An Examination of the Multi-Faceted Motivation System in Healthy Young Adults.

Susana Da Silva,Ishraq Siddiqui,Eliyas Jeffay,Gary Remington,Zafiris J Daskalakis,Sarah Saperia,Areti Apatsidou,Konstantine K Zakzanis,Aristotle N Voineskos,George Foussias

doi:10.3389/fpsyt.2018.00191

Susana Da Silva, Ishraq Siddiqui + Show 8 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyt.2018.00191

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Abstract

Background: Amotivation is a prevalent symptom in schizophrenia (SZ) and depression (MDD), and is linked to poor functional outcomes in affected individuals. Conceptualizations of motivation have outlined a multi-faceted construct comprised of reward responsiveness, reward expectancy, reward valuation, effort valuation, and action selection/preference-based decision making. To date, findings from studies utilizing variable-centered approaches to examining isolated facets of motivation in SZ and MDD have been inconsistent. Thus, the present study adopted a person-centered approach, and comprehensively examined the reward system in a non-clinical sample in an attempt to explore potential subtypes of motivation impairments, while minimizing the effects of illness-related confounds.Methods: Ninety-six healthy undergraduate students were evaluated for amotivation, schizotypal traits, depressive symptoms, and cognition, and administered objective computerized tasks to measure the different facets of motivation. Cluster analysis was performed to explore subgroups of individuals based on similar motivation task performance. Additionally, correlational analyses were conducted in order to examine inter-relationships between motivation facets, and relations between clinical measures and facets of motivation.Results: Cluster analysis identified two subgroups of individuals with differential motivation performance profiles. Correlational analyses revealed that reward responsiveness was associated with amotivation, depressive symptoms, and negative schizotypy. Further, significant inter-correlations were found between reward responsiveness and reward expectancy, as well as between reward valuation and effort valuation.Conclusions: Our results mark important steps forward in understanding motivation in a non-clinical sample, and guide future dimensional and comprehensive analyses of the multi-faceted reward system. It remains to be seen whether these patterns of results will be similar in clinical populations such as SZ and MDD.

Highlights

Amotivation, a reduction in the ability to initiate and/or sustain goal-directed behavior, is a prevalent symptom in a number of neuropsychiatric illnesses such as schizophrenia (SZ) and major depressive disorder (MDD), and is inextricably linked to poor functional outcomes in affected individuals [1,2,3,4]
Given the impairments typically observed in clinical populations at the high probability condition, we examined the proportion of hard tasks chosen at the 88% reward level (EEfRT-High), evaluating willingness to work when the likelihood of reward is most certain and least ambiguous
Cronbach’s alpha for the AES (α = 0.77), CES-D (α = 0.89), SPQ (SPQ-Pos: α = 0.90; SPQ-Neg; α = 0.92; SPQ-Dis: α = 0.90), and TEPS-Ant: α = 0.73 revealed good reliability across scales, suggestive of consistent responding amongst participants

Summary

Introduction

Amotivation, a reduction in the ability to initiate and/or sustain goal-directed behavior, is a prevalent symptom in a number of neuropsychiatric illnesses such as schizophrenia (SZ) and major depressive disorder (MDD), and is inextricably linked to poor functional outcomes in affected individuals [1,2,3,4]. Within RDoC, the Positive Valence Systems domain outlines multiple components of motivation including reward responsiveness, reward expectancy, reward valuation, effort valuation/willingness to work, and action selection/preference-based decision making [6]. The valuation of reward is weighed against an effort-cost computation to determine if the reward is worth the effort as well as one’s willingness to work for that reward This cost-benefit analysis serves to guide decision making in the context of multiple choices, and the subsequent execution of an action plan toward a final goal. These components align closely with frameworks that have emerged for the conceptualization of motivation as it pertains to psychiatric illnesses including SZ and MDD. The present study adopted a person-centered approach, and comprehensively examined the reward system in a non-clinical sample in an attempt to explore potential subtypes of motivation impairments, while minimizing the effects of illness-related confounds

Methods

Results

Conclusion