No description available.

Real life decision-making depends on a complex interplay between cognitive and emotion-based processes. Damasio (1994) developed the Somatic Marker Hypothesis (SMH) arguing that emotion-based processes guide decision-making by directing individuals towards alternatives that have been previously ‘marked’ as positive or guide them away from the negative options. The primarily used test-bed of the emotion-based learning is Iowa Gambling Task (IGT, Bechara, Damasio, Damasio, & Anderson, 1994). The SMH makes three assumptions about the IGT behaviour: (a) somatic markers have a negative connotation and bias decision-making covertly in the absence of explicit knowledge, (b) there is a limited role for cognitive procesesing during IGT performance, especially during the initial stages of the task, and (c) anticipatory somatic markers guide decision-choices away from the bad options as participants are able to anticipate the good and the bad options. This thesis tested the SMH using a combination of psychophysiological methods (Eye-tracking, Pupillometry, Heart Rate and Blood Pressure measurements), behavioural measurements and psychometric measures of individual differences in combination with the IGT. The systematic review, meta-analyses and the experiments described in this Thesis explored the validity of these assumptions and found that they are not accurately manifested in behaviour during IGT performance. A novel methodology not previously employed was used to capture somatic markers through pupillary responses. Explicit learning was also assessed by the eye-tracking methodology in testing IGT performance in normal conditions and under stress. The results from the first two experiments indicated that explicit processing and knowledge about the task are more critical factors during the early stages of the game than previously suggested. Although there were some indicators of the existence of somatic markers, it was found that cognitive reflection, conscious awareness and increased cognitive processing occurred early in the game and guided behaviour on IGT. The results from the final experiment revealed that IGT performance in healthy individuals is not always optimal; stress levels impaired performance whereby a lack of, or insufficient cognitive processing early in the game may create a somatic signal that interferes with IGT performance. Furthermore, attentional processing, cognitive reflection and conscious awareness can be disrupted by stress resulting in non-optimal decision-making strategies that consequently interfere with performance on the IGT. Taken together, these results challenge the basic premises of the SMH and could be best explained within the dual-process framework (e.g., Brevers, Bechara, Cleeremans, & Noel, 2013). If somatic markers do not play a significant role in learning IGT than the task needs to be re-evaluated and caution is warranted when the IGT is used as a diagnostic tool to measure decision-making deficits in clinical populations.

Frontal electroencephalographic (EEG) alpha (α) asymmetry may index the activation of lateralized affect and motivation systems in humans. Resting EEG activation was measured and its relationship to Iowa gambling task (IGT) performance was evaluated. No effects were found for α power asymmetry. However, beta (β) power asymmetry, an alternative measure of resting EEG activation, was associated with the number of risky decisions made in the early portion of the task. Additionally, IGT deck selection patterns suggest there are at least three distinct performance styles in healthy individuals. Interestingly, β power asymmetry contradicts performance predictions based on accepted frontal asymmetry affect and motivation models.

Humans have a tendency to engage in economically irrational behaviors such as gambling, which typically leads to long-term financial losses. While there has been much research on human gambling behavior, relatively little work has been done to explore the evolutionary origins of this behavior. To examine the adaptive pressures that may have led to this seemingly irrational behavior in humans, nonhuman primates were tested to explore their reactions to gambling type scenarios. Several experiments based on traditional human economic experiments were adapted for use with a wider variety of primate species including chimpanzees and capuchin monkeys. This allowed for testing multiple species using similar methodologies in order to make more accurate comparisons of species abilities. This series of tasks helps to elucidate risky decision-making behavior in three primate species.

Frontal electroencephalographic (EEG) alpha (α) asymmetry may index the activation of lateralized affect and motivation systems in humans. Resting EEG activation was measured and its relationship to Iowa gambling task (IGT) performance was evaluated. No effects were found for α power asymmetry. However, beta (β) power asymmetry, an alternative measure of resting EEG activation, was associated with the number of risky decisions made in the early portion of the task. Additionally, IGT deck selection patterns suggest there are at least three distinct performance styles in healthy individuals. Interestingly, β power asymmetry contradicts performance predictions based on accepted frontal asymmetry affect and motivation models.

Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) / Deficits in impulse control and decision-making have been implicated in the development and maintenance of alcohol use disorders (AUDs). Individuals with AUD often make disadvantageous choices under conditions of probabilistic risk. The Iowa Gambling Task (IGT) is often used to measure risky decision-making, in which impaired individuals tend to favor large, infrequent rewards even when punished for these choices, rather than smaller, safer, and more advantageous rewards. It remains poorly understood if these deficits are behaviors under genetic control and if ethanol intoxication may alter decision-making. High and Low Alcohol Preferring (HAP3 and LAP3, respectively) mice were trained on a novel gambling task to investigate these possible influences. In Experiment 1, HAP3s and LAP3s responded for a 0.1% saccharin solution, choosing between a risky and a safe option. Importantly, choosing the risky option was meant to be ultimately disadvantageous. In Experiment 2, these same HAP3 mice responded for saccharin or saccharin plus 10% ethanol. Contrary to hypothesis, LAP3s preferred the risky option more than HAP3s. Alcohol increased preference for the risky lever, but only in male mice. HAP3 preference for the safe lever may be explained by higher motivation to obtain sweet rewards, or higher overall avidity for responding. Ethanol-induced changes in male risk behavior may be explained by higher androgen levels, but further investigation is required. Similarly, continued research is necessary to optimize a risky decision-making task for both lines, and thus investigate possible genetic differences in risk acceptance that correlate with differences in alcohol intake.

No description available.

Rationale: Impulse control deficits are thought to underlie criminal offending. Impulsive choice is a facet of impulse control that refers to a preference for immediate over delayed rewards. This facet of impulse control has been measured empirically using the Iowa Gambling Task (IGT), which provides a metric of overall disadvantageous decision-making, as well as metrics of specific maladaptive decision-making strategies. Purpose: To investigate impulsive choice as a measure of impairment in offenders as reflected by performance on the IGT, and to examine maladaptive decision-making strategies that may mimic real-life decisions to engage in illegal behaviour. Methods: 100 Canadian federal offenders (34% female, mean age = 39.14 ± 9.74) and 89 controls (39% female, mean age = 37.04 ± 10.79) completed the IGT. The IGT involves repeatedly choosing cards from four decks. Two decks are “good” and result in a net gain on the task, and two decks are “bad” and result in a net loss. Decks offer a fixed reward, but vary in loss magnitude and frequency. IGT data were analyzed for net score (number of good choices minus number of bad choices), learning across the task, and deck switching patterns. Other assessments included data on offenders’ current sentence and risk for reoffence level. Results: Offenders performed significantly poorer than controls in terms of net score. Controls learned the advantageous strategy across the task but offenders did not. Offenders also made greater use of a “win-stay/lose-shift” strategy. Low-risk offenders performed significantly better than medium- or high-risk offenders on the IGT. Conclusion: These results suggest that, compared with controls, offenders tend to make riskier choices and use maladaptive decision-making strategies that provide a larger immediate reward but are disadvantageous in the long term. The IGT, as part of a comprehensive assessment of risk, may provide valuable information for preventing criminal offending and recidivism. / Thesis / Master of Science (MSc) / Criminal offending is thought to be related to impulse control problems. Research has linked offending to poor performance on a decision-making task known as the Iowa Gambling Task (IGT). On the IGT, participants repeatedly choose cards from four decks that provide wins and losses of points. Two decks are “good” and result in an overall gain on the task, and two decks are “bad” and result in an overall loss. In this study, 100 Canadian federal offenders and 89 non-incarcerated control participants completed the IGT. Offenders performed worse than the control group overall, and control participants but not offenders learned the best strategy (i.e., choosing from good decks) over the course of the task. Additionally, offenders with a “Low” criminal risk rating did better than those at “Medium” or “High” risk levels. These results suggest that the IGT may provide important information about the cause and prevention of criminal offending.

Operant acquisition, operant expression, and decision-making differentially rely on brain areas that are differentially affected by antipsychotic and other dopaminergic drugs. The purpose of this thesis was to test if the known differential pharmacological and location of action of antipsychotic and other dopaminergic drugs predict the drug effects on operant acquisition, operant expression, and decision-making. Clozapine and to a lesser extent, risperidone but not metoclopramide or haloperidol affect the prefrontal cortex (PFC); haloperidol, metoclopramide, and to a lesser extent, risperidone affect the dorsolateral striatum (DLS). We used amphetamine as a broadly-acting indirect dopamine (DA), serotonin (5-HT), and norepinephrine agonist. We found that all antagonists altered operant acquisition and expression, but in different ways. The DA D2-like receptor antagonists blunted reinforcement impact during operant acquisition and induced an extinction-like decline in expression whereas the atypical antipsychotics with high PFC 5-HT-2A affinity maintained inactive lever presses during acquisition, but produced tolerance in expression. Curiously, risperidone and metoclopramide, but not clozapine or haloperidol, more potently suppressed lever pressing in acquisition than expression. In contrast, amphetamine suppressed operant expression, but not acquisition, at a dose range that increased locomotion and induced conditioned place preference. Amphetamine decreased sensitivity to reward presentation and inactive lever pressing during operant acquisition, but had the opposite effects during expression. A very different pattern was found in the rodent gambling task (rGT), a model of the 4- choice (deck) Iowa Gambling Task used in humans. The rGT puts small, immediate rewards that are advantageous in the long-term due to generally fewer and shorter associated penalties in conflict with large, immediate rewards that are disadvantageous in the long-term due to generally more and longer associated penalties. Two antipsychotics (risperidone, haloperidol) but not the anti-emetic (metoclopramide) enhanced performance by shifting preferences towards advantageous options, but the antipsychotic that induces PFC Fos (clozapine) impaired performance. Amphetamine decreased discrimination among different decks in the rGT. These data demonstrate the differential effects of clinically relevant drugs on decision-making and different stages of operant learning. The differential effects on operant responding and decision-making of different antipsychotic drugs provide important information regarding their therapeutic and side-effect profiles. / Thesis (Ph.D, Psychology) -- Queen's University, 2013-03-14 16:12:57.629

The present study examines the relationship of emotional awareness to anticipatory psychophysiological markers and performance on the Iowa Gambling Task (IGT). The IGT is a computerized card game that simulates real-life decisions through uncertainty of reward or punishment. The participant’s goal is to make advantageous card choices. Anticipatory somatic markers of physiological arousal, like electrodermal activity and heart rate, have been proposed to bias decisions in the IGT. The central hypothesis is that a participant’s emotional awareness is related to their ability to make advantageous decisions through biasing psychophysiological responses. The Toronto Alexithymia Scale was used to assess each participant’s emotional awareness. Less emotional awareness was associated with enhanced performance on the IGT. However, anticipatory physiological arousal (electrodermal activity and heart rate) and emotional awareness yielded no significant relationships. Findings suggest a need for further research on cognitive models, such as the expectancy valence model, in relation to decision-making.