited by positive and negative feedback during performance of a modified version of the Balloon Analogue Risk Task (BART) among high-risk adolescents with a parental history of SUD (HR; n = 61) and normal-risk controls (NR; n = 91). HR males made significantly more risky and faster decisions during the BART than did NR controls. Moreover, HR adolescents showed significantly reduced P300 amplitudes in response to both positive and negative feedback as compared to NR controls. These differences were not secondary to prolonged substance use exposure. Results are discussed in terms of feedback-specific processes. Reduced P300 amplitudes in the BART may reflect poor processing of feedback at the level of overall salience, which may keep people from effectively predicting the probability of future gains and losses. Though conclusions are tentative, blunted feedback processing during risky decision making may represent a promising endophenotypic vulnerability marker for SUD.

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Modeling Substance Use Relapse Based on Risky Decision Making, Attentional Bias, and Reward Sensitivity: with the Mediating Role of Craving: A Descriptive Study

Journal of Rafsanjan University of Medical Sciences ◽

10.52547/jrums.20.7.747 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 20 (7) ◽

pp. 747-766

Author(s):

M. Taherifard ◽

S. Basharpoor ◽

N. Hajloo ◽

M. Narimani ◽

J. l Alizadeh Gorade

Keyword(s):

Decision Making ◽

Substance Use ◽

Attentional Bias ◽

Descriptive Study ◽

Reward Sensitivity ◽

Risky Decision Making ◽

Risky Decision ◽

Mediating Role

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Problematic social media use is associated with the evaluation of both risk and ambiguity during decision making

Journal of Behavioral Addictions ◽

10.1556/2006.2021.00047 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Dar Meshi ◽

David Freestone ◽

Ceylan Özdem-Mertens

Keyword(s):

Decision Making ◽

Social Media ◽

Substance Use ◽

High Risk ◽

Substance Use Disorders ◽

Media Use ◽

Social Media Use ◽

Social Media Platforms ◽

Problematic Social Media Use ◽

Use Of Social Media

AbstractBackground and aimsPeople can engage in excessive, maladaptive use of social media platforms. This problematic social media use mirrors substance use disorders with regard to symptoms and certain behavioral situations. For example, individuals with substance use disorders demonstrate aberrations in risk evaluations during decision making, and initial research on problematic social media use has revealed similar findings. However, these results concerning problematic social media use have been clouded by tasks that involve learning and that lack a clear demarcation between risky and ambiguous decision making. Therefore, we set out to specifically determine the relationship between problematic social media use and decision making under both risk and ambiguity, in the absence of learning.MethodsWe assessed each participant's (N = 90) self-reported level of problematic social media use. We then had them perform the wheel of fortune task, which has participants make choices between a sure option or either a risky or ambiguous gamble. In this way, the task isolates decisions made under risk and ambiguity, and avoids trial-to-trial learning. Results: We found that the greater an individual's problematic social media use, the more often that individual choses high-risk gambles or ambiguous gambles, regardless of the degree of ambiguity.Discussion and conclusionsOur findings indicate that greater problematic social media use is related to a greater affinity for high-risk situations and overall ambiguity. These findings have implications for the field, specifically clarifying and extending the extant literature, as well as providing future avenues for research.

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Risky decision-making in individuals with substance use disorder: A meta-analysis and meta-regression review

Psychopharmacology ◽

10.1007/s00213-020-05506-y ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 237 (7) ◽

pp. 1893-1908

Author(s):

Shujuan Chen ◽

Pingyuan Yang ◽

Tianzhen Chen ◽

Hang Su ◽

Haifeng Jiang ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Decision Making ◽

Substance Use ◽

Substance Use Disorder ◽

Meta Analysis ◽

Risky Decision Making ◽

Risky Decision ◽

Meta Regression

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Time-Based Prospective Memory Predicts Engagement in Risk Behaviors Among Substance Users: Results From Clinical and Nonclinical Samples

Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society ◽

10.1017/s1355617712001361 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 19 (3) ◽

pp. 284-294 ◽

Cited By ~ 13

Author(s):

Michael Weinborn ◽

Jonson Moyle ◽

Romola S. Bucks ◽

Werner Stritzke ◽

Angela Leighton ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Decision Making ◽

Substance Use ◽

Prospective Memory ◽

Cognitive Rehabilitation ◽

Management Strategies ◽

Sexual Practices ◽

Risky Decision Making ◽

Risky Decision ◽

Everyday Functioning ◽

Two Samples

AbstractDeficits in prospective memory (PM; i.e., enacting previously learned actions at the right occasion) and risky decision-making (i.e., making choices with a high chance of undesirable/dangerous outcomes) are both common among individuals with substance use disorders (SUD). Previous research has raised the possibility of a specific relationship between PM and risk-taking, and the present study aimed to systematically study if PM provides unique variance in the prediction of risky decision-making. Two samples were included: (1) a group of 45 individuals with SUD currently in treatment, and (2) a nonclinical group of 59 university students with high-risk drinking and/or substance use. Regression analyses indicated that time-based, but not event-based, PM predicted increased risky behavior (e.g., risky sexual practices and criminal behaviors) in both groups after controlling for demographic, psychiatric, and substance use variables, as well as other neuropsychological functions. The current findings contribute to the growing literature supporting the role of PM as a predictor of everyday functioning, and suggest that cognitive rehabilitation may be an important avenue of research as an adjunct to traditional substance use treatment, particularly in addressing the potential adverse effects of PM deficits in the implementation of treatment-related homework activities and risk management strategies. (JINS, 2013, 19, 1–11)

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Neural Activation in Risky Decision-Making Tasks in Healthy Older Adults: A Meta-Analysis of fMRI Data

Brain Sciences ◽

10.3390/brainsci11081043 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (8) ◽

pp. 1043

Author(s):

Thomas Tannou ◽

Eloi Magnin ◽

Alexandre Comte ◽

Régis Aubry ◽

Sven Joubert

Keyword(s):

Older Adults ◽

Decision Making ◽

Functional Neuroimaging ◽

Meta Analysis ◽

Hemispheric Lateralization ◽

Neural Activation ◽

Behavioral Strategies ◽

Risky Decision Making ◽

Risky Decision ◽

Healthy Older Adults

Decision making is a complex cognitive phenomenon commonly used in everyday life. Studies have shown differences in behavioral strategies in risky decision-making tasks over the course of aging. The development of functional neuroimaging has gradually allowed the exploration of the neurofunctional bases of these behaviors. The purpose of our study was to carry out a meta-analysis on the neural networks underlying risky decision making in healthy older adults. Following the PRISMA guidelines, we systematically searched for fMRI studies of decision making in older adults using risky decision-making tasks. To perform the quantitative meta-analysis, we used the revised version of the activation likelihood estimation (ALE) algorithm. A total of 620 references were selected for initial screening. Among these, five studies with a total of 98 cognitively normal older participants (mean age: 69.5 years) were included. The meta-analysis yielded two clusters. Main activations were found in the right insula, bilateral dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (dlPFC) and left orbitofrontal cortex (OFC). Despite the limited number of studies included, our meta-analysis highlights the crucial involvement of circuits associated with both emotion regulation and the decision to act. However, in contrast to the literature on young adults, our results indicate a different pattern of hemispheric lateralization in older participants. These activations can be used as a minimum pattern of activation in the risky decision-making tasks of healthy older subjects.

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