TY - GEN A1 - Awasthi, Swapnil A1 - Kaminski, Jakob A1 - Rapp, Michael A. A1 - Schlagenhauf, Florian A1 - Walter, Henrik A1 - Ruggeri, Barbara A1 - Ripke, Stephan A1 - Schumann, Gunter A1 - Heinz, Andreas T1 - A neural signature of malleability BT - general intelligence correlates with ventral striatal activation and epigenetic makers of dopamine neurotransmission T2 - European neuropsychopharmacology : the journal of the European College of Neuropsychopharmacology N2 - General intelligence has a substantial genetic background in children, adolescents, and adults, but environmental factors also strongly correlate with cognitive performance as evidenced by a strong (up to one SD) increase in average intelligence test results in the second half of the previous century. This change occurred in a period apparently too short to accommodate radical genetic changes. It is highly suggestive that environmental factors interact with genotype by possible modification of epigenetic factors that regulate gene expression and thus contribute to individual malleability. This modification might as well be reflected in recent observations of an association between dopamine-dependent encoding of reward prediction errors and cognitive capacity, which was modulated by adverse life events. Y1 - 2019 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.euroneuro.2017.08.139 SN - 0924-977X SN - 1873-7862 VL - 29 SP - S858 EP - S859 PB - Elsevier CY - Amsterdam ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Balta Beylergil, Sinem A1 - Beck, Anne A1 - Deserno, Lorenz A1 - Lorenz, Robert C. A1 - Rapp, Michael A. A1 - Schlagenhauf, Florian A1 - Heinz, Andreas A1 - Obermayer, Klaus T1 - Dorsolateral prefrontal cortex contributes to the impaired behavioral adaptation in alcohol dependence JF - NeuroImage: Clinical : a journal of diseases affecting the nervous system N2 - Substance-dependent individuals often lack the ability to adjust decisions flexibly in response to the changes in reward contingencies. Prediction errors (PEs) are thought to mediate flexible decision-making by updating the reward values associated with available actions. In this study, we explored whether the neurobiological correlates of PEs are altered in alcohol dependence. Behavioral, and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) data were simultaneously acquired from 34 abstinent alcohol-dependent patients (ADP) and 26 healthy controls (HC) during a probabilistic reward-guided decision-making task with dynamically changing reinforcement contingencies. A hierarchical Bayesian inference method was used to fit and compare learning models with different assumptions about the amount of task-related information subjects may have inferred during the experiment. Here, we observed that the best-fitting model was a modified Rescorla-Wagner type model, the “double-update” model, which assumes that subjects infer the knowledge that reward contingencies are anti-correlated, and integrate both actual and hypothetical outcomes into their decisions. Moreover, comparison of the best-fitting model's parameters showed that ADP were less sensitive to punishments compared to HC. Hence, decisions of ADP after punishments were loosely coupled with the expected reward values assigned to them. A correlation analysis between the model-generated PEs and the fMRI data revealed a reduced association between these PEs and the BOLD activity in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) of ADP. A hemispheric asymmetry was observed in the DLPFC when positive and negative PE signals were analyzed separately. The right DLPFC activity in ADP showed a reduced correlation with positive PEs. On the other hand, ADP, particularly the patients with high dependence severity, recruited the left DLPFC to a lesser extent than HC for processing negative PE signals. These results suggest that the DLPFC, which has been linked to adaptive control of action selection, may play an important role in cognitive inflexibility observed in alcohol dependence when reinforcement contingencies change. Particularly, the left DLPFC may contribute to this impaired behavioral adaptation, possibly by impeding the extinction of the actions that no longer lead to a reward. KW - Alcohol dependence KW - Prediction error KW - Reinforcement learning KW - Reversal learning KW - Dorsolateral prefrontal cortex KW - Decision-making Y1 - 2017 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nicl.2017.04.010 SN - 2213-1582 VL - 15 SP - 80 EP - 94 PB - Elsevier CY - Oxford ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Deserno, Lorenz A1 - Beck, Anne A1 - Huys, Quentin J. M. A1 - Lorenz, Robert C. A1 - Buchert, Ralph A1 - Buchholz, Hans-Georg A1 - Plotkin, Michail A1 - Kumakara, Yoshitaka A1 - Cumming, Paul A1 - Heinze, Hans-Jochen A1 - Grace, Anthony A. A1 - Rapp, Michael A. A1 - Schlagenhauf, Florian A1 - Heinz, Andreas T1 - Chronic alcohol intake abolishes the relationship between dopamine synthesis capacity and learning signals in the ventral striatum JF - European journal of neuroscience N2 - Drugs of abuse elicit dopamine release in the ventral striatum, possibly biasing dopamine-driven reinforcement learning towards drug-related reward at the expense of non-drug-related reward. Indeed, in alcohol-dependent patients, reactivity in dopaminergic target areas is shifted from non-drug-related stimuli towards drug-related stimuli. Such hijacked' dopamine signals may impair flexible learning from non-drug-related rewards, and thus promote craving for the drug of abuse. Here, we used functional magnetic resonance imaging to measure ventral striatal activation by reward prediction errors (RPEs) during a probabilistic reversal learning task in recently detoxified alcohol-dependent patients and healthy controls (N=27). All participants also underwent 6-[F-18]fluoro-DOPA positron emission tomography to assess ventral striatal dopamine synthesis capacity. Neither ventral striatal activation by RPEs nor striatal dopamine synthesis capacity differed between groups. However, ventral striatal coding of RPEs correlated inversely with craving in patients. Furthermore, we found a negative correlation between ventral striatal coding of RPEs and dopamine synthesis capacity in healthy controls, but not in alcohol-dependent patients. Moderator analyses showed that the magnitude of the association between dopamine synthesis capacity and RPE coding depended on the amount of chronic, habitual alcohol intake. Despite the relatively small sample size, a power analysis supports the reported results. Using a multimodal imaging approach, this study suggests that dopaminergic modulation of neural learning signals is disrupted in alcohol dependence in proportion to long-term alcohol intake of patients. Alcohol intake may perpetuate itself by interfering with dopaminergic modulation of neural learning signals in the ventral striatum, thus increasing craving for habitual drug intake. KW - alcohol addiction KW - dopamine KW - fMRI KW - PET KW - prediction error Y1 - 2015 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1111/ejn.12802 SN - 0953-816X SN - 1460-9568 VL - 41 IS - 4 SP - 477 EP - 486 PB - Wiley-Blackwell CY - Hoboken ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Friedel, Eva A1 - Schlagenhauf, Florian A1 - Beck, Anne A1 - Dolan, Raymond J. A1 - Huys, Quentin J. M. A1 - Rapp, Michael A. A1 - Heinz, Andreas T1 - The effects of life stress and neural learning signals on fluid intelligence JF - European archives of psychiatry and clinical neuroscience : official organ of the German Society for Biological Psychiatry N2 - Fluid intelligence (fluid IQ), defined as the capacity for rapid problem solving and behavioral adaptation, is known to be modulated by learning and experience. Both stressful life events (SLES) and neural correlates of learning [specifically, a key mediator of adaptive learning in the brain, namely the ventral striatal representation of prediction errors (PE)] have been shown to be associated with individual differences in fluid IQ. Here, we examine the interaction between adaptive learning signals (using a well-characterized probabilistic reversal learning task in combination with fMRI) and SLES on fluid IQ measures. We find that the correlation between ventral striatal BOLD PE and fluid IQ, which we have previously reported, is quantitatively modulated by the amount of reported SLES. Thus, after experiencing adversity, basic neuronal learning signatures appear to align more closely with a general measure of flexible learning (fluid IQ), a finding complementing studies on the effects of acute stress on learning. The results suggest that an understanding of the neurobiological correlates of trait variables like fluid IQ needs to take socioemotional influences such as chronic stress into account. KW - Reinforcement learning KW - Prediction error signal KW - Ventral striatum KW - Stress KW - Intelligence Y1 - 2015 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1007/s00406-014-0519-3 SN - 0940-1334 SN - 1433-8491 VL - 265 IS - 1 SP - 35 EP - 43 PB - Springer CY - Heidelberg ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Friedel, Eva A1 - Sebold, Miriam Hannah A1 - Kuitunen-Paul, Sören A1 - Nebe, Stephan A1 - Veer, Ilya M. A1 - Zimmermann, Ulrich S. A1 - Schlagenhauf, Florian A1 - Smolka, Michael N. A1 - Rapp, Michael A. A1 - Walter, Henrik A1 - Heinz, Andreas T1 - How Accumulated Real Life Stress Experience and Cognitive Speed Interact on Decision-Making Processes JF - Frontiers in human neuroscienc N2 - Rationale: Advances in neurocomputational modeling suggest that valuation systems for goal-directed (deliberative) on one side, and habitual (automatic) decision-making on the other side may rely on distinct computational strategies for reinforcement learning, namely model-free vs. model-based learning. As a key theoretical difference, the model-based system strongly demands cognitive functions to plan actions prospectively based on an internal cognitive model of the environment, whereas valuation in the model-free system relies on rather simple learning rules from operant conditioning to retrospectively associate actions with their outcomes and is thus cognitively less demanding. Acute stress reactivity is known to impair model-based but not model-free choice behavior, with higher working memory capacity protecting the model-based system from acute stress. However, it is not clear which impact accumulated real life stress has on model-free and model-based decision systems and how this influence interacts with cognitive abilities. Methods: We used a sequential decision-making task distinguishing relative contributions of both learning strategies to choice behavior, the Social Readjustment Rating Scale questionnaire to assess accumulated real life stress, and the Digit Symbol Substitution Test to test cognitive speed in 95 healthy subjects. Results: Individuals reporting high stress exposure who had low cognitive speed showed reduced model-based but increased model-free behavioral control. In contrast, subjects exposed to accumulated real life stress with high cognitive speed displayed increased model-based performance but reduced model-free control. Conclusion: These findings suggest that accumulated real life stress exposure can enhance reliance on cognitive speed for model-based computations, which may ultimately protect the model-based system from the detrimental influences of accumulated real life stress. The combination of accumulated real life stress exposure and slower information processing capacities, however, might favor model-free strategies. Thus, the valence and preference of either system strongly depends on stressful experiences and individual cognitive capacities. KW - chronic stress KW - model-based learning KW - model-free learning KW - decision making KW - cognitive speed KW - real-life events Y1 - 2017 U6 - https://doi.org/10.3389/fnhum.2017.00302 SN - 1662-5161 VL - 11 SP - 1 EP - 9 PB - Frontiers Research Foundation CY - Lausanne ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Garbusow, Maria A1 - Nebe, Stephan A1 - Sommer, Christian A1 - Kuitunen-Paul, Sören A1 - Sebold, Miriam Hannah A1 - Schad, Daniel A1 - Friedel, Eva A1 - Veer, Ilya M. A1 - Wittchen, Hans-Ulrich A1 - Rapp, Michael A. A1 - Ripke, Stephan A1 - Walter, Henrik A1 - Huys, Quentin J. M. A1 - Schlagenhauf, Florian A1 - Smolka, Michael N. A1 - Heinz, Andreas T1 - Pavlovian-To-Instrumental Transfer and Alcohol Consumption in Young Male Social Drinkers BT - Behavioral, Neural and Polygenic Correlates JF - Journal of Clinical Medicine N2 - In animals and humans, behavior can be influenced by irrelevant stimuli, a phenomenon called Pavlovian-to-instrumental transfer (PIT). In subjects with substance use disorder, PIT is even enhanced with functional activation in the nucleus accumbens (NAcc) and amygdala. While we observed enhanced behavioral and neural PIT effects in alcohol-dependent subjects, we here aimed to determine whether behavioral PIT is enhanced in young men with high-risk compared to low-risk drinking and subsequently related functional activation in an a-priori region of interest encompassing the NAcc and amygdala and related to polygenic risk for alcohol consumption. A representative sample of 18-year old men (n = 1937) was contacted: 445 were screened, 209 assessed: resulting in 191 valid behavioral, 139 imaging and 157 genetic datasets. None of the subjects fulfilled criteria for alcohol dependence according to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders-IV-TextRevision (DSM-IV-TR). We measured how instrumental responding for rewards was influenced by background Pavlovian conditioned stimuli predicting action-independent rewards and losses. Behavioral PIT was enhanced in high-compared to low-risk drinkers (b = 0.09, SE = 0.03, z = 2.7, p < 0.009). Across all subjects, we observed PIT-related neural blood oxygen level-dependent (BOLD) signal in the right amygdala (t = 3.25, p(SVC) = 0.04, x = 26, y = -6, z = -12), but not in NAcc. The strength of the behavioral PIT effect was positively correlated with polygenic risk for alcohol consumption (r(s) = 0.17, p = 0.032). We conclude that behavioral PIT and polygenic risk for alcohol consumption might be a biomarker for a subclinical phenotype of risky alcohol consumption, even if no drug-related stimulus is present. The association between behavioral PIT effects and the amygdala might point to habitual processes related to out PIT task. In non-dependent young social drinkers, the amygdala rather than the NAcc is activated during PIT; possible different involvement in association with disease trajectory should be investigated in future studies. KW - Pavlovian-to-instrumental transfer KW - amygdala KW - alcohol KW - polygenic risk KW - high risk drinkers Y1 - 2019 U6 - https://doi.org/10.3390/jcm8081188 SN - 2077-0383 VL - 8 IS - 8 PB - MDPI CY - Basel ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Garbusow, Maria A1 - Schad, Daniel A1 - Sebold, Miriam Hannah A1 - Friedel, Eva A1 - Bernhardt, Nadine A1 - Koch, Stefan P. A1 - Steinacher, Bruno A1 - Kathmann, Norbert A1 - Geurts, Dirk E. M. A1 - Sommer, Christian A1 - Mueller, Dirk K. A1 - Nebe, Stephan A1 - Paul, Soeren A1 - Wittchen, Hans-Ulrich A1 - Zimmermann, Ulrich S. A1 - Walter, Henrik A1 - Smolka, Michael N. A1 - Sterzer, Philipp A1 - Rapp, Michael A. A1 - Huys, Quentin J. M. A1 - Schlagenhauf, Florian A1 - Heinz, Andreas T1 - Pavlovian-to-instrumental transfer effects in the nucleus accumbens relate to relapse in alcohol dependence JF - Addiction biology N2 - In detoxified alcohol-dependent patients, alcohol-related stimuli can promote relapse. However, to date, the mechanisms by which contextual stimuli promote relapse have not been elucidated in detail. One hypothesis is that such contextual stimuli directly stimulate the motivation to drink via associated brain regions like the ventral striatum and thus promote alcohol seeking, intake and relapse. Pavlovian-to-Instrumental-Transfer (PIT) may be one of those behavioral phenomena contributing to relapse, capturing how Pavlovian conditioned (contextual) cues determine instrumental behavior (e.g. alcohol seeking and intake). We used a PIT paradigm during functional magnetic resonance imaging to examine the effects of classically conditioned Pavlovian stimuli on instrumental choices in n=31 detoxified patients diagnosed with alcohol dependence and n=24 healthy controls matched for age and gender. Patients were followed up over a period of 3 months. We observed that (1) there was a significant behavioral PIT effect for all participants, which was significantly more pronounced in alcohol-dependent patients; (2) PIT was significantly associated with blood oxygen level-dependent (BOLD) signals in the nucleus accumbens (NAcc) in subsequent relapsers only; and (3) PIT-related NAcc activation was associated with, and predictive of, critical outcomes (amount of alcohol intake and relapse during a 3 months follow-up period) in alcohol-dependent patients. These observations show for the first time that PIT-related BOLD signals, as a measure of the influence of Pavlovian cues on instrumental behavior, predict alcohol intake and relapse in alcohol dependence. KW - human Pavlovian-to-instrumental transfer KW - nucleus accumbens KW - relapse in alcohol use disorder Y1 - 2016 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1111/adb.12243 SN - 1355-6215 SN - 1369-1600 VL - 21 SP - 719 EP - 731 PB - Wiley-Blackwell CY - Hoboken ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Garbusow, Maria A1 - Schad, Daniel A1 - Sommer, Christian A1 - Juenger, Elisabeth A1 - Sebold, Miriam Hannah A1 - Friedel, Eva A1 - Wendt, Jean A1 - Kathmann, Norbert A1 - Schlagenhauf, Florian A1 - Zimmermann, Ulrich S. A1 - Heinz, Andreas A1 - Huys, Quentin J. M. A1 - Rapp, Michael A. T1 - Pavlovian-to-instrumental transfer in alcohol dependence: a pilot study JF - Neuropsychobiology : international journal of experimental and clinical research in biological psychiatry, pharmacopsychiatry, Biological Psychology/Pharmacopsychology and Pharmacoelectroencephalography N2 - Background: Pavlovian processes are thought to play an important role in the development, maintenance and relapse of alcohol dependence, possibly by influencing and usurping ongoing thought and behavior. The influence of pavlovian stimuli on ongoing behavior is paradigmatically measured by pavlovian-to-instrumental transfer (PIT) tasks. These involve multiple stages and are complex. Whether increased PIT is involved in human alcohol dependence is uncertain. We therefore aimed to establish and validate a modified PIT paradigm that would be robust, consistent and tolerated by healthy controls as well as by patients suffering from alcohol dependence, and to explore whether alcohol dependence is associated with enhanced PIT. Methods: Thirty-two recently detoxified alcohol-dependent patients and 32 age- and gender-matched healthy controls performed a PIT task with instrumental go/no-go approach behaviors. The task involved both pavlovian stimuli associated with monetary rewards and losses, and images of drinks. Results: Both patients and healthy controls showed a robust and temporally stable PIT effect. Strengths of PIT effects to drug-related and monetary conditioned stimuli were highly correlated. Patients more frequently showed a PIT effect, and the effect was stronger in response to aversively conditioned CSs (conditioned suppression), but there was no group difference in response to appetitive CSs. Conclusion: The implementation of PIT has favorably robust properties in chronic alcohol-dependent patients and in healthy controls. It shows internal consistency between monetary and drug-related cues. The findings support an association of alcohol dependence with an increased propensity towards PIT. KW - Pavlovian-to-instrumental transfer KW - Alcohol dependence KW - Human Y1 - 2014 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1159/000363507 SN - 0302-282X SN - 1423-0224 VL - 70 IS - 2 SP - 111 EP - 121 PB - Karger CY - Basel ER - TY - GEN A1 - Garbusow, Maria A1 - Sommer, C. A1 - Nebe, S. A1 - Sebold, Miriam Hannah A1 - Kuitunen-Paul, Sören A1 - Wittchen, H. U. A1 - Smolka, M. A1 - Zimmermann, U. A1 - Rapp, Michael A. A1 - Huys, Q. A1 - Schlagenhauf, Florian A1 - Heinz, A. T1 - Pavlovian-instrumental transfer in the course of alcohol use disorder T2 - European psychiatry : the journal of the Association of European Psychiatrists N2 - Background: Pavlovian processes are thought to play an important role in the development, maintenance and relapse of alcohol dependence, possibly by influencing and usurping on- going thought and behavior. The influence of Pavlovian stimuli on on-going behavior is paradigmatically measured by Pavlovian-to-instrumental-transfer (PIT) tasks. These involve multiple stages and are complex. Whether increased PIT is involved in human alcohol dependence is uncertain. We therefore aimed to establish and validate a modified PIT paradigm that would be robust, consistent, and tolerated by healthy controls as well as by patients suffering from alcohol dependence, and to explore whether alcohol dependence is associated with enhanced Pavlovian-Instrumental transfer. Methods: 32 recently detoxified alcohol-dependent patients and 32 age and gender matched healthy controls performed a PIT task with instrumental go/no-go approach behaviours. The task involved both Pavlovian stimuli associated with monetary rewards and losses, and images of drinks. Results: Both patients and healthy controls showed a robust and temporally stable PIT effect. Strengths of PIT effects to drug-related and monetary conditioned stimuli were highly correlated. Patients more frequently showed a PIT effect and the effect was stronger in response to aversively conditioned CSs (conditioned suppression), but there was no group difference in response to appetitive CSs. Conclusion: The implementation of PIT has favorably robust properties in chronic alcohol- dependent patients and in healthy controls. It shows internal consistency between monetary and drug-related cues. The findings support an association of alcohol dependence with an increased propensity towards PIT. Y1 - 2018 SN - 0924-9338 SN - 1778-3585 VL - 48 SP - S546 EP - S546 PB - Elsevier CY - ISSY-LES-MOULINEAUX ER - TY - GEN A1 - Garbusow, Maria A1 - Sommer, Christian A1 - Nebe, Stephan A1 - Sebold, Miriam Hannah A1 - Kuitunen-Paul, Sören A1 - Wittchen, Hans-Ulrich A1 - Smolka, Michael N. A1 - Zimmermann, Ulrich S. A1 - Rapp, Michael A. A1 - Huys, Quentin J. M. A1 - Schlagenhauf, Florian A1 - Heinz, Andreas T1 - Multi-level evidence of general pavlovian-to-instrumental transfer in alcohol use disorder T2 - Alcoholism : clinical and experimental research ; the official journal of the American Medical Society on Alcoholism and the Research Society on Alcoholism Y1 - 2018 SN - 0145-6008 SN - 1530-0277 VL - 42 SP - 128A EP - 128A PB - Wiley CY - Hoboken ER -