scholarly journals Neural circuitry and mechanisms of waiting impulsivity: relevance to addiction

2018 ◽  
Vol 374 (1766) ◽  
pp. 20180145 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jeffrey W. Dalley ◽  
Karen D. Ersche

Impatience—the failure to wait or tolerate delayed rewards (e.g. food, drug and monetary incentives)—is a common behavioural tendency in humans. However, when rigidly and rapidly expressed with limited regard for future, often negative consequences, impatient or impulsive actions underlie and confer susceptibility for such diverse brain disorders as drug addiction, attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and major depressive disorder. Consequently, ‘waiting’ impulsivity has emerged as a candidate endophenotype to inform translational research on underlying neurobiological mechanisms and biomarker discovery for many of the so-called impulse-control disorders. Indeed, as reviewed in this article, this research enterprise has revealed a number of unexpected targets and mechanisms for intervention. However, in the context of drug addiction, impulsive decisions that maximize short-term gains (e.g. acute drug consumption) over longer-term punishment (e.g. unemployment, homelessness, personal harm) defines one aspect of impulsivity, which may or may not be related to rapid, unrestrained actions over shorter timescales. We discuss the relevance of this distinction in impulsivity subtypes for drug addiction with reference to translational research in humans and other animals. This article is part of the theme issue ‘Risk taking and impulsive behaviour: fundamental discoveries, theoretical perspectives and clinical implications’.

2018 ◽  
Vol 374 (1766) ◽  
pp. 20180144 ◽  
Author(s):  
Trevor Humby ◽  
Yateen Patel ◽  
Jenny Carter ◽  
Laura-Jean G. Stokes ◽  
Robert D. Rogers ◽  
...  

People, like animals, tend to choose the variable option when given the choice between a fixed and variable delay to reward where, in the variable delay condition, some rewards are available immediately (Laura-Jeanet al. 2019Phil. Trans. R. Soc. B374, 20180141. (doi:10.1098/rstb.2018.0141)). This bias has been suggested to reflect evolutionary pressures resulting from food scarcity in the past placing a premium on obtaining food quickly that can win out against the risks of sometimes sustaining longer delays to food. The psychologies mediating this effect may become maladaptive in the developed world where food is readily available contributing, potentially, to overeating and obesity. Here, we report our development of a novel touchscreen task in mice allowing comparisons of the impact of food delay and food magnitude across species. We show that mice exhibit the typical preference, as shown by humans, for variable over fixed delays to rewards but no preference when it comes to fixed versus variable reward amounts and further show that this bias is sensitive to manipulations of the 5-HT2Creceptor, a key mediator of feeding and impulse control. We discuss the data in terms of the utility of the task to model the psychologies and underlying brain mechanisms impacting on feeding behaviours.This article is part of the theme issue ‘Risk taking and impulsive behaviour: fundamental discoveries, theoretical perspectives and clinical implications’.


Author(s):  
F Chaudhary ◽  
A Hirsch ◽  
W MacPherson ◽  
J Nayati

Background: Lisdexamfetamine has not heretofore been reported to cause pathological gambling. Such a case is presented. Methods: A middle-aged woman, without past interest in gambling, gaming, or risk taking behavior, with childhood history of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder presented with difficulty focusing and concentrating. Lisdexamfetamine was started at 20 mg daily and gradually escalated due to lack of efficacy. At 70 mg daily, she began binging on sweets and gambling all day, every day at nearby riverboats, which she had never frequented previously. Upon reduction to 60 mg daily, the gambling resolved. Ritalin 20 mg every morning and 50 mg every afternoon was used without gambling reoccurrence. Results: Mental Status Examination: Alert, cooperative and oriented x 3 with good eye contact. Euthymic, without mania, thoughts logical and goal directed. Conclusions: Enhanced dopamine in the nucleus accumbens may induce hedonic activities including gambling, binging on sweets, or sexual activity (Moore et al. 2014). Lisdexamfetamine has been described to induce mania, and pathological gambling may have been an isolated manifestation of early mania. In those who have recently begun lisdexamfetamine, query should be made regarding change in gambling behavior and in those who are pathologically gambling, investigation should be entertained as to whether they are taking lisdexamfetamine.


2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marcel Schulze ◽  
David Coghill ◽  
Silke Lux ◽  
Alexandra Philipsen

Background: Deficient decision-making (DM) in attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is marked by altered reward sensitivity, higher risk taking, and aberrant reinforcement learning. Previous meta-analysis aggregate findings for the ADHD combined presentation (ADHD-C) mostly, while the ADHD predominantly inattentive presentation (ADHD-I) and the predominantly hyperactive/impulsive presentation (ADHD-H) were not disentangled. The objectives of the current meta-analysis were to aggregate findings from DM for each presentation separately.Methods: A comprehensive literature search of the PubMed (Medline) and Web of Science Database took place using the keywords “ADHD,” “attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder,” “decision-making,” “risk-taking,” “reinforcement learning,” and “risky.” Random-effects models based on correlational effect-sizes were conducted. Heterogeneity analysis and sensitivity/outlier analysis were performed, and publication biases were assessed with funnel-plots and the egger intercept.Results: Of 1,240 candidate articles, seven fulfilled criteria for analysis of ADHD-C (N = 193), seven for ADHD-I (N = 256), and eight for ADHD-H (N = 231). Moderate effect-size were found for ADHD-C (r = 0.34; p = 0.0001; 95% CI = [0.19, 0.49]). Small effect-sizes were found for ADHD-I (r = 0.09; p = 0.0001; 95% CI = [0.008, 0.25]) and for ADHD-H (r = 0.1; p = 0.0001; 95% CI = [−0.012, 0.32]). Heterogeneity was moderate for ADHD-H. Sensitivity analyses show robustness of the analysis, and no outliers were detected. No publication bias was evident.Conclusion: This is the first study that uses a meta-analytic approach to investigate the relationship between the different presentations of ADHD separately. These findings provide first evidence of lesser pronounced impairment in DM for ADHD-I and ADHD-I compared to ADHD-C. While the exact factors remain elusive, the current study can be considered as a starting point to reveal the relationship of ADHD presentations and DM more detailed.


Author(s):  
Iryna ROZINA

The relevance of the research is related to the need for studying the character of psychosomatic disorders in adolescence, which is insufficiently investigated and requires more in-depth research, in particular designing a comprehensive program that includes a system of training exercises to overcome psychosomatic disorders. The problem of studying psychosomatic relationships is one of the most difficult problems of modern psychology and medicine, despite the fact that the close connection between mental and somatic has been studied for several centuries. Mental trauma is a leading cause of neuroses formation and progress, its pathogenic significance is determined by the complex interaction with many other factors being a result of an individual’s life, formation of his body and personality, especially in adolescence. The subject of the research is to study special features of psychosomatic disorders, as well as to design a program for adolescents with signs of neurotic disorders. The subject matter of the research is the peculiarities of psychosomatic disorders manifestation and neurotic signs in adolescence. The article presents a theoretical analysis of modern approaches in psychology to the study of psychosomatic disorders peculiarities, their classification, considering the signs of neurotic disorders in adolescence. The work analyzes age characteristics of psychosomatic disorders in adolescence. Modern adolescents are exposed to various stressors, to the impact of audiovisual information, school overload, extra classes, exams, and a special problem that is a change in quality of life and prevalence of alcoholism, smoking, drug addiction, especially drug addiction among adolescents. The complex of these factors has negative consequences both on a psychological and physical level. Most authors who study the causes of psychosomatic illnesses recognize the important role of parents in the development of mentally and physically healthy children. Many studies highlight the role of early mother-child relationships in the formation of psychosomatic pathology. Various violations of this relationship usually lead to abnormalities in a child’s development. (M. Mahler, E. T. Eidemiller, Yustitskis, D. Winnicott, M. Klein). The results of an empirical study aimed at identifying signs of psychosomatic disorders are considered. The following methods were used: observation, questionnaires, and such methods as diagnosis of neurotic disorders in adolescence (DND), diagnosis of the level of school anxiety by Phillips, “Non-existent animal” by M.Z. Drukarevich. The peculiarities of designing and testing the correction program, which is aimed at reducing the signs of neurotic manifestations in adolescence, are revealed. Objectives of the correction program are: searching for interaction of adolescents with society, finding and testing skills of effective response to external stimuli; increasing the level of self-esteem; removal of emotional tension; reducing anxiety. The results confirm the possibility of reducing the signs of neurotic manifestations of adolescents and help to delay or completely stop a possible personality disorder.


2012 ◽  
Vol 16 (2_suppl) ◽  
pp. 2156759X1201600
Author(s):  
M. Ann Shillingford-Butler ◽  
Lea Theodore

The school setting can be a difficult place for children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). The core symptoms of ADHD, which include inattention, hyperactivity, and impulsivity, make meeting the curriculum demands of the classroom challenging. That ADHD negatively impacts not only academic performance but also social and emotional functioning is well established (Lee, Lahey, Owens, & Hinshaw, 2008). Given the negative consequences of ADHD, effective school-based interventions are warranted. School counselors are uniquely positioned to implement strategies for children with ADHD to maximize their capacity for learning. This article provides specific strategies that school counselors can provide collaboratively to enhance the academic and social functioning of children with ADHD in school.


Author(s):  
Valerie Bian

Out of the primary characteristics of drug addiction, compulsive drug seeking and intake is perhaps the most insidious, as it results in voluntary substance use despite negative physical and social consequences. For substances that are not considered classically addictive, such as sucrose, animal models of drug addiction may be utilized to explore reward-related synaptic changes underlying compulsive behavior similarly observed in binge eating disorders. Binge eaters, like those who compulsively seek out and consume drugs, continue to consume food despite the negative consequences. Based on previous work done by Maracle (2012), we examined the effects of modulating signalling in the oval bed nucleus of the stria terminalis (ovBNST) with a competitive D1 antagonist and its effects on compulsive intake. Prior to the intermitted access phase, subjects (N=66) underwent intracranial surgeries targeting the ovBNST. We utilized the same intermitted access cycle developed by (Avena, 2010). The subjects were randomly assigned to one of the four groups, 12-hr sucrose (primary experimental group),12-hr saccharine (sweet taste control group), 12-hr food only group, and a 24-hr sucrose/food group. After the 28-day cycle, subjects were then randomly assigned to received infusions of either saline or a selective D1 antagonist (SCH 23390) 10mins prior to testing. Compulsive responding for sucrose was then assessed using a conditioned suppression paradigm. It was hypothesized that infusing a DA antagonist into the ovBNST will decrease compulsive responding in subjects who demonstrate bingeing behaviour during the intermitted access phase, but will not affect animals that do not demonstrate bingeing behavior.


2018 ◽  
Vol 374 (1766) ◽  
pp. 20180131 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bettina Studer ◽  
Carolin Koch ◽  
Stefan Knecht ◽  
Tobias Kalenscher

Letting effort-free gratification derail us from effort-requiring goals is one reason why we fail to realize health-relevant intentions like ‘exercise regularly’. We tested the effectiveness of the self-control strategy precommitment in such effort-related conflicts, using a novel laboratory choice paradigm, where participants could precommit to an effort-requiring large reward by pre-eliminating an effort-free small reward from their choice set. Our participants used precommitment frequently and effectively, such that they reached effort-requiring large rewards more often. Using computational modelling and Bayesian model comparisons, we assessed whether participants employed precommitment to avoid anticipated willpower failures (i.e. as a self-regulatory measure) or to maximize their motivation to choose the effort-requiring option (i.e. as a self-motivational measure). Observed choices and precommitment decisions were consistent with the motivation maximization hypothesis, but not the willpower hypothesis. Our findings show that offering precommitment is effective in helping individuals optimize their motivation and choice behaviour and thereby achieve effort-requiring goals, and strongly encourage application of precommitment schemes in exercise and rehabilitation interventions. This article is part of the theme issue ‘Risk taking and impulsive behaviour: fundamental discoveries, theoretical perspectives and clinical implications’.


2018 ◽  
Vol 374 (1766) ◽  
pp. 20180139 ◽  
Author(s):  
Benjamin Y. Hayden

Self-control refers to the ability to deliberately reject tempting options and instead select ones that produce greater long-term benefits. Although some apparent failures of self-control are, on closer inspection, reward maximizing, at least some self-control failures are clearly disadvantageous and non-strategic. The existence of poor self-control presents an important evolutionary puzzle because there is no obvious reason why good self-control should be more costly than poor self-control. After all, a rock is infinitely patient. I propose that self-control failures result from cases in which well-learned (and thus routinized) decision-making strategies yield suboptimal choices. These mappings persist in the decision-makers’ repertoire because they result from learning processes that are adaptive in the broader context, either on the timescale of learning or of evolution. Self-control, then, is a form of cognitive control and the subjective feeling of effort likely reflects the true costs of cognitive control. Poor self-control, in this view, is ultimately a result of bounded optimality. This article is part of the theme issue ‘Risk taking and impulsive behaviour: fundamental discoveries, theoretical perspectives and clinical implications.


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