Aversive inhibition in adult ADHD and its restoration by mindfulness-based cognitive therapy: A behavioral pilot study

Background: Control over the tendency to make or withhold responses based on contextual Pavlovian information, might play a key role in understanding impulsivity/hyperactivity in ADHD. Here we set out to assess (1) the understudied relation between Pavlovian inhibitory control and hyperactivity/impulsivity in adults with ADHD and (2) whether this inhibition can be enhanced by mindfulness based cognitive therapy (MBCT).Methods: 50 Adult ADHD patients were assessed before and after 8 weeks of treatment as usual (TAU) with (n=24) or without (n=26) MBCT. We employed a sophisticated, well-established Pavlovian-to-instrumental transfer task that quantifies Pavlovian control over instrumental behavior. Results: Task results revealed (1) less aversive Pavlovian inhibition in patients with clinical hyperactivity/impulsivity; and (2) enhanced inhibition after TAU+MBCT compared with TAU. Conclusions: Aversive Pavlovian inhibition plays a role in clinically relevant hyperactivity/impulsivity in adult ADHD and MBCT can be used to enhance this form of inhibition.

The Differential Effects of the Amount of Training on Sensitivity of Distinct Actions to Reward Devaluation

Shifting between goal-directed and habitual behaviors is essential for daily functioning. An inability to do so is associated with various clinical conditions, such as obsessive–compulsive disorder (OCD). Here we developed a new behavioral model in mice allowing us to produce and examine the development of different behaviors under goal-directed or habitual control. By using overtraining of instrumental associations between two levers and two rewards, and later devaluating one of the rewards, we differentiate and explore the motivational control of behaviors within the task which consequentially promotes what seems like excessive irrational behavior. Using our model, we found that the ability of instrumental behavior, to adapt to a change in the value of a known reward, is a function of practice. Once an instrumental action was practiced extensively it becomes habitual and, thus, under S–R control and could not be amended, not even when resulting in a noxious outcome. However, direct consummatory or Pavlovian actions, such as licking or checking, responds immediately to the change in value. This imbalance could render an instrumental behavior excessive and unresponsive to changes in outcome while the direct change in consumption implies that the change was in fact registered. This could suggest a system that, when out of balance, can create excessive behaviors, not adapting to an acknowledged change.

Neural signatures of arbitration between Pavlovian and instrumental action selection

Pavlovian associations drive approach towards reward-predictive cues, and avoidance of punishment-predictive cues. These associations “misbehave” when they conflict with correct instrumental behavior. This raises the question of how Pavlovian and instrumental influences on behavior are arbitrated. We test a computational theory according to which Pavlovian influence will be stronger when inferred controllability of outcomes is low. Using a model-based analysis of a Go/NoGo task with human subjects, we show that theta-band oscillatory power in frontal cortex tracks inferred controllability, and that these inferences predict Pavlovian action biases. Functional MRI data revealed an inferior frontal gyrus correlate of action probability and a ventromedial prefrontal correlate of outcome valence, both of which were modulated by inferred controllability.

ROLE OF THE INSTRUMENTAL BEHAVIOR OF OPERATORS IN IMPLEMENTATION OF THE TEAM INTERRELATED WORK

The paper deals with correlation between 6 classification types (styles) of operator's instrumental behavior and the extent of success in solving homeostatic tasks. Experimental data analysis permitted identification of instrumental behavior styles favorable to teamwork, and those that hinder work progress. This understanding will be to the advantage in selecting team members that can be trusted to implement tasks requiring good coordination and cooperation.