Punishment Cues Research Articles

Cortico-Striatal Control over Adaptive Goal-Directed Responding Elicited by Cues Signaling Sucrose Reward or Punishment.

The medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) and nucleus accumbens (NAc) have been associated with the expression of adaptive and maladaptive behavior elicited by fear-related and drug-associated cues. However, reported effects of mPFC manipulations on cue-elicited natural reward-seeking and inhibition thereof have been varied, with few studies examining cortico-striatal contributions in tasks that require adaptive responding to cues signaling reward and punishment within the same session. The current study aimed to better elucidate the role of mPFC and NAc subdivisions, and their functional connectivity in cue-elicited adaptive responding using a novel discriminative cue responding task. Male Long-Evans rats learned to lever-press on a VR5 schedule for a discriminative cue signaling reward, and to avoid pressing the same lever in the presence of another cue signaling punishment. Postacquisition, prelimbic (PL) and infralimbic (IL) areas of the mPFC, NAc core, shell, PL-core, or IL-shell circuits were pharmacologically or chemogenetically inhibited while animals performed under (1) nonreinforced (extinction) conditions, where the appetitive and aversive cues were presented in alternating trials alone or as a compound stimulus; and (2) reinforced conditions, whereby cued responding was accompanied by associated outcomes. PL and IL inactivation attenuated nonreinforced and reinforced goal-directed cue responding, whereas NAc core and shell inactivation impaired nonreinforced responding for the appetitive, but not aversive cue. Furthermore, PL-core and IL-shell inhibition disinhibited nonreinforced but not reinforced cue responding. Our findings implicate the mPFC as a site of confluence of motivationally significant cues and outcomes, and in the regulation of nonreinforced cue responding via downstream NAc targets.SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT The ability to discriminate and respond appropriately to environmental cues that signal availability of reward or punishment is essential for survival. The medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) and nucleus accumbens (NAc) have been implicated in adaptive and maladaptive behavior elicited by fear-related and drug-associated cues. However, less is known about the role they play in orchestrating adaptive responses to natural reward and punishment cues within the same behavioral task. Here, using a novel discriminative cue responding task combined with pharmacological or chemogenetic inhibition of mPFC, NAc and mPFC-NAc circuits, we report that mPFC is critically involved in responding to changing cued response-outcomes, both when the responses are reinforced, and nonreinforced. Furthermore, the mPFC coordinates nonreinforced discriminative cue responding by suppressing inappropriate responding via downstream NAc targets.

A cognition-affective processing framework of psychopathy based on the TriPM model

<p id="p00005">As an important predictor of violent crime, recidivism, and juvenile delinquency, psychopathy has received extensive attention in clinical psychology and justice research. Recent studies have conceptualized psychopathy as multidimensional constructs, proposed to further understand various phenotypic constructs of psychopathy through the interaction of distinct psychopathic dispositions. The Triarchic Model of Psychopathy (TriPM) conceptualizing psychopathy as three phenotypic structures (boldness, meanness, and disinhibition) with independent etiologic pathways, provides a framework for integrating the previous findings of the assessment, development trajectory, and neurobiological process of psychopathy. <p id="p00005">At first, the TriPM boldness includes the characteristics of stress immunity, low fear, and insensitivity to punishment. It is an adaptive expression of fearlessness genotype, which corresponds to the neurobiological dimension of low threat sensitivity. Previous studies have shown that psychopathic individuals with high affective-interpersonal (Factor 1) or boldness features are expected to exhibit reduced aversive startle potentiation, difficulty in establishing threat-related conditioning, abnormal amygdala volume, and lower levels of amygdala activation in threat context. These findings reflect the core defensive system of psychopathy—based in the amygdala and affiliated structures—is insensitive to threat or punishment cues. <p id="p00005">Second, individuals with high levels of trait disinhibition are characterized by lack of planning and foresight, poor regulation of emotion and impulse, insistence on immediate gratification, and lack of behavioral restraint. They showed reduced P3 and ERN amplitudes in go/no-go tasks and flanker tasks, fail to process and attend to contextual or environmental cues when engaged in a dominant response set (e.g., goal-directed behavior). Give the evidence that individuals with high disinhibition tend to exhibit poor performance in various cognitive tasks, it can be speculated that the impairment of executive function, in particular the impaired ability of attentional modulation, is closely associated with psychopathic disinhibition. Moreover, the motivational system (i.e., reward-seeking) may exacerbate the deficits of executive function in individuals with high disinhibition disposition. <p id="p00005">Finally, as the maladaptive expression of the fearless genotype, meanness describes a constellation of various phenotypic attributes including arrogance, rebelliousness, lack of intimacy, excitement seeking, and empowerment through cruelty. On the one hand, impaired emotional processes will lead to an empathic deficit, which may contribute to the development of psychopathic meanness. Extensive research has shown that abnormalities in physiological structures such as the insula and anterior cingulate cortex in psychopathy are associated with reduced subjective emotional experience and poor ability to recognize other’s distress cues. On the other hand, insecure attachment associated with empathic deficit may be an important environmental factor that exacerbates individual meanness disposition. <p id="p00005">By integrating the low threat sensitivity, impaired executive function, and empathic deficit of psychopathy with the boldness, disinhibition, and meanness of the TriPM model, the current study establishes a relatively complete cognition-affective processing framework of psychopathy, provides some useful information for theoretical research and clinical treatment about this personality disorder. However, this framework can not account for all the clinical conditions of psychopathy, as the factors that influence the phenotype of psychopathy are diverse. For example, previous research has demonstrated that gender, race, age, sample type, and psychopathic measures are all important moderators in the study of psychopathy. There are also controversies about the conceptualization of psychopathic variants or subtypes. In addition, the exclusivity of psychopathic phenotypes and their underlying neurobiological processes is still unclear. <p id="p00005">Therefore, future research should consider the influence of these moderators on the explanation of the results. And greater attention should be paid to the underlying etiological pathways among different psychopathic constructs, it is also a verification of the discriminative validity among three dimensions of the TriPM model. Moreover, further exploration of the precursors of adult psychopathic traits will provide important information about the development of psychopathic deviant behavior, which does great help for the early treatment and intervention of this disorder.

Interaction of schizophrenia and chronic cannabis use on reward anticipation sensitivity

Chronic cannabis use and schizophrenia are both thought to affect reward processing. While behavioural and neural effects on reward processing have been investigated in both conditions, their interaction has not been studied, although chronic cannabis use is common among these patients. In the present study eighty-nine participants divided into four groups (control chronic cannabis users and non-users; schizophrenia patient cannabis users and non-users) performed a two-choice decision task, preceded by monetary cues (high/low reward/punishment or neutral), while being scanned using functional magnetic resonance imaging. Reward and punishment anticipation resulted in activation of regions of interest including the thalamus, striatum, amygdala and insula. Chronic cannabis use and schizophrenia had opposing effects on reward anticipation sensitivity. More specifically control users and patient non-users showed faster behavioural responses and increased activity in anterior/posterior insula for high magnitude cues compared to control non-users and patient users. The same interaction pattern was observed in the activation of the right thalamus for reward versus punishment cues. This study provided evidence for interaction of chronic cannabis use and schizophrenia on reward processing and highlights the need for future research addressing the significance of this interaction for the pathophysiology of these conditions and its clinical consequences.

Behavioral activation and behavioral inhibition: An examination of function in chronic pain.

The objective of the study was to examine the BIS-BAS model of chronic pain. This model posits that 2 neurophysiological systems-the behavioral inhibition system (BIS) sensitized to and activated by punishment cues and the behavioral activation system (BAS) sensitized to and activated by reward cues-make independent and concurrent contributions to 2 domains of pain-related function: pain interference and positive function despite pain. The study additionally hypothesized that BIS and BAS sensitivity would have different associations with these 2 different aspects of pain-related function. BIS activation would be more strongly correlated with pain interference and BAS would be more strongly correlated with positive function despite pain. Research Method/Design: This was a cohort study consisting of the baseline assessments of 328 veterans enrolled in a large clinical trial examining 3 psychosocial interventions for chronic pain. In multivariable regression adjusting for demographic factors and pain intensity, BIS was associated with greater pain interference and less positive function despite pain. BAS was associated with greater positive function despite pain but to a lesser degree than BIS. As hypothesized, BIS and BAS both contributed to pain-related function; however, BIS displayed stronger associations with both pain interference and positive function despite pain. Thus, the hypothesis that BIS-BAS relationships would differ based on the nature of the functional outcome (BIS resulting in poorer function because of pain and BAS better function despite pain) was only partially supported. Findings of the current study suggest the role of BIS in chronic pain may be more pervasive across functional outcomes. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).

Anxiety Modulates Preference for Immediate Rewards Among Trait-Impulsive Individuals: A Hierarchical Bayesian Analysis

Trait impulsivity—defined by strong preference for immediate over delayed rewards and difficulties inhibiting prepotent behaviors—is observed in all externalizing disorders, including substance-use disorders. Many laboratory tasks have been developed to identify decision-making mechanisms and correlates of impulsive behavior, but convergence between task measures and self-reports of impulsivity are consistently low. Long-standing theories of personality and decision-making predict that neurally mediated individual differences in sensitivity to (a) reward cues and (b) punishment cues (frustrative nonreward) interact to affect behavior. Such interactions obscure one-to-one correspondences between single personality traits and task performance. We used hierarchical Bayesian analysis in three samples with differing levels of substance use ( N = 967) to identify interactive dependencies between trait impulsivity and state anxiety on impulsive decision-making. Our findings reveal how anxiety modulates impulsive decision-making and demonstrate benefits of hierarchical Bayesian analysis over traditional approaches for testing theories of psychopathology spanning levels of analysis.

Behavioral Inhibition System function as the mediator in the pathway from electrodermal fear conditioning to antisocial behavior: Integrating the Reinforcement Sensitivity Theory

Poor fear conditioning skin conductance response (SCR) is associated with more antisocial behavior in childhood and in adulthood. However, the intermediate mechanism remains unclear. The current study proposes that the integration of the Reinforcement Sensitivity Theory (RST) would help elucidate the mechanism. This is also the first study to examine the psychobiological characteristics of active offenders. I tested whether the Behavioral Inhibition System (BIS) of the RST mediated the relation between fear conditioning and antisocial behavior in a heterogeneous sample of active offenders, demographically matched controls and college students recruited in Central South Atlanta. Negative emotionality was included to examine the discriminant validity of BIS function in this proposed mediating pathway. Active offenders did not show fear conditioning SCR despite comparable response magnitudes as the demographic controls. Poor fear conditioning SCR was associated with low BIS function (but not negative emotionality), which was in turn associated with more antisocial behavior. The poor fear conditioning SCR observed in active offenders, reflects weak BIS function and low inhibitory response, suggested that active offenders were insensitive to punishment cues and more readily engaging in antisocial behavior.

Callous-Unemotional Traits and Antisocial Behavior in South Korean Children: Links with Academic Motivation, School Engagement, and Teachers\u2019 Use of Reward and Discipline

Callous-unemotional (CU) traits have been associated with atypical responses to reward and punishment cues, with evidence suggesting that such traits may shape caregiver use of reward and punishment practices over time. To date, research has predominantly focused on parental rewards and discipline, with far less attention paid to teacher behavior management strategies. The first aim of the current study was to investigate the potential moderating effect of CU traits on the relationship between teacher classroom management strategies (rewards and discipline) and two important school-related outcomes: student engagement and academic motivation. The second aim was to examine whether CU traits were related to teachers’ use of discipline and reward strategies over time. Children attending South Korean primary schools (N = 218; aged 10–12 years; 52% boys) reported on CU traits, antisocial behavior, teacher classroom management strategies, school engagement and academic motivation at two time points (the beginning and end of a single academic year). First, harsh teacher discipline predicted lower school engagement, but only for children low in CU traits. Second, cross-lagged longitudinal models showed that CU traits predicted decreased use of teacher rewards, over and above associations with antisocial behavior. CU traits were not related to harsh discipline cross-sectionally or longitudinally in models that accounted for antisocial behavior. Findings show that CU traits are related to reduced sensitivity to teacher discipline, suggesting that teachers may need additional support to implement both discipline and reward-based strategies with children high in these traits.

Attentional Bias for Cues Signaling Punishment and Reward in Adolescents: Cross-Sectional and Prognostic Associations with Symptoms of Anxiety and Behavioral Disorders

Heightened reward sensitivity has been proposed as a risk factor for developing behavioral disorders whereas heightened punishment sensitivity has been related to the development of anxiety disorders in youth. Combining a cross-sectional (n = 696, mean age = 16.14) and prospective (n = 598, mean age = 20.20) approach, this study tested the hypotheses that an attentional bias for punishing cues is involved in the development of anxiety disorders and an attentional bias for rewarding cues in the development of behavioral disorders. A spatial orientation task was used to examine the relation between an attentional bias for punishing cues and an attentional bias for rewarding cues with anxiety and behavioral problems in a subsample of a large prospective population cohort study. Our study indicates that attentional biases to general cues of punishment and reward do not seem to be important risk factors for the development of anxiety or behavioral problems respectively. It might be that attentional biases play a role in the maintenance of psychological problems. This remains open for future research.

Response perseveration and the triarchic model of psychopathy in an undergraduate sample.

This study aimed to extend previously reported links between distinctive configurations of traits in the psychopathic personality and maladaptive response perseveration, by examining performance in the Card Perseveration Task (CPT) within the framework of the triarchic model of psychopathy in a mixed-gender undergraduate sample. A computerized version of the CPT was administered to 222 undergraduates (142 women) assessed for triarchic psychopathy dimensions using the Triarchic Psychopathy Measure. Maladaptive response perseveration (more cards played and less money earned) was uniquely associated with trait boldness scores for both women and men. Moreover, analyses of response times following feedback indicated that poor performance on the CPT was related to lack of overall reflection. Further mediation analyses did not reveal significant effects of trait boldness on the response perseveration deficit through reflection times. Our results provide new evidence for the role of trait boldness in the failure to suspend reward-approach behavior in the face of increasing punishment contingencies, probably due to an absence of fear or insensitivity to punishment cues rather than to an unreflective response style. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2019 APA, all rights reserved).

Dissociable roles of the nucleus accumbens D1 and D2 receptors in regulating cue-elicited approach-avoidance conflict decision-making.

Approach and avoidance decisions are made when an animal experiences a state of motivational conflict inflicted by stimuli imbued with both positive and negative valences. The nucleus accumbens (NAc), a site where valenced information and action selection converge, has recently been found to be critically involved in the resolution of approach-avoidance conflict. However, the individual roles of the region's dopamine receptor D1 (D1R)- and D2 (D2R)-expressing medium spiny neurons (MSNs) in regulating conflict resolution have not been well established. Here, we examined the roles of NAc D1R and D2R in cue-elicited approach-avoidance decision-making. Using a conditioned mixed-valence conflict paradigm, rats were initially trained in a radial maze to associate separate visuotactile cues with sucrose reward, foot shock punishment, and no outcome. Following acquisition of the cue-outcome associations, rats were subjected to a conditioned approach-avoidance conflict scenario, in which they were presented with a maze arm containing a superimposition of the reward and punishment cues, and another arm containing neutral cues. Post-training intra-NAc D1R antagonism (SCH23390) led to an avoidance of the arm containing the mixed-valence cue over the neutral arm, whereas intra-NAc D2R antagonism (sulpiride) resulted in rats exhibiting a preference for the mixed-valence arm. Our results suggest that NAc D1R and D2R exert differential control over decision-making involvingcue-elicited approach-avoidance conflict resolution.

Context and Time Matter: Effects of Emotion and Motivation on Episodic Memory Overtime.

Previous studies have shown that compared with neutral cues, stimuli with positive and negative/stressful contexts or reward and punishment cues are remembered better. However, it is unclear whether the enhanced effect differs in emotion or motivation dimensions and the passage of time. We addressed these issues by manipulating different contextual cues for neutral words at different time intervals. In experiment 1, subjects were asked to learn words with picture contexts in positive, negative/stressful, and neutral valences and were tested by old/new word recognition and contextual judgment 10 min, 1 day, and 1 week later. In experiment 2, the reward and punishment motivations were manipulated by monetary cues during learning. Word recognition and contextual judgment were assessed 10 min, 1 day, 1 week, and 1 month after the study. Compared with negative and punishment conditions, the words in positive and reward contexts were recognized better at shorter intervals, which was associated with recollection process. In contrast, the words in negative and punishment contexts were recognized better at longer intervals, which was mainly associated with familiarity process. These results clarified how different dimensions of emotional and motivational contexts influence memory at short and long intervals and highlighted the role of contextual features in memory formation and consolidation.

Catecholaminergic challenge uncovers distinct Pavlovian and instrumental mechanisms of motivated (in)action.

Catecholamines modulate the impact of motivational cues on action. Such motivational biases have been proposed to reflect cue-based, 'Pavlovian' effects. Here, we assess whether motivational biases may also arise from asymmetrical instrumental learning of active and passive responses following reward and punishment outcomes. We present a novel paradigm, allowing us to disentangle the impact of reward and punishment on instrumental learning from Pavlovian response biasing. Computational analyses showed that motivational biases reflect both Pavlovian and instrumental effects: reward and punishment cues promoted generalized (in)action in a Pavlovian manner, whereas outcomes enhanced instrumental (un)learning of chosen actions. These cue- and outcome-based biases were altered independently by the catecholamine enhancer melthylphenidate. Methylphenidate's effect varied across individuals with a putative proxy of baseline dopamine synthesis capacity, working memory span. Our study uncovers two distinct mechanisms by which motivation impacts behaviour, and helps refine current models of catecholaminergic modulation of motivated action.

Amygdala inputs to prefrontal cortex guide behavior amid conflicting cues of reward and punishment.

Orchestrating appropriate behavioral responses in the face of competing signals that predict either rewards or threats in the environment is crucial for survival. The basolateral amygdala (BLA) and prelimbic (PL) medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) have been implicated in reward-seeking and fear-related responses, but how information flows between these reciprocally-connected structures to coordinate behavior is unknown. We recorded neuronal activity from the BLA and PL while rats performed a task where in shock- and sucrose-predictive cues were simultaneously presented to induce competition. The correlated firing primarily displayed a BLA→PL directionality during the shock-associated cue. Furthermore, the majority of optogenetically-identified PL-projecting BLA neurons recorded encoded the shock-associated cue, and more accurately predicted behavioral responses during competition than unidentified BLA neurons. Finally, BLA→PL photostimulation increased freezing, whereas both chemogenetic and optogenetic inhibition reduced freezing. The BLA→PL circuit plays a critical role in governing the selection of behavioral responses in the face of competing signals.

Psychopathy, criminal intentions, and abnormal appraisal of the expected outcomes of theft

PurposeImpaired emotional learning is one of the hallmark features of psychopathy. The abnormal processing of cues of reward and punishment, and its impact in decision‐making, has mostly been supported by laboratorial studies. In this report, we have analysed the effect of psychopathy in the formation of attitudes towards committing theft, and its impact in the intention to reoffend after release.MethodsA self‐report instrument to characterize the predictors of the intention to reoffend was developed and administrated, along with the Triarchic Psychopathy Measure, to a sample of 91 male inmates convicted for theft.ResultsThe perceived rewards of theft mediated the association between psychopathic traits and the intention to reoffend. The analysis of the expectancy and value components of the attitude towards theft showed that psychopathic traits are associated with reduced expectancy of negative outcomes and increased expectancy of positive outcomes as a consequence of reoffending.ConclusionsOur results add support to the role of disrupted expectancy–value learning and increased reward sensitivity as mediators of the increased probability to reoffend in psychopathy.

Using reinforcement sensitivity to understand longitudinal links between PTSD and relationship adjustment.

There is limited research testing longitudinal models of how posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) severity leads to impaired relationship adjustment. The present study evaluated 2 potential mechanisms among a longitudinal sample of National Guard soldiers deployed to the Iraq War: (1) sensitivity to cues associated with punishment within intimate relationships and (2) sensitivity to cues associated with incentives in intimate relationships. Participants were surveyed by mail 1 year after an extended 16-month combat deployment and again 2 years later. Using a cross-lagged panel analysis with 2 mediators (relationship-specific threat and incentive sensitivity), findings indicated Time 1 PTSD symptom severity significantly eroded relationship adjustment over time through greater sensitivity to cues of relationship-related punishment, but not through incentive sensitivity. Additionally, findings indicated sensitivity to cues of relationship-related threats maintains symptoms of PTSD while sensitivity to cues of relationship-related incentives maintains relationship adjustment. Finally, PTSD symptoms significantly predicted erosion of relationship adjustment over time; however, associations from relationship adjustment to changes in PTSD severity over time were nonsignificant. Findings are discussed within the context of reinforcement sensitivity theory and emotional processing theory of PTSD. (PsycINFO Database Record

Attentional Bias for Reward and Punishment in Overweight and Obesity: The TRAILS Study.

More than 80% of obese adolescents will become obese adults, and it is therefore important to enhance insight into characteristics that underlie the development and maintenance of overweight and obesity at a young age. The current study is the first to focus on attentional biases towards rewarding and punishing cues as potentially important factors. Participants were young adolescents (N = 607) who were followed from the age of 13 until the age of 19, and completed a motivational game indexing the attentional bias to general cues of reward and punishment. Additionally, self-reported reward and punishment sensitivity was measured. This study showed that attentional biases to cues that signal reward or punishment and self-reported reward and punishment sensitivity were not related to body mass index or the change in body mass index over six years in adolescents. Thus, attentional bias to cues of reward and cues of punishment, and self-reported reward and punishment sensitivity, do not seem to be crucial factors in the development and maintenance of overweight and obesity in adolescents. Exploratory analyses of the current study suggest that the amount of effort to gain reward and to avoid punishment may play a role in the development and maintenance of overweight and obesity. However, since the effort measure was a construct based on face validity and has not been properly validated, more studies are necessary before firm conclusions can be drawn.

Comparative Study of the Activity of Brain Behavioral Systems in Methamphetamine and Opiate Dependents

Background:Substance dependency is a major problem for the general health of a society. Different approaches have investigated the substance dependency in order to explain it. Gray’s reinforcement sensitivity theory (RST) is an advanced and important neuropsychological theory in this area.Objectives:The aim of this study was to compare three systems of the revised reinforcement sensitivity theory the behavioral activation system (r-BAS), the revised behavioral inhibition system (r-BIS), and the revised fight/flight/freezing system (r-FFFS) between patients dependent on methamphetamine and opiates, and a group of controls.Patients and Methods:This research was a causal-comparative study that was conducted in the first six months of 2012. The population of the study was males of Mashhad city, who were dependent on methamphetamine or opiates, and ruling out psychotic disorders and prominent Axis II. Twenty-five people were selected by the convenient sampling method. Also, 25 non-dependent people from the patients’ relatives were selected and matched for the variables of age, gender, and education to participate in this study. Participants were evaluated using a structured clinical interview (SCID) for DSM-IV, demographic questionnaire information, and a Jackson-5 questionnaire (2009). Data were analyzed by Chi-square, K-S, and independent t-test.Results:The methamphetamine dependent group had a higher sensitivity in the r-BAS, r-BIS, and the r-Fight and r-Freezing systems compared to the control group (P < 0.05). However, there was no significant difference in r-Flight between the two groups (P > 0.05). “The scores of r-BIS were also significantly higher in the methamphetamine-dependent group than the opioid-dependent and control groups. For the r-Fight variable, the methamphetamine-dependent group was higher than the opioid-dependent group”.Conclusions:The personality patterns of patients dependent on methamphetamines were different from the controls. These people have a high sensitivity to punishment cues, such as being compared in social conditions and a tendency for reinforcement and reward, because of their higher sensitivity in the behavioral inhibition and activation systems.

Comparison of Activity of Brain Behavioral Systems in Methamphetamine and Opiate Dependents and Normal Subjects, Based On Gary's Revised Reinforcement Sensitivity Theory

Introduction The aim of this study was to compare three systems of revised reinforcement sensitivity theory, (behavioral activation system (r-BAS), revised behavioral inhibition system (r-BIS) and revised fight/ flight/ freezing system (r-FFFS), between patients, dependent to methamphetamine and normal people. Material and Methods This research was causal-comparative study that done in first sex month of 2012. The population of the study was the male dependent on methamphetamine that ruling out Psychotic disorders and prominent axis II of Mashhad city. 25 persons were selected by convenient sampling method. Also 25 normal people from patients' relatives were selected and matched in variables of age, gender and education participated in this study. Samples evaluated by Structured Clinical Interview (SCID) for DSM-IV, demographic questionnaire information's and Jackson-5 questionnaire (2009). Data were analyzed by Chi square, K-S and independent t-test. Results Methamphetamine dependent group had higher sensitivity in r-BAS, r-BIS, Fight and Freezing systems compare to normal people (p 0.05). Conclusion Personality patterns of patients dependent on methamphetamine were different from normal people. This people have high sensitivity to punishment cues such as being compared in social conditions and tendency to reinforcement and reward, because of their higher sensitivity in behavioral inhibition and activation system. These results are in accordance with the fundamental hypothesis of revised theory (r-RST).

101. Peripheral inflammation impairs motivation through modulation of fundamental gain and loss associated prediction error signals in ventral striatum and anterior insula

Inflammation reduces reward-seeking behaviour and increases avoidance of aversive stimuli. However, how this is neurally mediated remains unclear. Here we addressed this using a Typhoid vaccine experimental inflammation model together with computational modelling of an instrumental learning task performed during fMRI (1). Twenty-two healthy participants were each tested 3-h after blindly administered typhoid vaccine (0.025 mg) and placebo (0.5 ml 0.9% NaCl) injection. Typhoid but not placebo was associated with a threefold increase in plasma IL-6 ( t (21) = 5.20, p F (21,1) = 6.41, p = 0.019. Computational modelling of individuals’ choices using a Q-learning model (free parameters alpha (learning-rate), beta (choice-randomness) and R (reward value)) demonstrated significant reduction in reward cue value and increase in value of punishment cues following inflammation F (21,1) = 3.63, p p p

Attentional modulation by reward and punishment cues in relation to depressive symptoms

Background and objectivesResearch indicates that individuals at-risk for depression are characterized by high sensitivity to loss and reduced sensitivity to reward. Moreover, it has been shown that attentional bias plays an important role in depression vulnerability. The current study aimed to examine the interplay between these risk factors for depression by examining the development of attentional bias toward reward and loss signals in dysphoric participants (individuals with elevated levels of depressive symptoms). MethodsShapes were conditioned to reward and loss and subsequently presented in a dot probe task in a sample of dysphoric and nondysphoric participants. ResultsNondysphoric individuals oriented towards reward-related signals whereas dysphoric individuals failed to develop a reward-related attentional bias. This attentional effect was observed in the absence of group differences in motivational factors. No group differences were found for attentional bias for loss-related signals, despite the fact that dysphoric individuals performed worse in response to losing. LimitationsThe current sample is not clinical thus generalization to clinical depression is not warranted. ConclusionsWe argue that impaired early attentional processing of rewards are an important cognitive risk factor for anhedonic symptoms in persons with dysphoria.