Threat rapidly disrupts reward reversal learning

Abstract

Threat changes cognition and facilitates adaptive coping. However, when threat becomes overwhelming, it may be deleterious to mental health, especially for vulnerable individuals. Flexible decision-making was probed with a reward reversal task to investigate how well healthy participants (N = 34) can adapt to changes in reward contingency when they expect adverse events (i.e., electric shocks). In comparison to a safe control condition, the threat of shock significantly impaired reward reversal learning. Moreover, enhanced self-reported threat ratings and elevated skin conductance levels support the successful induction of stressful and aversive apprehensions. The findings are in line with literature showing the stress-induced inhibition of goal-directed behavior at the advantage of a reflexive (habitual) response style. Notably, reversal learning was rapidly restored with the omission of threat through several cycles of threat and safety contexts within one experimental session. These results extend the literature and illuminate the immediate consequence of a sustained threatening stressor (and its removal) on decision-making. Better knowledge of the immediate effects of anticipatory anxiety on behavior could improve understanding of psychopathology and may be informative for the development of effective therapy for anxiety and emotion dysregulation.