Health factors that influence sustainable behaviour in a single-player resource management game.

Encouraging sustainable use of limited natural, social, and economic resources requires understanding the variety of ways in which people think about how resources work and how they adjust their behaviour (or not) as available resources fluctuate. Previous investigations which have focused on understanding how individuals navigate erodible resources, have tended to use group-based, common pool games. However, such social games make it difficult to disentangle whether resource erosion is linked to difficulty navigating the dynamics of the resource or caused by social factors. Here, in two experiments, we recruited 781 participants to play a single-player resource management game in which individuals were invited to harvest monetary rewards from a fully depletable but stochastically replenishing resource over time. We find that the ability to sustain a resource over successive harvesting opportunities (in order to maximize the total harvested rewards) is reliably worse in individuals reporting elevated psychological distress, the often cooccurring hazardous alcohol use, and elevated rates of delay discounting. The associations between resource outcomes, harmful alcohol use, and psychological distress remained substantial even once we had controlled for elevated discounting rates (as a form of impulsivity and a strong risk factor for these health challenges). By contrast, individuals who reported higher levels of financial literacy and general well-being achieved better resource outcomes. Our observations demonstrate that the capacity to respond effectively to the dynamics of a resource are compromised in individuals at risk of psychological and alcohol-related disorders.

Carrots for the donkey: Influence of evaluative conditioning and training on self-paced exercise intensity and delay discounting of exercise in healthy adults.

To choose exercise over alternative behaviours, subjective reward evaluation of the potential choices is a principal step in decision making. However, the selection of exercise intensity might integrate acute visceral responses (i.e. pleasant or unpleasant feelings) and motives related to goals (i.e. enjoyment, competition, health). To understand the factors determining the selection of exercise in its intensity and evaluation as a modality, we conducted a study combining exercise training and evaluative conditioning. Evaluative conditioning was performed by using a novel technique using a primary reinforcer (sweetness) as the unconditioned stimulus and physical strain i.e. heart rate elevation as the conditioned stimulus during interval training, using a randomized control design (N = 58). Pre, post-three weeks interval training w/o conditioning, and after 4 weeks follow-up, participants were tested on self-paced speed selection on treadmill measuring heart rate, subjective pleasantness, and effort levels, as well as delay-discounting of exercise and food rewards. Results revealed that the selection of exercise intensity was significantly increased by adaptation to training and evaluative conditioning, revealing the importance of visceral factors as well as learned expected rewards. Delay discounting rates of self-paced exercise were transiently reduced by training but not affected by evaluative conditioning. In conclusion, exercise decisions are suggested to separate the decision-making process into a modality-specific cognitive evaluation of exercise, and an exercise intensity selection based on acute visceral experience integrating effort, pleasantness, and learned rewards.

"Just not knowing" can make life sweeter (and saltier): Reward uncertainty alters the sensory experience and consumption of palatable food and drinks.

Reward uncertainty can prompt exploration and learning, strengthening approach and consummatory behaviors. For humans, these phenomena are exploited in marketing promotions and gambling products, sometimes spurring hedonic consumption. Here, in four experiments, we sought to identify whether reward uncertainty-as a state of "not knowing" that exists between an action and a positively valanced outcome-enhances the in-the-moment consumption and experience of other palatable food and drink rewards. In Experiment 1, we demonstrate that reward uncertainty can increase consumption of commercial alcoholic drinks and energy-dense savory snacks. In Experiment 2, we show that reward uncertainty is unlikely to promote consumption through gross increases in impulsivity (expressed as higher discounting rates) or risk tolerance (expressed as lower probability discounting rates). In Experiment 3, we find that reward uncertainty intensifies the taste of, and hedonic responses to, sucrose solutions in a concentration-dependent manner among individuals with heightened preferences for sweet tastes. Finally, in Experiment 4, we replicate and extend these findings by showing that reward uncertainty intensifies the taste of palatable foods and drinks in ways that are independent of individuals' discounting rates, motor control, reflection impulsivity, and momentary happiness but are strongly moderated by recent depressive symptoms. These data suggest a working hypothesis that (incidental) reward uncertainty, as a state of not knowing, operates as a mood-dependent "taste intensifier" of palatable food and drink rewards, possibly sustaining reward seeking and consumption. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).

Hostility Is Associated with Self-Reported Cognitive and Social Benefits Across Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game Player Roles.

Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Games (MMORPGs) can sometimes be associated with patterns of play that are harmful to health and well-being. Hazardous MMORPG play has been linked to hostility (toward other people). However, little is known about how hostility, as a risk factor, relates to players' choices within games, or players' experiences of the positive aspects of MMORPGs. In this study, we surveyed 5,847 players of Jagex's RuneScape to examine how trait hostility relates to player roles that prioritize skill acquisition/improvement (Skillers), combat (Killers), or narrative challenges (Questers). Killers reported modestly higher levels of trait hostility than Skillers and Questers. The most hostile players reported the strongest importance of in-game relative to offline achievements, possibly indicating hazardous involvement. Critically, hostile players also report the strongest cognitive and social benefits. These include (i) skills acquired through MMORPGs that help players to achieve things in their offline lives and (ii) online relationships that benefit offline relationships. These findings offer a new perspective on the way that a previously reported risk factor for harmful MMORPG play relates to player engagement, possibly by offering a helpful space for hostile individuals to develop problem solving and social skills. This suggests that some individuals who might be vulnerable to developing harmful patterns of MMORPG play may simultaneously experience greater tangible benefits.

Effects of 5-HT2C, 5-HT1A receptor challenges and modafinil on the initiation and persistence of gambling behaviours.

RATIONALE: Problematic patterns of gambling are characterised by loss of control and persistent gambling often to recover losses. However, little is known about the mechanisms that mediate initial choices to begin gambling and then continue to gamble in the face of losing outcomes. OBJECTIVES: These experiments first assessed gambling and loss-chasing performance under different win/lose probabilities in C57Bl/6 mice, and then investigated the effects of antagonism of 5-HT2CR with SB242084, 5-HT1AR agonism with 8-OH-DPAT and modafinil, a putative cognitive enhancer. RESULTS: As seen in humans and other species, mice demonstrated the expected patterns of behaviour as the odds for winning were altered increasing gambling and loss-chasing when winning was more likely. SB242084 decreased the likelihood to initially gamble, but had no effects on subsequent gambling choices in the face of repeated losses. In contrast, 8-OH-DPAT had no effects on choosing to gamble in the first place, but once started 8-OH-DPAT increased gambling choices in a dose-sensitive manner. Modafinil effects were different to the serotonergic drugs in both decreasing the propensity to initiate gambling and chase losses. CONCLUSIONS: We present evidence for dissociable effects of systemic drug administration on different aspects of gambling behaviour. These data extend and reinforce the importance of serotonergic mechanisms in mediating discrete components of gambling behaviour. They further demonstrate the ability of modafinil to reduce gambling behaviour. Our work using a novel mouse paradigm may be of utility in modelling the complex psychological and neurobiological underpinnings of gambling problems, including the analysis of genetic and environmental factors.

Stria terminalis microstructure in humans predicts variability in orienting towards threat.

Current concepts of the extended amygdala posit that basolateral to central amygdala projections mediate fear-conditioned autonomic alerting, whereas projections to the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis mediate sustained anxiety. Using diffusion tensor imaging tractography in humans, we show that microstructure of the stria terminalis correlates with an orienting bias towards threat in a saccade decision task, providing the first evidence that this circuit supports decisions guiding evaluation of threatening stimuli.

Subjective responses to amphetamine in young adults with previous mood elevation experiences.

RATIONALE: One risk factor for alcohol and substance misuse is hypomanic experiences, or periods of mood elevation. Young people who report hypomanic states are more likely to develop bipolar disorder (BP), and BP and other mood disorders increase the risk of addiction. We recently reported that young adults with a history of mood elevation experience less subjective effects from a low dose of alcohol, which may be predictive of future alcohol use. The finding with alcohol raised the question of whether this dampened response to a drug also applies to other drugs, such as amphetamine. OBJECTIVE: This study assessed responses of d-amphetamine in healthy young adults with varying experiences of mood elevation, as measured by the Mood Disorders Questionnaire (MDQ). METHODS: Healthy 18-19-year-olds (N = 30) with a range of MDQ scores participated in three 4-h laboratory sessions in which they received placebo, 10 mg, or 20 mg d-amphetamine. They completed mood questionnaires and cardiovascular measures. RESULTS: Individuals with higher MDQ scores reported less stimulation and euphoria after 10 mg, but not 20 mg, d-amphetamine, than individuals with lower scores. MDQ scores were not related to cardiovascular responses to the drug. CONCLUSIONS: A history of mood elevation experiences or hypomania states is related to dampened response to a low dose of a psychostimulant drug, extending previous findings with dampened response to alcohol. This phenotype for mood disorders of dampened responses to drugs may contribute to risk for subsequent drug use or misuse.

Exploring preferences for variable delays over fixed delays to high-value food rewards as a model of food-seeking behaviours in humans.

Foraging and operant models suggest that animals will tolerate uncertainty or risk to obtain food quickly. In modern food environments, sustained access to quick energy-dense foods can promote weight gain. Here, we used a discrete-choice procedure to examine peoples' decisions about when next to eat high-value, palatable food rewards, probabilistically delivered immediately or following longer delays. In Experiment 1, moderately hungry young females showed consistent preferences for a variable delay option that delivered food rewards immediately or following long delays over a fixed delay option that delivered the same rewards following intermediate delays. These preferences were stronger in females with higher BMIs compared with lower BMIs, suggesting that quick food can enhance the value of uncertain or 'risky' food-seeking strategies in individuals vulnerable to future weight gain. In Experiment 2, prior exposure to a subtle and not easily identifiable food aroma increased selections of the variable delay option following delayed food rewards in a mixed sample of male and female adults, providing preliminary evidence that food cues can sustain uncertain food-seeking strategies. These data highlight a working hypothesis that the rapid delivery and consumption of food rewards, and food cues, can increase risk-tolerance in the food-seeking behaviours of individuals who are vulnerable to weight gain. This article is part of the theme issue 'Risk taking and impulsive behaviour: fundamental discoveries, theoretical perspectives and clinical implications'.

Feeding behaviour, risk-sensitivity and response control: effects of 5-HT2C receptor manipulations.

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-Jean et al. 2019 Phil. Trans. R. Soc. B 374, 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-HT2C receptor, 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'.

The Degree of Modulation of Beta Band Activity During Motor Planning Is Related to Trait Impulsivity.

Impulsivity is a prominent personality trait, and a key modulating component of neurologic and psychiatric disorders. How impulsivity is related to the brain mechanisms associated with action planning is poorly understood. Here, we investigated the relation between impulsivity and the modulation of beta band oscillatory activity associated with action planning and execution. Given that beta power decreases during action planning and decreases further during action execution, we hypothesized that during planning the level of beta band power of more impulsive individuals would be closer to the level reached during execution than that of less impulsive individuals. This could explain the tendency to "jump the gun" (commission errors) in high impulsivity. To test this hypothesis, we recruited healthy volunteers (50 participants analyzed) and used the Barratt Impulsiveness Scale questionnaire to evaluate their impulsivity as high or low. We then recorded their brain neuromagnetic signals while they performed an instructed-delay task that induced different levels of action planning by varying the number of spatial cues, hence the uncertainty, about the location of the upcoming target. During the early cue period of the task, we found a posterior (source localized in the occipito-parietal areas) and a left fronto-central group of channels (source localized in the left sensorimotor areas) where beta power was modulated by number of cues, whereas during the late cue period only the left fronto-central group was modulated. We found that the decrease of relative beta band power during action planning in the left fronto-central group of channels was more pronounced in the high impulsivity group than in the low impulsivity group. In addition, we found that the beta band-mediated functional connectivity between the posterior and the left fronto-central groups of channels was weaker in the high impulsivity group than in the low impulsivity group during the early cue period. Furthermore, high impulsives made more commission and movement errors in the task than low impulsives. These results reveal neural mechanisms through which impulsivity affects action planning and open the way for further study of the role of beta band activity in impulsivity, especially in the context of disease and therapeutics.

Exercise as a reward: Self-paced exercise perception and delay discounting in comparison with food and money.

Exercise is an important health behavior. Expressed reasons for participation are often delayed outcomes i.e. health threats and benefits, but also enjoyment. However, we do not know how people evaluate exercise as a reward. The value of rewards diminish the longer we have to wait for them and the discounting effect can undermine decision-making. Here, we investigated delay-discounting of exercise perception and its valuation with time delays; we conducted self-paced exercise sessions on treadmill and compared the discounting rates of exercise (kex) with those of established rewards of food (kfo) and money (km). Outcomes show, that young, moderately active participants (n = 70) preferred walking/running intensity with low to moderate cardiovascular strain and light perceived exertion. Delay discounting rates (k) indicated that exercise was discounted like other consumable rewards at the same rate as food and more rapidly than monetary rewards. Significant associations were detected of kex with preferred speed and with extrinsic exercise motivation. Exercise training (n = 16) reduced kex specifically, not affecting kfo. Our studies show, that participants perceived and discounted self-paced walking/running like a consumable reward. Exercise discounting was quicker in individuals who preferred lower speeds being less physically active and exercise training reduced the decay rate of exercise specifically.

The putative lithium-mimetic ebselen reduces impulsivity in rodent models.

BACKGROUND: Deficits in impulse control feature in many psychiatric conditions including bipolar disorder, suicidality and addictions. Lithium lowers impulsivity in clinical populations and decreases pathological gambling in experimental medicine studies, but suffers from adverse effects, poor compliance and a low therapeutic index. AIMS: Recently we identified that the neuroprotective agent ebselen, which is reportedly safe in humans, inhibited inositol monophosphatase (IMPase), a candidate lithium mechanism. Ebselen also reduced 5-HT receptor (5-HT2A) function which predicts impulsivity lowering properties. Here we investigated the effect of ebselen in rat models of impulsive behaviour. METHODS: Ebselen was tested in two models of impulsivity with human analogues: the five-choice serial reaction time task (5-CSRTT) and rodent gambling task (rGT). The main outcome measures were premature responses (5-CSRTT and rGT) and choice behaviour (rGT), which model motor impulsivity and choice impulsivity, respectively. RESULTS: At doses that decreased 5-HT2A receptor function (DOI-induced wet dog shakes), ebselen decreased premature responding in the 5-CSRTT both in the absence and presence of cocaine. The 5-HT2A receptor antagonist MDL 100,907 also reduced premature responding in the 5-CSRTT although not in the presence of cocaine. In the rGT ebselen showed a tendency to reduce premature responding but had no effect on choice behaviour. CONCLUSIONS: These findings suggest that ebselen preferentially reduces motor impulsivity over choice impulsivity, and that inhibition of 5-HT2A receptor function is a contributing mechanism. Collectively, these data support the repurposing of ebselen as an anti-impulsive treatment and fast-tracking to clinical trials in patient groups characterised by poor impulse control.

An Initial Investigation of Individual Rate-of-Play Preferences and Associations with EGM Gambling Behavior.

Electronic gambling machines (EGMs) show a strong association with gambling problems. The high speed of gaming offered by modern EGMs allows playing numerous games in a short span of time, which is thought to contribute to attentional distraction, increased spending and prolonged play. However, the relationship between EGM speeds and potentially risk-related gambling behavior remains unclear. We introduce a novel approach to investigating the role of gaming speed in EGM gambling behavior by examining 'individual rate-of-play' (I-ROP) during simulated EGM gambling. A community sample of male regular gamblers (N = 72) played virtual slot machines in pairs offering sequentially adjusted game speeds towards the estimation of a behaviorally expressed preference speed, or I-ROP. This initial experiment aimed to explore the variability of I-ROPs during simulated EGM gambling, and examine behavior while playing EGMs at speeds relative to their I-ROP. Estimated I-ROPs ranged from less than one half second to over seven seconds and were negatively associated with cognitive ability, but not related to problem gambling severity, impulsiveness, or gambling-related cognitions. Subsequent gambling sessions on EGMs offering individually calibrated faster and slower gaming speeds were associated with greater and reduced risk-related gambling behaviors respectively. I-ROPs represent a potentially informative construct for exploring influences of gaming speed on gambling behavior, and may lend insight into potential risk-related behavior an individual vulnerability with respect to commercially available EGMs that warrants additional research.

Faces and facets: The variability of emotion recognition in psychopathy reflects its affective and antisocial features.

Psychopathy consists of a constellation of affective-interpersonal features including lack of empathy, callousness, manipulativeness and interpersonal charm, impulsiveness and irresponsibility. Despite its theoretical and predictive value in forensic contexts, the relationships between the psychometric dimensions of psychopathy, including its antisocial features, and the construct's neuropsychological characteristics remain uncertain. In this study, 685 personality-disordered prisoners with histories of serious violent or sexual offenses were assessed for psychopathy before completing a computerized and well-validated assessment of the ability to recognize emotional expressions in the face. Prisoners with more of the affective features of psychopathy, and prisoners with more of its antisocial manifestations, showed relatively poor recognition accuracy of fearfulness and disgust. These relationships were independent and modest but were still evident following correction for demographic features (e.g., ethnicity and socioeconomic status), mental illness (e.g., substance and alcohol misuse), personality disorders (other than antisocial personality disorder) and treatment status. By contrast, the associations between these dimensions of psychopathy and emotion recognition were diminished by controlling for cognitive ability. These findings demonstrate that variability in the ability of high-risk personality-disordered prisoners to recognize emotional expressions in the face-in particular, fear and disgust-reflects both the affective and antisocial aspects of psychopathy, and is moderated by cognitive ability. (PsycINFO Database Record

Alterations in functional brain networks associated with loss-chasing in gambling disorder and cocaine-use disorder.

BACKGROUND: Continued, persistent gambling to recover accumulating losses, or 'loss-chasing', is a behavioral pattern linked particularly closely to gambling disorder (GD) but may reflect impaired decision-making processes relevant to drug addictions like cocaine-use disorder (CUD). However, little is known regarding the neurocognitive mechanisms of this complex, maladaptive behavior, particularly in individuals with addictive disorders. METHODS: Seventy participants (25 GD, 18 CUD, and 27 healthy comparison (HC)) completed a loss-chase task during fMRI. Engagement of functional brain networks in response to losing outcomes and during decision-making periods preceding choices to loss-chase or to quit chasing losses were investigated using independent component analysis (ICA). An exploratory factor analysis was performed to examine patterns of coordinated engagement across identified networks. RESULTS: In GD relative to HC and CUD participants, choices to quit chasing were associated with greater engagement of a medial frontal executive-processing network. By comparison, CUD participants exhibited altered engagement of a striato-amygdala motivational network in response to losing outcomes as compared to HC, and during decision-making as compared to GD. Several other networks were differentially engaged during loss-chase relative to quit-chasing choices, but did not differ across participant groups. Exploratory factor analysis identified a system of coordinated activity across prefrontal executive-control networks that was greater in GD and CUD relative to HC participants and was associated with increased chasing persistence across all participants. CONCLUSIONS: Results provide evidence of shared and distinct neurobiological mechanisms in substance and behavioral addictions, and lend insight into potential cognitive interventions targeting loss-chasing behavior in GD.

The role of serotonin in personality inference: tryptophan depletion impairs the identification of neuroticism in the face.

Serotonergic mechanisms mediate the expression of personality traits (such as impulsivity, aggression and anxiety) that are linked to vulnerability to psychological illnesses, and modulate the identification of emotional expressions in the face as well as learning about broader classes of appetitive and aversive signals. Faces with neutral expressions signal a variety of socially relevant information, such that inferences about the big five personality traits, including Neuroticism, Extraversion and Agreeableness, can be accurately made on the basis of emotionally neutral facial photographs. Given the close link between Neuroticism and psychological distress, we investigated the effects of diminished central serotonin activity (achieved by tryptophan depletion) upon the accuracy of 52 healthy (non-clinical) adults' discriminations of personality from facial characteristics. All participants were able to discriminate reliably four of the big five traits. However, the tryptophan-depleted participants were specifically less accurate in discriminating Neuroticism than the matched non-depleted participants. These data suggest that central serotonin activity modulates the identification of not only negative facial emotional expression but also a broader class of signals about personality characteristics linked to psychological distress.

Chinese Beliefs in Luck are Linked to Gambling Problems via Strengthened Cognitive Biases: A Mediation Test.

Problematic patterns of gambling and their harms are known to have culturally specific expressions. For ethnic Chinese people, patterns of superstitious belief in this community appear to be linked to the elevated rates of gambling-related harms; however, little is known about the mediating psychological mechanisms. To address this issue, we surveyed 333 Chinese gamblers residing internationally and used a mediation analysis to explore how gambling-related cognitive biases, gambling frequency and variety of gambling forms ('scope') mediate the association between beliefs in luck and gambling problems. We found that cognitive biases and scope were significant mediators of this link but that the former is a stronger mediator than the latter. The mediating erroneous beliefs were not specific to any particular type of cognitive bias. These results suggest that Chinese beliefs in luck are expressed as gambling cognitive biases that increase the likelihood of gambling problems, and that biases that promote gambling (and its harms) are best understood within their socio-cultural context.

Vulnerability to depression is associated with a failure to acquire implicit social appraisals.

Major depressive disorder (MDD) is associated with disrupted relationships with partners, family, and peers. These problems can precipitate the onset of clinical illness, influence severity and the prospects for recovery. Here, we investigated whether individuals who have recovered from depression use interpersonal signals to form favourable appraisals of others as social partners. Twenty recovered-depressed adults (with >1 adult episode of MDD but euthymic and medication-free for six months) and 23 healthy, never-depressed adults completed a task in which the gaze direction of some faces reliably cued the location a target (valid faces), whereas other faces cued the opposite location (invalid faces). No participants reported awareness of this contingency, and both groups were significantly faster to categorise targets following valid compared with invalid gaze cueing faces. Following this task, participants judged the trustworthiness of the faces. Whereas the healthy never-depressed participants judged the valid faces to be significantly more trustworthy than the invalid faces; this implicit social appraisal was absent in the recovered-depressed participants. Individuals who have recovered from MDD are able to respond appropriately to joint attention with other people but appear to not use joint attention to form implicit trust appraisals of others as potential social partners.