Delay Discounting Task Research Articles

Differences in Nicotine Dependence and Delay Discounting between Traditional and E-cigarette Users

The present study attempts to explore the differences in nicotine dependence and delay discounting between traditional cigarette and e-cigarette users. According to the Competing Neurobehavioral Decision Systems Theory, this study will also discuss the characteristics of impulsive decisions exhibited by smokers with these two different tobacco products. Study 1 used the Fagerström Nicotine Dependence Test (FTND) to investigate the nicotine dependence levels of traditional and e-cigarette users respectively. Based on study 1, study 2 adopted the Delay Discounting Task (DDT) to compare the difference in delay discounting among the non-smoking group, traditional cigarette group and e-cigarette group, with unrelated variables such as demography variables (gender, age, education) and nicotine dependence level controlled. The results showed that in Study 1, e-cigarette users had significantly higher nicotine dependence than traditional cigarette users. In Study 2, the degree of delay discounting between the traditional cigarette group and the e-cigarette group was significantly higher than that of the non-smoking group, while there was no significant difference in the degree of delay discounting between the traditional cigarette group and the e-cigarette group. The current findings suggest that e-cigarettes may exacerbate smokers' nicotine dependence. Traditional cigarette and e-cigarette users exhibit similar and significantly higher levels of delay discounting than the general population, indicating that the general connection between nicotine dependence and high levels of delay discounting is not influenced by different tobacco products.

Developmental exposure to 17-α-hydroxyprogesterone caproate disrupts decision-making in adult female rats: A potential role for a dopaminergic mechanism

The synthetic progestin, 17α-hydroxyprogesterone caproate (17-OHPC), is administered to pregnant individuals at risk for preterm birth and is likely transferred from mother to fetus. Yet, there is little information regarding the potential effects of 17-OHPC administration on behavioral and neural development in offspring. In rats, neonatal 17-OHPC exposure altered dopaminergic fiber distribution and density in the prelimbic medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) in neonates and adolescents, respectively. Additionally, neonatal 17-OHPC exposure in male rats increased response omissions in a delay discounting task of impulsive decision-making. Because developmental 17-OHPC exposure has differential effects in males and females, investigating the effects of 17-OHPC on impulsive decision-making in female rats is necessary. The present study tested the effects of developmental 17-OHPC exposure (P1–P14) in a delay discounting task in which female rats chose between a small immediate reward and a larger delayed (0, 15 30, or 45 s) reward. 17-OHPC-exposed females made more omissions than controls. There was no effect of 17-OHPC on large reward preference nor on response time, and omissions were similar during both free- and forced-choice trials. The present study also aimed to investigate the neural mechanisms underlying omissions in 17-OHPC-exposed female rats. The dopamine transporter inhibitor, methylphenidate (MPH), was administered prior to delay discounting testing. MPH treatment did not reduce omissions in 17-OHPC-exposed females. If anything, MPH increased omissions in control females nearly fourfold during the longest delays. These results suggest that developmental 17-OHPC exposure increased omissions without affecting impulsivity or slowing decision-making. Furthermore, omissions may be regulated, at least in part, by dopaminergic mechanisms.

Prior cocaine self-administration does not impair the ability to delay gratification in rats during diminishing returns.

Previous exposure to drugs of abuse produces impairments in studies of reversal learning, delay discounting and response inhibition tasks. While these studies contribute to the understanding of normal decision-making and how it is impaired by drugs of abuse, they do not fully capture how decision-making impacts the ability to delay gratification for greater long-term benefit. To address this issue, we used a diminishing returns task to study decision-making in rats that had previously self-administered cocaine. This task was designed to test the ability of the rat to choose to delay gratification in the short-term to obtain more reward over the course of the entire behavioral session. Rats were presented with two choices. One choice had a fixed amount of time delay needed to obtain reward [i.e. fixed delay (FD)], while the other choice had a progressive delay (PD) that started at 0 s and progressively increased by 1 s each time the PD option was selected. During the 'reset' variation of the task, rats could choose the FD option to reset the time delay associated with the PD option. Consistent with previous results, we found that prior cocaine exposure reduced rats' overall preference for the PD option in post-task reversal testing during 'no-reset' sessions, suggesting that cocaine exposure made rats more sensitive to the increasing delay of the PD option. Surprisingly, however, we found that rats that had self-administered cocaine 1-month prior, adapted behavior during 'reset' sessions by delaying gratification to obtain more reward in the long run similar to control rats.

Is impulsivity related to attentional bias in cigarette smokers? An exploration across levels of nicotine dependency and deprivation.

Research has largely focused on how attentional bias to smoking-related cues and impulsivity independently influence the development and maintenance of cigarette smoking, with limited exploration of the relationship between these mechanisms. The current experiments systematically assessed relationships between multiple dimensions of impulsivity and attentional bias, at different stages of attention, in smokers varying in nicotine dependency and deprivation. Nonsmokers (NS; n = 26), light-satiated smokers (LS; n = 25), heavy-satiated smokers (HS; n = 23) and heavy 12-hour nicotine-deprived smokers (HD; n = 30) completed the Barratt Impulsivity Scale, delayed discounting task, stop-signal task, information sampling task and a visual dot-probe assessing initial orientation (200 ms) and sustained attention (2000 ms) toward smoking-related cues. Sustained attention to smoking-related cues was present in both HS and LS, while initial orientation bias was only evident in HS. HS and LS also had greater levels of trait motor and nonplanning impulsivity and heightened impulsive choice on the delay discounting task compared with NS, while heightened trait attentional impulsivity was only found in HS. In contrast, in HD, nicotine withdrawal was associated with no attentional bias but heightened reflection impulsivity, poorer inhibitory control and significantly lower levels of impulsive choice relative to satiated smokers. Trait and behavioral impulsivity were not related to the extent of attentional bias to smoking-related cues at any stage of attention, level of nicotine dependency or state of deprivation. Findings have both clinical and theoretical implications, highlighting the unique and independent roles impulsivity and attentional bias may play at different stages of the nicotine addiction cycle.

Role of delay discounting in resisting in-class media multitasking under contextual control: a cluster analysis

ABSTRACT The present study examined a potential mechanism underlying college students’ resisting in-class media multitasking under contextual control from a behavioural economic perspective. Using a hierarchical cluster analysis, we first identified subgroups of students who differed in frequencies of media multitasking across two contexts (preferred and non-preferred classes). We then compared a subgroup of students who could resist media multitasking in one context but not in another context with other subgroups of students in terms of rates of delay discounting and levels of impulse control. In the delay-discounting task, participants made a series of choices between smaller amounts of hypothetical monetary rewards available immediately and a larger amount of hypothetical monetary rewards available after a delay. Impulse control was measured by a self-reported scale. The primary finding was that the subgroup of students who could resist media multitasking in preferred but not non-preferred classes showed significantly lower rates of delay discounting than the subgroup of students who frequently engaged in media multitasking in both preferred and non-preferred classes. Implications for developing effective intervention strategies from a behavioural economic perspective are discussed.

Gamification and motivation: Impact on delay discounting performance.

Delay discounting is a phenomenon strongly associated with impulsivity. However, in order for a measured discounting rate in an experiment to meaningfully generalize to choices made elsewhere in life, participants must provide thoughtful, engaged answers during the assessment. Classic discounting tasks may not optimize intrinsic motivation or enjoyment, and a participant who is disengaged from the task is likely to behave in a way that provides a biased estimate of their discounting function. We assessed degree of delay discounting in a task intended to vary level of participant motivation. This was accomplished by introducing varying levels of gamification, the application of game design principles to a non-game context. Experiment 1 compared three versions of the delay discounting task with differing degrees of gamification and compared performance and task enjoyment across those variations, while Experiment 2 used two conditions (one gamified, one not). Participants found more gamified versions of the task more enjoyable than the other conditions, without producing substantial between-group differences in most cases. Thus, more polished task gameplay can provide a more enjoyable experience for participants without undermining delay discounting effects commonly reported in the literature. We also found that in all experimental conditions, higher levels of interest in or enjoyment of the task tended to be associated with more rapid discounting. This may suggest that low task motivation may result in less impulsive choice and suggests that participants who find delay discounting experiments sufficiently boring may bias assessments of value across delays.

A fragile effect: The influence of episodic memory on delay discounting.

Delay discounting occurs when a reward loses value as a function of delay. Episodic future thinking (EFT) reliably decreases delay discounting. EFT may share cognitive features with recalling episodic memories such as constructive episodic simulation. We therefore explored whether recalling episodic memories also reduces delay discounting. In Experiment 1, participants wrote about episodic memories and recalled those memories before completing a delay discounting task. Episodic memories reduced delay discounting according to one commonly used delay discounting measure (area under the curve) but not another (using the hyperbolic model). Experiment 2 compared the effects of general and episodic memories. Neither general nor episodic memories significantly decreased delay discounting compared with a control "counting" condition, but episodic memories reduced delay discounting compared with general memories under some conditions. In Experiment 3, episodic memories did not decrease delay discounting compared with three other control conditions while EFT did. Experiment 3 therefore found that thinking must be both episodic and future orientated to reduce delay discounting. Together, these results suggest that episodic thinking is not sufficient to reliably decrease delay discounting, rather, features unique to episodic future thinking are required. Episodic memory might reduce delay discounting in some contexts, but this effect is small and fragile.

Choice impulsivity after repeated social stress is associated with increased perineuronal nets in the medial prefrontal cortex

Repeated stress can predispose to substance abuse. However, behavioral and neurobiological adaptations that link stress to substance abuse remain unclear. This study investigates whether intermittent social defeat (ISD), a stress protocol that promotes drug-seeking behavior, alters intertemporal decision-making and cortical inhibitory function in the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC). Male long evans rats were trained in a delay discounting task (DDT) where rats make a choice between a fast (1 s) small reward (1 sugar pellet) and a large reward (3 sugar pellets) that comes with a time delay (10 s or 20 s). A decreased preference for delayed rewards was used as an index of choice impulsivity. Rats were exposed to ISD and tested in the DDT 24 h after each stress episode, and one- and two-weeks after the last stress episode. Immunohistochemistry was performed in rat’s brains to evaluate perineuronal nets (PNNs) and parvalbumin GABA interneurons (PV) labeling as markers of inhibitory function in mPFC. ISD significantly decreased the preference for delayed large rewards in low impulsive, but not high impulsive, animals. ISD also increased the density of PNNs in the mPFC. These results suggest that increased choice impulsivity and cortical inhibition predispose animals to seek out rewards after stress.

Been There, Done That: The Impact of the Novelty of Penile Vaginal Intercourse (PVI) and Participants’ Sex on Delay and Probability Discounting of PVI

ABSTRACT Delay and probability discounting tasks are useful for understanding aspects of decision making. The current study, which employed a mixed-model design to assess discounting of penile-vaginal intercourse (PVI), was conducted online with male and female participants recruited from Prolific (N = 300; mean age = 34.1 years). Results of the novel delay and probability discounting tasks indicated that as the delay to PVI increased, or as PVI became less certain to occur, participants were instead more likely to choose to receive oral sex, the reward initially indicated as less desirable. Having previously engaged in PVI, however, enhanced this reversal of preferences on both tasks, which suggests PVI loses some of its value when no longer novel. Males and females similarly discounted PVI on the delay discounting task, which suggests biological sex may not impact the propensity to wait for a preferred sexual behavior. On the probability discounting task, however, males were more averse to a reduced probability of PVI occurring and instead opted for receiving oral sex. The sexual behavior discounting tasks developed in the current study, and ones like it, may prove useful for identifying preferences in sexual behaviors, and ultimately enhance sexual and relationship satisfaction.

Disentangling the neurobiological bases of temporal impulsivity in Huntington's disease.

Despite its impact on daily life, impulsivity in Huntington's disease (HD) is understudied as a neuropsychiatric symptom. Our aim is to characterize temporal impulsivity in HD and to disentangle the white matter correlate associated with impulsivity. Forty-seven HD individuals and 36 healthy controls were scanned and evaluated for temporal impulsivity using a delay-discounting (DD) task and complementary Sensitivity to Punishment and Sensitivity to Reward Questionnaire. Diffusion tensor imaging was employed to characterize the structural connectivity of three limbic tracts: the uncinate fasciculus (UF), the accumbofrontal tract (NAcc-OFC), and the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex connectig the caudate nucleus (DLPFC-cn). Multiple linear regression analyses were applied to analyze the relationship between impulsive behavior and white matter microstructural integrity. Our results revealed altered structural connectivity in the DLPC-cn, the NAcc-OFC and the UF in HD individuals. At the same time, the variability in structural connectivity of these tracts was associated with the individual differences in temporal impulsivity. Specifically, increased structural connectivity in the right NAcc-OFC and reduced connectivity in the left UF were associated with higher temporal impulsivity scores. The present findings highlight the importance of investigating the spectrum of temporal impulsivity in HD. As, while less prevalent than other psychiatric features, this symptom is still reported to significantly impact the quality of life of patients and caregivers. This study provides evidence that individual differences observed in temporal impulsivity may be explained by variability in limbic frontostriatal tracts, while shedding light on the role of sensitivity to reward in modulating impulsive behavior through the selection of immediate rewards.

Episodic Future Thinking Reduces Delay Discounting of Gains and Losses: The Role of Regulatory Focus

AbstractWe examined the moderating effect of regulatory foci on the efficacy of episodic future thinking in reducing delay discounting. We hypothesized that the impact of imagining positive future events (vs. recent positive events) on delay discounting of gains would be stronger for individuals with a high promotion focus than for those with a high prevention focus (Hypothesis 1). Conversely, the effects of imagining adverse future events (vs. recent negative events) on delay discounting of losses would be stronger for individuals with a high prevention focus than for those with a high promotion focus (Hypothesis 2). We conducted two experiments in which participants, randomly allocated to episodic future thinking (EFT) or episodic recent thinking (ERT) groups, completed a delayed discounting task of gain (Experiment 1) or loss (Experiment 2). Experiment 1 (N = 73) weakly supported Hypothesis 1; Experiment 2 (N = 99) did not support Hypothesis 2. Our findings suggest positive EFT is particularly effective for individuals with a high promotion focus compared to individuals with a high prevention focus, which further reveals how EFT attenuates delay discounting.

Patients with episodic migraine without aura have an increased rate of delayed discounting.

This study aimed to explore decision-making impulsivity and its neural mechanisms in patients with episodic migraine without aura (EMoA). Previous evidence indicates increased impulsivity and altered reward processing in patients with chronic migraine and medication overuse; however, whether the same holds true for those with EMoA is unclear. Patients newly diagnosed with EMoA (n=51) and healthy controls (HC, n=45) were recruited. All participants completed delay discounting task, cognitive assessments, a questionnaire for headache profile, and resting-state function magnetic resonance imaging scans. Resting-state functional connectivity (RSFC) between the regions of interest and the entire brain was explored. Patients with EMoA showed a steeper subjective discount rate than HCs (F=4.74, p=.032), which was positively related to a history of migraines (r=.742, p<.001). RSFC among the ventral striatum (vSTR), ventromedial prefrontal cortex, and occipital cortex was lower in patients with EMoA than in control groups, which was correlated with history (r'=.294, p=.036) and subjective discount rate (r'=.380, p=.006). Additionally, discounting rates and RSFC between the vSTR and occipital regions were significantly abnormal in the triptan group than the non-triptan group. Mediating effect analysis indicated a significant mediating effect in the change in RSFC between the vSTR and occipital status, history of triptan use, and subjective discount rate. This study further elucidated that an increase in delayed discounting rate exists in patients with EMoA and is related to the abnormality of the value processing network.

Delay discounting demonstrates lower impulsivity linked to a higher likelihood of succeeding at smoking cessation

Sixty-eight percent of smokers want to quit, but only one in 10 are successful at smoking cessation. Recently, impulsivity has been studied in relation to smoking cessation with measures like the delay discounting task (DDT). We aimed to build on the robust literature that has already revealed the association between impulsivity and smoking cessation, as well as look at the differences between sexes for which there is conflicting evidence. We hypothesized that lower impulsivity would be positively associated with cessation success. In the parent cessation trial, participants were randomized to 12 weeks of progesterone or placebo. Participants were asked to quit smoking, and their smoking status was monitored via expired carbon monoxide throughout the study. Participants completed a DDT at screening, week 4, and week 8 using the 27-item Monetary Choice Questionnaire, where participants decided between a small immediate reward or a larger delayed reward (LDR). The effective delay 50 (ED50), which is the delay at which the LDR loses half its value, was analyzed. To estimate the association between ED50 and cessation, a logistic mixed model with a participant random intercept was fit, controlling for study week, randomization, sex, and age. For the 181 participants, a doubling of the ED50 was associated with an 18% increase in the odds of tobacco cessation (95% confidence interval: 0.2–38% increase; p=0.05). In agreement with our hypothesis, lower impulsivity correlated to greater tobacco cessation success. Our study also showed no evidence of sex differences in the association between ED50 and smoking cessation.

Patients with cocaine use disorder exhibit reductions in delay discounting with episodic future thinking cues regardless of incarceration history

Research examining episodic future thinking (EFT; i.e., imagining oneself in future contexts) in community samples has demonstrated reduced discounting of delayed rewards when personalized event cues are included to prompt EFT related to reward latencies. While this EFT effect was recently demonstrated in individuals with substance use disorders, it is not yet known if it manifests similarly in individuals with and without a significant incarceration history—the latter being at elevated risk for negative outcomes including criminal recidivism. Individuals with cocaine use disorder (n = 35) identified personally-relevant future events and participated in a computerized delay discounting task, involving decisions between smaller immediate rewards or larger delayed rewards with and without EFT cues. Individuals with (n = 19) and without (n = 16) a significant history of incarceration were identified using the Addiction Severity Index-Lite. A significant reduction in discounting rates was observed when event cues were included to promote EFT (p = 0.02); however, there was no main effect of incarceration history on discounting behavior, or interaction between episodic future thinking condition and incarceration history. Results suggest personalized cues included to evoke EFT reduce discounting behavior in individuals with cocaine use disorder, regardless of incarceration history. EFT–based interventions may therefore have promise to reduce impulsive decision-making in individuals with cocaine use disorder with and without a significant history of incarceration, potentially supporting improved outcomes with respect to both substance use and future criminality.

Early life adversity and substance use: The mediating role of mood and the moderating role of impulsivity

IntroductionEarly life adversity (ELA) is a risk factor for substance use and misuse, and multiple factors mediate and moderate this association. We examined whether moods mediate the relationships between ELA and nicotine use, cannabis use, and co-use, and whether these mediation effects varied as a function of delay discounting. MethodsA total of 2555 adults completed a delay discounting task and responded to questions related to demographics, ELA, mood, and substance use. Data were analyzed using Pearson correlations and moderated mediation using Hayes’ PROCESS macro (V3.4, Model 15). ResultsELA was positively associated with cannabis use, nicotine use, co-use of both substances, depressed and stressed moods, and it was negatively associated with positive mood. While cannabis use was associated negatively with stressed and depressed moods and positively with positive mood, nicotine use was associated negatively with positive mood. Moderated mediation analyses indicated that positive mood mediated the relationship between ELA and cannabis use for those with average and above average delay discounting. Positive mood also mediated the relationship between ELA and co-use among those with above average delay discounting. ConclusionThe results suggest that ELA's associations with cannabis use and cannabis-nicotine co-use may be partially attributable to ELA's effects on positive mood among those who are predisposed to moderately to highly impulsive decision making.

Are the attention checks embedded in delay discounting tasks a valid marker for data quality?

To ensure good quality delay discounting (DD) data in research recruiting via crowdsourcing platforms, including attention checks within DD tasks have become common. These attention checks are typically identical in format to the task questions but have one sensical answer (e.g., "Would you prefer $0 now or $100 in a month?"). However, the validity of these attention checks as a marker for DD or overall survey data quality has not been directly examined. To address this gap, using data from two studies (total N = 700), the validity of these DD attention checks was tested by assessing performance on other non-DD attention checks and data quality measures both specific to DD and overall survey data (e.g., providing nonsystematic DD data, responding inconsistently in questionnaires). We also tested whether failing the attention checks was associated with degree of discounting or other participant characteristics to screen for potential bias. While failing the DD attention checks was associated with a greater likelihood of nonsystematic DD data, their discriminability was inadequate, and failure was sometimes associated with individual differences (suggesting that data exclusion might introduce bias). Failing the DD attention checks was also not associated with failing other attention checks or data quality indicators. Overall, the DD attention checks do not appear to be an adequate indicator of data quality on their own, for either the DD task or surveys overall. Strategies to enhance the validity of DD attention checks and data cleaning procedures are suggested, which should be evaluated in future research. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).

Discounting of Hyper-Palatable Food and Money: Associations with Food Addiction Symptoms.

Delay discounting (DD), the tendency to prefer small, immediate rewards over larger, delayed rewards, is associated with health-risk behaviors. The study examined associations between DD for money and hyper-palatable foods (HPF) with food addiction (FA) symptoms among a general population sample. Participants (N = 296) completed an adjusting DD task that consisted of a single-commodity condition with HPF as the reward (HPF now vs. HPF later) and cross-commodity conditions comparing money and HPF (money now vs. HPF later; HPF now vs. money later). The Yale Food Addiction Scale 2.0 was used to assess FA symptoms. Zero-inflated negative binomial regression models tested whether discounting of HPF and money was associated with FA symptoms. Findings indicated there were no significant associations between DD and FA symptoms in the single-commodity HPF condition (logit: OR = 1.02, p-value = 0.650; count: IRR = 1.04, p-value = 0.515). There were no significant associations among cross-commodity conditions comparing money now vs. HPF later (logit: OR = 0.96, p-value = 0.330; count: IRR = 1.02, p-value = 0.729) or conditions comparing HPF now vs. money later (logit: OR = 1.02, p-value = 0.682; count: IRR = 0.92, p-value = 0.128) and FA symptoms. Discounting HPF may not be a key behavioral feature among individuals who endorse FA symptoms.

Reduced access to reinforcement drives delay discounting during experienced delays.

Rewards lose value as a function of delay. Previous studies suggest that delays have a bigger effect on reward value when people must wait during the delay. However, whether delays involve waiting or postponing has often been confounded with whether choices are about hypothetical or real rewards. The current study characterized the effects of waiting and postponing in hypothetical and experiential choice contexts separately. In Experiment 1 we observed steeper delay discounting for waiting than for postponing in choices about both hypothetical money and about experienced computer game points. Two factors potentially contributing to steeper discounting in choices about waiting are reduced access to other rewards and direct costs of waiting. In Experiment 2, we adapted the experiential delay-discounting task to manipulate each factor separately. Reduced access to other reinforcers had a bigger effect on delay discounting than direct costs of waiting. These results underscore the importance of considering the unique influence of waiting and associated opportunity costs in both basic delay-discounting research and in applied contexts.

To produce or not to produce? Contrasting the effect of substance abuse in social decision-making situations

Substance use disorders (SUD) have been related to high criminal justice costs, expensive healthcare, social impairment, and decision-making deficits. In non-social decision-making tasks, people with SUD tend to take more risks and choose small immediate rewards than controls. However, few studies have explored how people with SUD behave in social decision-making situations where the resources and profits depend directly on participants' real-time interaction, i.e., social foraging situations. To fulfill this gap, we developed a real-time interaction task to (a) compare the proportion of producers (individuals who tend to search for food sources) and scroungers (individuals who tend to steal or join previously discovered food sources) among participants with SUD and controls with respect to the optimal behavior predicted by the Rate Maximization Model, and (b) explore the relationship between social foraging strategies, prosocial behavior, and impulsivity. Here participants with SUD (n = 20) and a non-user control group (n = 20) were exposed to the Guaymas Foraging task (GFT), the Social Discounting task (SD), and the Delay Discounting task (DD). We found that participants in the control group tended to produce more and obtain higher profits in contrast to substance abuser groups. Additionally, SD and DD rates were higher for scroungers than producers regardless of the group. Our results suggest that producers tend to be more altruistic and less impulsive than scroungers. Knowing more about social strategies and producers' characteristics could help develop substance abuse prevention programs.

Family history, childhood maltreatment, and adolescent binge drinking exert synergistic effects on delay discounting and future alcohol use

ABSTRACT Background: The transition to college is associated with a sharp increase in alcohol binge drinking. Family history (FH) of alcohol use disorder (AUD), childhood maltreatment (CM), and adolescent binge drinking are each associated with heightened impulsivity and greater alcohol misuse. Objectives: We hypothesized that FH, CM, and adolescent binge drinking synergistically increase impulsivity and lead to binge drinking increases over the first year of college. Methods: Overall, 329 first-semester college students (18–19 years old, 70% female) with varying degrees of FH (Family History Assessment Module), CM (Childhood Trauma Questionnaire), and adolescent binge drinking (Carolina Alcohol Use and Patterns Questionnaire) completed an online study that included a computerized delay discounting task and surveys. Binge drinking was surveyed retrospectively to measure adolescent binge drinking, in addition to baseline and one-year follow-up measures. Linear regression analyses tested the interacting effects of FH, CM, and adolescent binge drinking on delay discounting as well as changes in binge drinking severity between baseline and one-year follow-up. A moderated mediation tested whether delay discounting mediated future binge drinking. Results: Greater levels of FH, CM, and adolescent binge drinking interacted to reduce the selection of delayed rewards (β=-0.12, SE = 0.06), indicating increased impulsivity. There was a similar interaction effect on increased binge drinking over the one-year follow-up period (β = 0.37, SE = 0.13). Although FH, CM, and adolescent binge drinking influenced individual paths, the moderated mediation analysis was not significant. Conclusions: Heritable and environmental risk factors for AUD predicted impulsivity and prospectively predicted college binge drinking. Interventions targeting delay discounting processes may represent an effective strategy to reduce harmful drinking specifically for certain high-risk college students.