Abstract
Reaction time data from cognitive tasks continue to be a key way to assess decision-making in various contexts to better understand addiction. The goal of this paper is twofold: to introduce a nuanced modeling approach for reaction time data and to demonstrate the novel insights it can provide into the decision processes of nicotine-dependent individuals in different contexts. We focus on the Linear Approach to Threshold with Ergodic Rate (LATER) model, which is a cognitive process model that describes reaction time data in terms of two distinct aspects of cognitive functioning: speed of information accumulation (“accretion”) and threshold amount of information needed prior to execution (“caution”). We introduce a novel hierarchical extension to the LATER model to simultaneously account for differences across persons and experimental conditions, both in the accretion and caution parameters. This approach allows for the inclusion of person-specific predictor variables to explain between-person variation in terms of accretion and caution together with condition-specific predictors to model experimental condition manipulations. To highlight the usefulness of this model, we analyze reaction time data from a study on adult daily cigarette smokers. Participants performed a monetary incentivized Go/No-Go task during two testing sessions, once while following their typical smoking patterns and again following 12 h of verified smoking abstinence. Our main results suggest that regardless of trial type, smokers in a period of abstinence have faster accretion rates, and lower caution thresholds relative to smoking as usual.
Highlights
A fundamental goal of psychiatry and neuroscience research is to understand how and why humans make decisions and behave as they do across various contexts
In the sections that follow, we first describe the use of process models and specify the Linear Approach to Threshold with Ergodic Rate (LATER) model we hierarchically extended and employed
We argue that the LATER model can benefit from being cast in a hierarchical/multilevel framework [16, 17]
Summary
A fundamental goal of psychiatry and neuroscience research is to understand how and why humans make decisions and behave as they do across various contexts. The examination of reaction time data acquired from cognitive tasks continues to be a major way to assess decision-making, yet traditional analysis of such data (e.g., evaluation of group-level means and variances) limits the extent to which we can assess or estimate latent (psychological) processes that may be underlying the decision/behavior. To address these limitations, cognitive process models were developed, which use theoretically derived model. We assert that coalescing advanced process models with experimental manipulations (e.g., abstinence vs. smoking to satiety in smokers) can help us better understand how drug exposure (e.g., nicotine) affects the underlying mental processes guiding decision-making and behavior, and may provide insights for a better understanding of addiction, at the individual level
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
