TY  - GEN
A1  - Friedel, Eva
A1  - Schlagenhauf, Florian
A1  - Beck, Anne
A1  - Dolan, Raymond J.
A1  - Huys, Quentin J. M.
A1  - Rapp, Michael Armin
A1  - Heinz, Andreas
T1  - The effects of life stress and neural learning signals on fluid intelligence
T2  - Postprints der Universität Potsdam : Humanwissenschaftliche Reihe
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.
T3  - Zweitveröffentlichungen der Universität Potsdam : Humanwissenschaftliche Reihe - 621 
KW  - reinforcement learning
KW  - prediction error signal
KW  - ventral striatum
KW  - stress
KW  - intelligence
Y1  - 2020
U6  - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-435140
SN  - 1866-8372
IS  - 621
SP  - 35
EP  - 43
ER  - 
TY  - JOUR
A1  - Friedel, Eva
A1  - Schlagenhauf, Florian
A1  - Beck, Anne
A1  - Dolan, Raymond J.
A1  - Huys, Quentin J. M.
A1  - Rapp, Michael Armin
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  - Sommer, C.
A1  - Garbusow, Maria
A1  - Juenger, E.
A1  - Pooseh, S.
A1  - Bernhardt, Nadine
A1  - Birkenstock, J.
A1  - Schad, Daniel
A1  - Jabs, B.
A1  - Gloeckler, T.
A1  - Huys, Quentin J. M.
A1  - Heinz, A.
A1  - Smolka, Michael N.
A1  - Zimmermann, Ulrich S.
T1  - Strong seduction: impulsivity and the impact of contextual cues on instrumental behavior in alcohol dependence
JF  - Translational Psychiatry
N2  - Alcohol-related cues acquire incentive salience through Pavlovian conditioning and then can markedly affect instrumental behavior of alcohol-dependent patients to promote relapse. However, it is unclear whether similar effects occur with alcohol-unrelated cues. We tested 116 early-abstinent alcohol-dependent patients and 91 healthy controls who completed a delay discounting task to assess choice impulsivity, and a Pavlovian-to-instrumental transfer (PIT) paradigm employing both alcohol-unrelated and alcohol-related stimuli. To modify instrumental choice behavior, we tiled the background of the computer screen either with conditioned stimuli (CS) previously generated by pairing abstract pictures with pictures indicating monetary gains or losses, or with pictures displaying alcohol or water beverages. CS paired to money gains and losses affected instrumental choices differently. This PIT effect was significantly more pronounced in patients compared to controls, and the group difference was mainly driven by highly impulsive patients. The PIT effect was particularly strong in trials in which the instrumental stimulus required inhibition of instrumental response behavior and the background CS was associated to monetary gains. Under that condition, patients performed inappropriate approach behavior, contrary to their previously formed behavioral intention. Surprisingly, the effect of alcohol and water pictures as background stimuli resembled that of aversive and appetitive CS, respectively. These findings suggest that positively valenced background CS can provoke dysfunctional instrumental approach behavior in impulsive alcohol-dependent patients. Consequently, in real life they might be easily seduced by environmental cues to engage in actions thwarting their long-term goals. Such behaviors may include, but are not limited to, approaching alcohol.
Y1  - 2017
U6  - https://doi.org/10.1038/tp.2017.158
SN  - 2158-3188
VL  - 7
SP  - 1209
EP  - 1222
PB  - Nature Publ. Group
CY  - New York
ER  - 
TY  - GEN
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 Armin
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
T2  - Zweitveröffentlichungen der Universität Potsdam : Humanwissenschaftliche Reihe
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.
T3  - Zweitveröffentlichungen der Universität Potsdam : Humanwissenschaftliche Reihe - 841 
KW  - Pavlovian-to-instrumental transfer
KW  - amygdala
KW  - alcohol
KW  - polygenic risk
KW  - high risk drinkers
Y1  - 2019
U6  - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-473280
SN  - 1866-8364
IS  - 841
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 Armin
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 Armin
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  - 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 Armin
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  - 
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 Armin
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  - 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 Armin
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  - CHAP
A1  - Schad, Daniel
A1  - Juenger, Elisabeth
A1  - Sebold, Miriam Hannah
A1  - Garbusow, Maria
A1  - Bernhart, Nadine
A1  - Javadi, Amir Homayoun
A1  - Zimmermann, Ulrich S.
A1  - Smolka, Michael N.
A1  - Heinz, Andreas
A1  - Rapp, Michael Armin
A1  - Huys, Quentin J. M.
T1  - Smart goals, slow habits? Individual differences in processing speed and working memory capacity moderate the balance between habitual and goal-directed choice behavior
T2  - Cognitive processing : international quarterly of cognitive science
Y1  - 2014
SN  - 1612-4782
SN  - 1612-4790
VL  - 15
IS  - 1
SP  - S62
EP  - S62
PB  - Springer
CY  - Heidelberg
ER  - 
TY  - JOUR
A1  - Chen, Hao
A1  - Nebe, Stephan
A1  - Mojtahedzadeh, Negin
A1  - Kuitunen-Paul, Soren
A1  - Garbusow, Maria
A1  - Schad, Daniel
A1  - Rapp, Michael Armin
A1  - Huys, Quentin J. M.
A1  - Heinz, Andreas
A1  - Smolka, Michael N.
T1  - Susceptibility to interference between Pavlovian and instrumental control is associated with early hazardous alcohol use
JF  - Addiction biology
N2  - Pavlovian-to-instrumental transfer (PIT) tasks examine the influence of Pavlovian stimuli on ongoing instrumental behaviour. Previous studies reported associations between a strong PIT effect, high-risk drinking and alcohol use disorder. This study investigated whether susceptibility to interference between Pavlovian and instrumental control is linked to risky alcohol use in a community sample of 18-year-old male adults. Participants (N = 191) were instructed to 'collect good shells' and 'leave bad shells' during the presentation of appetitive (monetary reward), aversive (monetary loss) or neutral Pavlovian stimuli. We compared instrumental error rates (ER) and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) brain responses between the congruent and incongruent conditions, as well as among high-risk and low-risk drinking groups. On average, individuals showed a substantial PIT effect, that is, increased ER when Pavlovian cues and instrumental stimuli were in conflict compared with congruent trials. Neural PIT correlates were found in the ventral striatum and the dorsomedial and lateral prefrontal cortices (lPFC). Importantly, high-risk drinking was associated with a stronger behavioural PIT effect, a decreased lPFC response and an increased neural response in the ventral striatum on the trend level. Moreover, high-risk drinkers showed weaker connectivity from the ventral striatum to the lPFC during incongruent trials. Our study links interference during PIT to drinking behaviour in healthy, young adults. High-risk drinkers showed higher susceptibility to Pavlovian cues, especially when they conflicted with instrumental behaviour, indicating lower interference control abilities. Increased activity in the ventral striatum (bottom-up), decreased lPFC response (top-down), and their altered interplay may contribute to poor interference control in the high-risk drinkers.
KW  - high‐risk drinking
KW  - interference control
KW  - Pavlovian‐to‐instrumental transfer
Y1  - 2020
U6  - https://doi.org/10.1111/adb.12983
SN  - 1355-6215
SN  - 1369-1600
VL  - 26
IS  - 4
SP  - 1
EP  - 14
PB  - Wiley
CY  - Hoboken
ER  - 
TY  - JOUR
A1  - Obst, Elisabeth
A1  - Schad, Daniel
A1  - Huys, Quentin J. M.
A1  - Sebold, Miriam Hannah
A1  - Nebe, Stephan
A1  - Sommer, Christian
A1  - Smolka, Michael N.
A1  - Zimmermann, Ulrich S.
T1  - Drunk decisions
BT  - Alcohol shifts choice from habitual towards goal-directed control in adolescent intermediate-risk drinkers
JF  - Journal of Psychopharmacology
N2  - Background: Studies in humans and animals suggest a shift from goal-directed to habitual decision-making in addiction. We therefore tested whether acute alcohol administration reduces goal-directed and promotes habitual decision-making, and whether these effects are moderated by self-reported drinking problems. Methods: Fifty-three socially drinking males completed the two-step task in a randomised crossover design while receiving an intravenous infusion of ethanol (blood alcohol level=80 mg%), or placebo. To minimise potential bias by long-standing heavy drinking and subsequent neuropsychological impairment, we tested 18- to 19-year-old adolescents. Results: Alcohol administration consistently reduced habitual, model-free decisions, while its effects on goal-directed, model-based behaviour varied as a function of drinking problems measured with the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test. While adolescents with low risk for drinking problems (scoring <8) exhibited an alcohol-induced numerical reduction in goal-directed choices, intermediate-risk drinkers showed a shift away from habitual towards goal-directed decision-making, such that alcohol possibly even improved their performance. Conclusions: We assume that alcohol disrupted basic cognitive functions underlying habitual and goal-directed decisions in low-risk drinkers, thereby enhancing hasty choices. Further, we speculate that intermediate-risk drinkers benefited from alcohol as a negative reinforcer that reduced unpleasant emotional states, possibly displaying a novel risk factor for drinking in adolescence.
KW  - Computer-assisted Alcohol Infusion System
KW  - habitual learning
KW  - model-free and model-based decision-making
KW  - two-stage Markov decision task
KW  - subjective response to ethanol
KW  - drinking problems
KW  - real-life drinking behaviour
Y1  - 2018
U6  - https://doi.org/10.1177/0269881118772454
SN  - 0269-8811
SN  - 1461-7285
VL  - 32
IS  - 8
SP  - 855
EP  - 866
PB  - Sage Publ.
CY  - London
ER  - 
TY  - JOUR
A1  - Nebe, Stephan
A1  - Kroemer, Nils B.
A1  - Schad, Daniel
A1  - Bernhardt, Nadine
A1  - Sebold, Miriam Hannah
A1  - Mueller, Dirk K.
A1  - Scholl, Lucie
A1  - Kuitunen-Paul, Sören
A1  - Heinz, Andreas
A1  - Rapp, Michael Armin
A1  - Huys, Quentin J. M.
A1  - Smolka, Michael N.
T1  - No association of goal-directed and habitual control with alcohol consumption in young adults
JF  - Addiction biology
N2  - Alcohol dependence is a mental disorder that has been associated with an imbalance in behavioral control favoring model-free habitual over model-based goal-directed strategies. It is as yet unknown, however, whether such an imbalance reflects a predisposing vulnerability or results as a consequence of repeated and/or excessive alcohol exposure. We, therefore, examined the association of alcohol consumption with model-based goal-directed and model-free habitual control in 188 18-year-old social drinkers in a two-step sequential decision-making task while undergoing functional magnetic resonance imaging before prolonged alcohol misuse could have led to severe neurobiological adaptations. Behaviorally, participants showed a mixture of model-free and model-based decision-making as observed previously. Measures of impulsivity were positively related to alcohol consumption. In contrast, neither model-free nor model-based decision weights nor the trade-off between them were associated with alcohol consumption. There were also no significant associations between alcohol consumption and neural correlates of model-free or model-based decision quantities in either ventral striatum or ventromedial prefrontal cortex. Exploratory whole-brain functional magnetic resonance imaging analyses with a lenient threshold revealed early onset of drinking to be associated with an enhanced representation of model-free reward prediction errors in the posterior putamen. These results suggest that an imbalance between model-based goal-directed and model-free habitual control might rather not be a trait marker of alcohol intake per se.
KW  - alcohol
KW  - goal-directed
KW  - reinforcement learning
Y1  - 2017
U6  - https://doi.org/10.1111/adb.12490
SN  - 1355-6215
SN  - 1369-1600
VL  - 23
IS  - 1
SP  - 379
EP  - 393
PB  - Wiley
CY  - Hoboken
ER  - 
TY  - GEN
A1  - Sebold, Miriam Hannah
A1  - Nebe, Stephan
A1  - Garbusow, Maria
A1  - Schad, Daniel
A1  - Sommer, Christian
A1  - Rapp, Michael Armin
A1  - Smolka, Michael N.
A1  - Huys, Quentin J. M.
A1  - Schlagenhauf, Florian
A1  - Heinz, Andreas
T1  - Neurobiological correlates of learning and decision-making in alcohol dependence
T2  - European psychiatry : the journal of the Association of European Psychiatrists
Y1  - 2017
U6  - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eurpsy.2017.01.084
SN  - 0924-9338
SN  - 1778-3585
VL  - 41
SP  - S11
EP  - S11
PB  - Elsevier
CY  - Paris
ER  - 
TY  - JOUR
A1  - Schad, Daniel
A1  - Garbusow, Maria
A1  - Friedel, Eva
A1  - Sommer, Christian
A1  - Sebold, Miriam Hannah
A1  - Hägele, Claudia
A1  - Bernhardt, Nadine
A1  - Nebe, Stephan
A1  - Kuitunen-Paul, Sören
A1  - Liu, Shuyan
A1  - Eichmann, Uta
A1  - Beck, Anne
A1  - Wittchen, Hans-Ulrich
A1  - Walter, Henrik
A1  - Sterzer, Philipp
A1  - Zimmermann, Ulrich S.
A1  - Smolka, Michael N.
A1  - Schlagenhauf, Florian
A1  - Huys, Quentin J. M.
A1  - Heinz, Andreas
A1  - Rapp, Michael Armin
T1  - Neural correlates of instrumental responding in the context of alcohol-related cues index disorder severity and relapse risk
JF  - European archives of psychiatry and clinical neuroscience : official organ of the German Society for Biological Psychiatry
N2  - The influence of Pavlovian conditioned stimuli on ongoing behavior may contribute to explaining how alcohol cues stimulate drug seeking and intake. Using a Pavlovian-instrumental transfer task, we investigated the effects of alcohol-related cues on approach behavior (i.e., instrumental response behavior) and its neural correlates, and related both to the relapse after detoxification in alcohol-dependent patients. Thirty-one recently detoxified alcohol-dependent patients and 24 healthy controls underwent instrumental training, where approach or non-approach towards initially neutral stimuli was reinforced by monetary incentives. Approach behavior was tested during extinction with either alcohol-related or neutral stimuli (as Pavlovian cues) presented in the background during functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). Patients were subsequently followed up for 6 months. We observed that alcohol-related background stimuli inhibited the approach behavior in detoxified alcohol-dependent patients (t = -3.86, p < .001), but not in healthy controls (t = -0.92, p = .36). This behavioral inhibition was associated with neural activation in the nucleus accumbens (NAcc) (t((30)) = 2.06, p < .05). Interestingly, both the effects were only present in subsequent abstainers, but not relapsers and in those with mild but not severe dependence. Our data show that alcohol-related cues can acquire inhibitory behavioral features typical of aversive stimuli despite being accompanied by a stronger NAcc activation, suggesting salience attribution. The fact that these findings are restricted to abstinence and milder illness suggests that they may be potential resilience factors.
KW  - Alcohol dependence
KW  - Human neuroimaging
KW  - Nucleus accumbens
KW  - Pavlovian-instrumental transfer
KW  - Relapse
Y1  - 2018
U6  - https://doi.org/10.1007/s00406-017-0860-4
SN  - 0940-1334
SN  - 1433-8491
VL  - 269
IS  - 3
SP  - 295
EP  - 308
PB  - Springer
CY  - Heidelberg
ER  - 
TY  - JOUR
A1  - Schad, Daniel
A1  - Juenger, Elisabeth
A1  - Sebold, Miriam Hannah
A1  - Garbusow, Maria
A1  - Bernhardt, Nadine
A1  - Javadi, Amir-Homayoun
A1  - Zimmermann, Ulrich S.
A1  - Smolka, Michael N.
A1  - Heinz, Andreas
A1  - Rapp, Michael Armin
A1  - Huys, Quentin J. M.
T1  - Processing speed enhances model-based over model-free reinforcement learning in the presence of high working memory functioning
JF  - Frontiers in psychology
N2  - Theories of decision-making and its neural substrates have long assumed the existence of two distinct and competing valuation systems, variously described as goal-directed vs. habitual, or, more recently and based on statistical arguments, as model-free vs. model-based reinforcement-learning. Though both have been shown to control choices, the cognitive abilities associated with these systems are under ongoing investigation. Here we examine the link to cognitive abilities, and find that individual differences in processing speed covary with a shift from model-free to model-based choice control in the presence of above-average working memory function. This suggests shared cognitive and neural processes; provides a bridge between literatures on intelligence and valuation; and may guide the development of process models of different valuation components. Furthermore, it provides a rationale for individual differences in the tendency to deploy valuation systems, which may be important for understanding the manifold neuropsychiatric diseases associated with malfunctions of valuation.
KW  - decision-making
KW  - reward
KW  - cognitive abilities
KW  - model-based and model-free learning
KW  - fluid intelligence
KW  - habitual and goal-directed system
Y1  - 2014
U6  - https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2014.01450
SN  - 1664-1078
VL  - 5
PB  - Frontiers Research Foundation
CY  - Lausanne
ER  - 
TY  - JOUR
A1  - Sebold, Miriam Hannah
A1  - Deserno, Lorenz
A1  - Nebe, Stefan
A1  - Schad, Daniel
A1  - Garbusow, Maria
A1  - Haegele, Claudia
A1  - Keller, Juergen
A1  - Juenger, Elisabeth
A1  - Kathmann, Norbert
A1  - Smolka, Michael N.
A1  - Rapp, Michael Armin
A1  - Schlagenhauf, Florian
A1  - Heinz, Andreas
A1  - Huys, Quentin J. M.
T1  - Model-based and model-free decisions in alcohol dependence
JF  - Neuropsychobiology : international journal of experimental and clinical research in biological psychiatry, pharmacopsychiatry, Biological Psychology/Pharmacopsychology and Pharmacoelectroencephalography
N2  - Background: Human and animal work suggests a shift from goal-directed to habitual decision-making in addiction. However, the evidence for this in human alcohol dependence is as yet inconclusive. Methods: Twenty-six healthy controls and 26 recently detoxified alcohol-dependent patients underwent behavioral testing with a 2-step task designed to disentangle goal-directed and habitual response patterns. Results: Alcohol-dependent patients showed less evidence of goal-directed choices than healthy controls, particularly after losses. There was no difference in the strength of the habitual component. The group differences did not survive controlling for performance on the Digit Symbol Substitution Task. Conclusion: Chronic alcohol use appears to selectively impair goal-directed function, rather than promoting habitual responding. It appears to do so particularly after nonrewards, and this may be mediated by the effects of alcohol on more general cognitive functions subserved by the prefrontal cortex.
KW  - Alcohol dependence
KW  - Decision-making
KW  - Reinforcement learning
KW  - Dopamine
KW  - Computational psychiatry
Y1  - 2014
U6  - https://doi.org/10.1159/000362840
SN  - 0302-282X
SN  - 1423-0224
VL  - 70
IS  - 2
SP  - 122
EP  - 131
PB  - Karger
CY  - Basel
ER  - 
TY  - JOUR
A1  - Sebold, Miriam Hannah
A1  - Nebe, Stephan
A1  - Garbusow, Maria
A1  - Guggenmos, Matthias
A1  - Schad, Daniel
A1  - Beck, Anne
A1  - Kuitunen-Paul, Sören
A1  - Sommer, Christian
A1  - Frank, Robin
A1  - Neu, Peter
A1  - Zimmermann, Ulrich S.
A1  - Rapp, Michael Armin
A1  - Smolka, Michael N.
A1  - Huys, Quentin J. M.
A1  - Schlagenhauf, Florian
A1  - Heinz, Andreas
T1  - When Habits Are Dangerous: Alcohol Expectancies and Habitual Decision Making Predict Relapse in Alcohol Dependence
JF  - Biological psychiatry : a journal of psychiatric neuroscience and therapeutics ; a publication of the Society of Biological Psychiatry
N2  - BACKGROUND: Addiction is supposedly characterized by a shift from goal-directed to habitual decision making, thus facilitating automatic drug intake. The two-step task allows distinguishing between these mechanisms by computationally modeling goal-directed and habitual behavior as model-based and model-free control. In addicted patients, decision making may also strongly depend upon drug-associated expectations. Therefore, we investigated model-based versus model-free decision making and its neural correlates as well as alcohol expectancies in alcohol-dependent patients and healthy controls and assessed treatment outcome in patients. METHODS: Ninety detoxified, medication-free, alcohol-dependent patients and 96 age-and gender-matched control subjects underwent functional magnetic resonance imaging during the two-step task. Alcohol expectancies were measured with the Alcohol Expectancy Questionnaire. Over a follow-up period of 48 weeks, 37 patients remained abstinent and 53 patients relapsed as indicated by the Alcohol Timeline Followback method. RESULTS: Patients who relapsed displayed reduced medial prefrontal cortex activation during model-based decision making. Furthermore, high alcohol expectancies were associated with low model-based control in relapsers, while the opposite was observed in abstainers and healthy control subjects. However, reduced model-based control per se was not associated with subsequent relapse. CONCLUSIONS: These findings suggest that poor treatment outcome in alcohol dependence does not simply result from a shift from model-based to model-free control but is instead dependent on the interaction between high drug expectancies and low model-based decision making. Reduced model-based medial prefrontal cortex signatures in those who relapse point to a neural correlate of relapse risk. These observations suggest that therapeutic interventions should target subjective alcohol expectancies.
KW  - Alcohol dependence
KW  - Alcohol expectancy
KW  - Goal-directed control
KW  - Medial prefrontal cortex
KW  - Reinforcement learning
KW  - Treatment outcome
Y1  - 2017
U6  - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biopsych.2017.04.019
SN  - 0006-3223
SN  - 1873-2402
VL  - 82
SP  - 847
EP  - 856
PB  - Elsevier
CY  - New York
ER  - 
TY  - JOUR
A1  - Sebold, Miriam Hannah
A1  - Schad, Daniel
A1  - Nebe, Stephan
A1  - Garbusow, Maria
A1  - Juenger, Elisabeth
A1  - Kroemer, Nils B.
A1  - Kathmann, Norbert
A1  - Zimmermann, Ulrich S.
A1  - Smolka, Michael N.
A1  - Rapp, Michael Armin
A1  - Heinz, Andreas
A1  - Huys, Quentin J. M.
T1  - Pavlovian-to-Instrumental Transfer Effects Rely Less on Model-based Reinforcement Learning
JF  - Journal of cognitive neuroscience
N2  - Behavioral choice can be characterized along two axes. One axis distinguishes reflexive, model-free systems that slowly accumulate values through experience and a model-based system that uses knowledge to reason prospectively. The second axis distinguishes Pavlovian valuation of stimuli from instrumental valuation of actions or stimulus–action pairs. This results in four values and many possible interactions between them, with important consequences for accounts of individual variation. We here explored whether individual variation along one axis was related to individual variation along the other. Specifically, we asked whether individuals' balance between model-based and model-free learning was related to their tendency to show Pavlovian interferences with instrumental decisions. In two independent samples with a total of 243 participants, Pavlovian–instrumental transfer effects were negatively correlated with the strength of model-based reasoning in a two-step task. This suggests a potential common underlying substrate predisposing individuals to both have strong Pavlovian interference and be less model-based and provides a framework within which to interpret the observation of both effects in addiction.
Y1  - 2016
U6  - https://doi.org/10.1162/jocn_a_00945
SN  - 0898-929X
SN  - 1530-8898
VL  - 28
SP  - 985
EP  - 995
PB  - MIT Press
CY  - Cambridge
ER  -