TY - GEN A1 - Kaminski, Jakob A. A1 - Schlagenhauf, Florian A1 - Rapp, Michael A. A1 - Awasthi, Swapnil A1 - Ruggeri, Barbara A1 - Deserno, Lorenz A1 - Banaschewski, Tobias A1 - Bokde, Arun L. W. A1 - Bromberg, Uli A1 - Büchel, Christian A1 - Quinlan, Erin Burke A1 - Desrivières, Sylvane A1 - Flor, Herta A1 - Frouin, Vincent A1 - Garavan, Hugh A1 - Gowland, Penny A1 - Ittermann, Bernd A1 - Martinot, Jean-Luc A1 - Paillère Martinot, Marie-Laure A1 - Nees, Frauke A1 - Papadopoulos Orfanos, Dimitri A1 - Paus, Tomáš A1 - Poustka, Luise A1 - Smolka, Michael N. A1 - Fröhner, Juliane H. A1 - Walter, Henrik A1 - Whelan, Robert A1 - Ripke, Stephan A1 - Schumann, Gunter A1 - Heinz, Andreas T1 - Epigenetic variance in dopamine D2 receptor BT - a marker of IQ malleability? T2 - Postprints der Universität Potsdam : Mathematisch-Naturwissenschaftliche Reihe N2 - Genetic and environmental factors both contribute to cognitive test performance. A substantial increase in average intelligence test results in the second half of the previous century within one generation is unlikely to be explained by genetic changes. One possible explanation for the strong malleability of cognitive performance measure is that environmental factors modify gene expression via epigenetic mechanisms. Epigenetic factors may help to understand the recent observations of an association between dopamine-dependent encoding of reward prediction errors and cognitive capacity, which was modulated by adverse life events. The possible manifestation of malleable biomarkers contributing to variance in cognitive test performance, and thus possibly contributing to the "missing heritability" between estimates from twin studies and variance explained by genetic markers, is still unclear. Here we show in 1475 healthy adolescents from the IMaging and GENetics (IMAGEN) sample that general IQ (gIQ) is associated with (1) polygenic scores for intelligence, (2) epigenetic modification of DRD2 gene, (3) gray matter density in striatum, and (4) functional striatal activation elicited by temporarily surprising reward-predicting cues. Comparing the relative importance for the prediction of gIQ in an overlapping subsample, our results demonstrate neurobiological correlates of the malleability of gIQ and point to equal importance of genetic variance, epigenetic modification of DRD2 receptor gene, as well as functional striatal activation, known to influence dopamine neurotransmission. Peripheral epigenetic markers are in need of confirmation in the central nervous system and should be tested in longitudinal settings specifically assessing individual and environmental factors that modify epigenetic structure. T3 - Zweitveröffentlichungen der Universität Potsdam : Mathematisch-Naturwissenschaftliche Reihe - 950 KW - genome-wide association KW - reward anticipation KW - human intelligence KW - human brain KW - stress KW - metaanalysis KW - striatum KW - psychopathology KW - prediction KW - volume KW - epigenetics and behaviour KW - human behaviour KW - learning and memory Y1 - 2020 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-425687 SN - 1866-8372 IS - 950 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Kaminski, Jakob A. A1 - Schlagenhauf, Florian A1 - Rapp, Michael A. A1 - Awasthi, Swapnil A1 - Ruggeri, Barbara A1 - Deserno, Lorenz A1 - Banaschewski, Tobias A1 - Bokde, Arun L. W. A1 - Bromberg, Uli A1 - Büchel, Christian A1 - Quinlan, Erin Burke A1 - Desrivieres, Sylvane A1 - Flor, Herta A1 - Frouin, Vincent A1 - Garavan, Hugh A1 - Gowland, Penny A1 - Ittermann, Bernd A1 - Martinot, Jean-Luc A1 - Martinot, Marie-Laure Paillere A1 - Nees, Frauke A1 - Orfanos, Dimitri Papadopoulos A1 - Paus, Tomas A1 - Poustka, Luise A1 - Smolka, Michael N. A1 - Fröhner, Juliane H. A1 - Walter, Henrik A1 - Whelan, Robert A1 - Ripke, Stephan A1 - Schumann, Gunter A1 - Heinz, Andreas T1 - Epigenetic variance in dopamine D2 receptor BT - a marker of IQ malleability? JF - Translational Psychiatry N2 - Genetic and environmental factors both contribute to cognitive test performance. A substantial increase in average intelligence test results in the second half of the previous century within one generation is unlikely to be explained by genetic changes. One possible explanation for the strong malleability of cognitive performance measure is that environmental factors modify gene expression via epigenetic mechanisms. Epigenetic factors may help to understand the recent observations of an association between dopamine-dependent encoding of reward prediction errors and cognitive capacity, which was modulated by adverse life events. The possible manifestation of malleable biomarkers contributing to variance in cognitive test performance, and thus possibly contributing to the "missing heritability" between estimates from twin studies and variance explained by genetic markers, is still unclear. Here we show in 1475 healthy adolescents from the IMaging and GENetics (IMAGEN) sample that general IQ (gIQ) is associated with (1) polygenic scores for intelligence, (2) epigenetic modification of DRD2 gene, (3) gray matter density in striatum, and (4) functional striatal activation elicited by temporarily surprising reward-predicting cues. Comparing the relative importance for the prediction of gIQ in an overlapping subsample, our results demonstrate neurobiological correlates of the malleability of gIQ and point to equal importance of genetic variance, epigenetic modification of DRD2 receptor gene, as well as functional striatal activation, known to influence dopamine neurotransmission. Peripheral epigenetic markers are in need of confirmation in the central nervous system and should be tested in longitudinal settings specifically assessing individual and environmental factors that modify epigenetic structure. Y1 - 2018 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1038/s41398-018-0222-7 SN - 2158-3188 VL - 8 PB - Nature Publ. Group CY - New York ER - TY - GEN A1 - Deeken, Friederike A1 - Reichert, Markus A1 - Zech, Hilmar A1 - Wenzel, Julia A1 - Wedemeyer, Friederike A1 - Aguilera, Alvaro A1 - Aslan, Acelya A1 - Bach, Patrick A1 - Bahr, Nadja Samia A1 - Ebrahimi, Claudia A1 - Fischbach, Pascale Christine A1 - Ganz, Marvin A1 - Garbusow, Maria A1 - Großkopf, Charlotte M. A1 - Heigert, Marie A1 - Hentschel, Angela A1 - Karl, Damian A1 - Pelz, Patricia A1 - Pinger, Mathieu A1 - Riemerschmid, Carlotta A1 - Rosenthal, Annika A1 - Steffen, Johannes A1 - Strehle, Jens A1 - Weiss, Franziska A1 - Wieder, Gesine A1 - Wieland, Alfred A1 - Zaiser, Judith A1 - Zimmermann, Sina A1 - Walter, Henrik A1 - Lenz, Bernd A1 - Deserno, Lorenz A1 - Smolka, Michael N. A1 - Liu, Shuyan A1 - Ebner-Priemer, Ulrich Walter A1 - Heinz, Andreas A1 - Rapp, Michael A. T1 - Patterns of Alcohol Consumption Among Individuals With Alcohol Use Disorder During the COVID-19 Pandemic and Lockdowns in Germany T2 - Zweitveröffentlichungen der Universität Potsdam : Humanwissenschaftliche Reihe N2 - Importance Alcohol consumption (AC) leads to death and disability worldwide. Ongoing discussions on potential negative effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on AC need to be informed by real-world evidence. Objective To examine whether lockdown measures are associated with AC and consumption-related temporal and psychological within-person mechanisms. Design, Setting, and Participants This quantitative, intensive, longitudinal cohort study recruited 1743 participants from 3 sites from February 20, 2020, to February 28, 2021. Data were provided before and within the second lockdown of the COVID-19 pandemic in Germany: before lockdown (October 2 to November 1, 2020); light lockdown (November 2 to December 15, 2020); and hard lockdown (December 16, 2020, to February 28, 2021). Main Outcomes and Measures Daily ratings of AC (main outcome) captured during 3 lockdown phases (main variable) and temporal (weekends and holidays) and psychological (social isolation and drinking intention) correlates. Results Of the 1743 screened participants, 189 (119 [63.0%] male; median [IQR] age, 37 [27.5-52.0] years) with at least 2 alcohol use disorder (AUD) criteria according to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (Fifth Edition) yet without the need for medically supervised alcohol withdrawal were included. These individuals provided 14 694 smartphone ratings from October 2020 through February 2021. Multilevel modeling revealed significantly higher AC (grams of alcohol per day) on weekend days vs weekdays (β = 11.39; 95% CI, 10.00-12.77; P < .001). Alcohol consumption was above the overall average on Christmas (β = 26.82; 95% CI, 21.87-31.77; P < .001) and New Year’s Eve (β = 66.88; 95% CI, 59.22-74.54; P < .001). During the hard lockdown, perceived social isolation was significantly higher (β = 0.12; 95% CI, 0.06-0.15; P < .001), but AC was significantly lower (β = −5.45; 95% CI, −8.00 to −2.90; P = .001). Independent of lockdown, intention to drink less alcohol was associated with lower AC (β = −11.10; 95% CI, −13.63 to −8.58; P < .001). Notably, differences in AC between weekend and weekdays decreased both during the hard lockdown (β = −6.14; 95% CI, −9.96 to −2.31; P = .002) and in participants with severe AUD (β = −6.26; 95% CI, −10.18 to −2.34; P = .002). Conclusions and Relevance This 5-month cohort study found no immediate negative associations of lockdown measures with overall AC. Rather, weekend-weekday and holiday AC patterns exceeded lockdown effects. Differences in AC between weekend days and weekdays evinced that weekend drinking cycles decreased as a function of AUD severity and lockdown measures, indicating a potential mechanism of losing and regaining control. This finding suggests that temporal patterns and drinking intention constitute promising targets for prevention and intervention, even in high-risk individuals. T3 - Zweitveröffentlichungen der Universität Potsdam : Humanwissenschaftliche Reihe - 805 Y1 - 2022 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-571460 SN - 1866-8364 IS - 805 ER - TY - GEN A1 - Chen, Hao A1 - Nebe, Stephan A1 - Mojtahedzadeh, Negin A1 - Kuitunen-Paul, Soren A1 - Garbusow, Maria A1 - Schad, Daniel A1 - Rapp, Michael A. 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 T2 - Zweitveröffentlichungen der Universität Potsdam : Humanwissenschaftliche Reihe 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. T3 - Zweitveröffentlichungen der Universität Potsdam : Humanwissenschaftliche Reihe - 855 KW - high‐risk drinking KW - interference control KW - Pavlovian‐to‐instrumental transfer Y1 - 2020 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-569609 SN - 1866-8364 IS - 4 ER - TY - GEN A1 - Heinz, Andreas A1 - Kiefer, Falk A1 - Smolka, Michael N. A1 - Endrass, Tanja A1 - Beste, Christian A1 - Beck, Anne A1 - Liu, Shuyan A1 - Genauck, Alexander A1 - Romund, Lydia A1 - Rapp, Michael A. A1 - Tost, Heike A1 - Spanagel, Rainer T1 - Addiction research consortium: losing and regaining control over drug intake (ReCoDe) - from trajectories to mechanisms and interventions T2 - Postprints der Universität Potsdam : Humanwissenschaftliche Reihe N2 - One of the major risk factors for global death and disability is alcohol, tobacco, and illicit drug use. While there is increasing knowledge with respect to individual factors promoting the initiation and maintenance of substance use disorders (SUDs), disease trajectories involved in losing and regaining control over drug intake (ReCoDe) are still not well described. Our newly formed German Collaborative Research Centre (CRC) on ReCoDe has an interdisciplinary approach funded by the German Research Foundation (DFG) with a 12-year perspective. The main goals of our research consortium are (i) to identify triggers and modifying factors that longitudinally modulate the trajectories of losing and regaining control over drug consumption in real life, (ii) to study underlying behavioral, cognitive, and neurobiological mechanisms, and (iii) to implicate mechanism-based interventions. These goals will be achieved by: (i) using mobile health (m-health) tools to longitudinally monitor the effects of triggers (drug cues, stressors, and priming doses) and modify factors (eg, age, gender, physical activity, and cognitive control) on drug consumption patterns in real-life conditions and in animal models of addiction; (ii) the identification and computational modeling of key mechanisms mediating the effects of such triggers and modifying factors on goal-directed, habitual, and compulsive aspects of behavior from human studies and animal models; and (iii) developing and testing interventions that specifically target the underlying mechanisms for regaining control over drug intake. T3 - Zweitveröffentlichungen der Universität Potsdam : Humanwissenschaftliche Reihe - 727 KW - addiction KW - alternative rewards KW - animal and computational models KW - cognitive-behavioral control KW - craving and relapse KW - habit formation Y1 - 2019 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-525972 SN - 1866-8364 IS - 2 ER - TY - GEN A1 - Garbusow, Maria A1 - Nebe, Stephan A1 - Sommer, Christian A1 - Kuitunen-Paul, Sören A1 - Sebold, Miriam 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 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 - Sebold, Miriam 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 A. 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 - Schad, Daniel A1 - Garbusow, Maria A1 - Friedel, Eva A1 - Sommer, Christian A1 - Sebold, Miriam 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 A. 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 - Heinz, Andreas A1 - Kiefer, Falk A1 - Smolka, Michael N. A1 - Endrass, Tanja A1 - Beste, Christian A1 - Beck, Anne A1 - Liu, Shuyan A1 - Genauck, Alexander A1 - Romund, Lydia A1 - Rapp, Michael A. A1 - Tost, Heike A1 - Spanagel, Rainer T1 - Addiction research consortium: losing and regaining control over drug intake (ReCoDe) - from trajectories to mechanisms and interventions JF - Addiction Biology N2 - One of the major risk factors for global death and disability is alcohol, tobacco, and illicit drug use. While there is increasing knowledge with respect to individual factors promoting the initiation and maintenance of substance use disorders (SUDs), disease trajectories involved in losing and regaining control over drug intake (ReCoDe) are still not well described. Our newly formed German Collaborative Research Centre (CRC) on ReCoDe has an interdisciplinary approach funded by the German Research Foundation (DFG) with a 12-year perspective. The main goals of our research consortium are (i) to identify triggers and modifying factors that longitudinally modulate the trajectories of losing and regaining control over drug consumption in real life, (ii) to study underlying behavioral, cognitive, and neurobiological mechanisms, and (iii) to implicate mechanism-based interventions. These goals will be achieved by: (i) using mobile health (m-health) tools to longitudinally monitor the effects of triggers (drug cues, stressors, and priming doses) and modify factors (eg, age, gender, physical activity, and cognitive control) on drug consumption patterns in real-life conditions and in animal models of addiction; (ii) the identification and computational modeling of key mechanisms mediating the effects of such triggers and modifying factors on goal-directed, habitual, and compulsive aspects of behavior from human studies and animal models; and (iii) developing and testing interventions that specifically target the underlying mechanisms for regaining control over drug intake. KW - addiction KW - alternative rewards KW - animal and computational models KW - cognitive-behavioral control KW - craving and relapse KW - habit formation Y1 - 2019 VL - 25 IS - 2 PB - John Wiley & Sons, Inc. CY - New Jersey ER - TY - GEN A1 - Kaminski, Jakob A1 - Schlagenhauf, Florian A1 - Rapp, Michael A. A1 - Awasthi, Swapnil A1 - Ruggeri, Barbara A1 - Deserno, Lorenz A1 - Laura, Daedelow A1 - Banaschewski, Tobias A1 - Bokde, Arun A1 - Quinlan, Erin Burke A1 - Buechel, Christian A1 - Bromberg, Uli A1 - Desrivieres, Sylvane A1 - Flor, Herta A1 - Frouin, Vincent A1 - Garavan, Hugh A1 - Gowland, Penny A1 - Ittermann, Bernd A1 - Martinot, Jean-Luc A1 - Martinot, Marie-Laure Paillere A1 - Nees, Frauke A1 - Orfanos, Dimitri Papadopoulos A1 - Paus, Tomas A1 - Poustka, Luise A1 - Smolka, Michael A1 - Froehner, Juliane A1 - Walter, Henrik A1 - Whelan, Robert A1 - Ripke, Stephan A1 - Schumann, Gunter A1 - Heinz, Andreas T1 - Variance in Dopaminergic Markers BT - a possible marker of individual differences in IQ? T2 - Biological psychiatry : a journal of psychiatric neuroscience and therapeutics ; a publication of the Society of Biological Psychiatry KW - Intelligence KW - Dopamine KW - Epigenetic Biomarkers KW - Reward Anticipation KW - Polygenic Risk Score Y1 - 2018 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biopsych.2018.02.311 SN - 0006-3223 SN - 1873-2402 VL - 83 IS - 9 SP - S118 EP - S118 PB - Elsevier CY - New York ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Sebold, Miriam 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 A. 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 - TY - JOUR A1 - Förstner, Bernd Rainer A1 - Böttger, Sarah Jane A1 - Moldavski, Alexander A1 - Bajbouj, Malek A1 - Pfennig, Andrea A1 - Manook, Andre A1 - Ising, Marcus A1 - Pittig, Andre A1 - Heinig, Ingmar A1 - Heinz, Andreas A1 - Mathiak, Klaus A1 - Schulze, Thomas G. A1 - Schneider, Frank A1 - Kamp-Becker, Inge A1 - Meyer-Lindenberg, Andreas A1 - Padberg, Frank A1 - Banaschewski, Tobias A1 - Bauer, Michael A1 - Rupprecht, Rainer A1 - Wittchen, Hans-Ulrich A1 - Rapp, Michael A. A1 - Tschorn, Mira T1 - The associations of positive and negative valence systems, cognitive systems and social processes on disease severity in anxiety and depressive disorders JF - Frontiers in psychiatry N2 - Background Anxiety and depressive disorders share common features of mood dysfunctions. This has stimulated interest in transdiagnostic dimensional research as proposed by the Research Domain Criteria (RDoC) approach by the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) aiming to improve the understanding of underlying disease mechanisms. The purpose of this study was to investigate the processing of RDoC domains in relation to disease severity in order to identify latent disorder-specific as well as transdiagnostic indicators of disease severity in patients with anxiety and depressive disorders. Methods Within the German research network for mental disorders, 895 participants (n = 476 female, n = 602 anxiety disorder, n = 257 depressive disorder) were recruited for the Phenotypic, Diagnostic and Clinical Domain Assessment Network Germany (PD-CAN) and included in this cross-sectional study. We performed incremental regression models to investigate the association of four RDoC domains on disease severity in patients with affective disorders: Positive (PVS) and Negative Valance System (NVS), Cognitive Systems (CS) and Social Processes (SP). Results The results confirmed a transdiagnostic relationship for all four domains, as we found significant main effects on disease severity within domain-specific models (PVS: & beta; = -0.35; NVS: & beta; = 0.39; CS: & beta; = -0.12; SP: & beta; = -0.32). We also found three significant interaction effects with main diagnosis showing a disease-specific association. Limitations The cross-sectional study design prevents causal conclusions. Further limitations include possible outliers and heteroskedasticity in all regression models which we appropriately controlled for. Conclusion Our key results show that symptom burden in anxiety and depressive disorders is associated with latent RDoC indicators in transdiagnostic and disease-specific ways. KW - Research Domain Criteria KW - depression KW - anxiety disoders KW - disease severity KW - transdiagnostic KW - RDoC Y1 - 2023 U6 - https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyt.2023.1161097 SN - 1664-0640 VL - 14 PB - Frontiers Research Foundation CY - Lausanne ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Chen, Hao A1 - Belanger, Matthew J. A1 - Garbusow, Maria A1 - Kuitunen-Paul, Soeren A1 - Huys, Quentin J. M. A1 - Heinz, Andreas A1 - Rapp, Michael A. A1 - Smolka, Michael N. T1 - Susceptibility to interference between Pavlovian and instrumental control predisposes risky alcohol use developmental trajectory from ages 18 to 24 JF - Addiction biology N2 - Pavlovian cues can influence ongoing instrumental behaviour via Pavlovian-to-instrumental transfer (PIT) processes. While appetitive Pavlovian cues tend to promote instrumental approach, they are detrimental when avoidance behaviour is required, and vice versa for aversive cues. We recently reported that susceptibility to interference between Pavlovian and instrumental control assessed via a PIT task was associated with risky alcohol use at age 18. We now investigated whether such susceptibility also predicts drinking trajectories until age 24, based on AUDIT (Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test) consumption and binge drinking (gramme alcohol/drinking occasion) scores. The interference PIT effect, assessed at ages 18 and 21 during fMRI, was characterized by increased error rates (ER) and enhanced neural responses in the ventral striatum (VS), the lateral and dorsomedial prefrontal cortices (dmPFC) during conflict, that is, when an instrumental approach was required in the presence of an aversive Pavlovian cue or vice versa. We found that a stronger VS response during conflict at age 18 was associated with a higher starting point of both drinking trajectories but predicted a decrease in binge drinking. At age 21, high ER and enhanced neural responses in the dmPFC were associated with increasing AUDIT-C scores over the next 3 years until age 24. Overall, susceptibility to interference between Pavlovian and instrumental control might be viewed as a predisposing mechanism towards hazardous alcohol use during young adulthood, and the identified high-risk group may profit from targeted interventions. KW - interference control KW - Pavlovian-to-instrumental transfer KW - risky drinking Y1 - 2023 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1111/adb.13263 SN - 1355-6215 SN - 1369-1600 VL - 28 IS - 2 PB - Wiley CY - Hoboken ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Schad, Daniel A1 - Juenger, Elisabeth A1 - Sebold, Miriam A1 - Garbusow, Maria A1 - Bernhardt, Nadine A1 - Javadi, Amir-Homayoun A1 - Zimmermann, Ulrich S. A1 - Smolka, Michael N. A1 - Heinz, Andreas A1 - Rapp, Michael A. 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 - Friedel, Eva A1 - Sebold, Miriam 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 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 - GEN A1 - Garbusow, Maria A1 - Sommer, Christian A1 - Nebe, Stephan A1 - Sebold, Miriam 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 - TY - GEN A1 - Sebold, Miriam A1 - Nebe, Stephan A1 - Garbusow, Maria A1 - Schad, Daniel A1 - Sommer, Christian A1 - Rapp, Michael A. 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 - Nebe, Stephan A1 - Kroemer, Nils B. A1 - Schad, Daniel A1 - Bernhardt, Nadine A1 - Sebold, Miriam A1 - Mueller, Dirk K. A1 - Scholl, Lucie A1 - Kuitunen-Paul, Sören A1 - Heinz, Andreas A1 - Rapp, Michael A. 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 - JOUR A1 - Garbusow, Maria A1 - Ebrahimi, Claudia A1 - Riemerschmid, Carlotta A1 - Daldrup, Luisa A1 - Rothkirch, Marcus A1 - Chen, Ke A1 - Chen, Hao A1 - Belanger, Matthew J. A1 - Hentschel, Angela A1 - Smolka, Michael A1 - Heinz, Andreas A1 - Pilhatsch, Maximilan A1 - Rapp, Michael A. T1 - Pavlovian-to-instrumental transfer across mental disorders BT - a review JF - Neuropsychobiology : international journal of experimental and clinical research in biological psychiatry, pharmacopsychiatry, Biological Psychology/Pharmacopsychology and Pharmacoelectroencephalography N2 - A mechanism known as Pavlovian-to-instrumental transfer (PIT) describes a phenomenon by which the values of environmental cues acquired through Pavlovian conditioning can motivate instrumental behavior. PIT may be one basic mechanism of action control that can characterize mental disorders on a dimensional level beyond current classification systems. Therefore, we review human PIT studies investigating subclinical and clinical mental syndromes. The literature prevails an inhomogeneous picture concerning PIT. While enhanced PIT effects seem to be present in non-substance-related disorders, overweight people, and most studies with AUD patients, no altered PIT effects were reported in tobacco use disorder and obesity. Regarding AUD and relapsing alcohol-dependent patients, there is mixed evidence of enhanced or no PIT effects. Additionally, there is evidence for aberrant corticostriatal activation and genetic risk, e.g., in association with high-risk alcohol consumption and relapse after alcohol detoxification. In patients with anorexia nervosa, stronger PIT effects elicited by low caloric stimuli were associated with increased disease severity. In patients with depression, enhanced aversive PIT effects and a loss of action-specificity associated with poorer treatment outcomes were reported. Schizophrenic patients showed disrupted specific but intact general PIT effects. Patients with chronic back pain showed reduced PIT effects. We provide possible reasons to understand heterogeneity in PIT effects within and across mental disorders. Further, we strengthen the importance of reliable experimental tasks and provide test-retest data of a PIT task showing moderate to good reliability. Finally, we point toward stress as a possible underlying factor that may explain stronger PIT effects in mental disorders, as there is some evidence that stress per se interacts with the impact of environmental cues on behavior by selectively increasing cue-triggered wanting. To conclude, we discuss the results of the literature review in the light of Research Domain Criteria, suggesting future studies that comprehensively assess PIT across psychopathological dimensions. KW - Pavlovian-to-instrumental transfer KW - dimensional psychopathology KW - mental disorders KW - reliability Y1 - 2022 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1159/000525579 SN - 0302-282X SN - 1423-0224 VL - 81 IS - 5 SP - 418 EP - 437 PB - Karger CY - Basel ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Sebold, Miriam A1 - Chen, Hao A1 - Önal, Aleyna A1 - Kuitunen-Paul, Sören A1 - Mojtahedzadeh, Negin A1 - Garbusow, Maria A1 - Nebe, Stephan A1 - Wittchen, Hans-Ulrich A1 - Huys, Quentin J. M. A1 - Schlagenhauf, Florian A1 - Rapp, Michael A. A1 - Smolka, Michael N. A1 - Heinz, Andreas T1 - Stronger prejudices are associated with decreased model-based control JF - Frontiers in psychology N2 - Background: Prejudices against minorities can be understood as habitually negative evaluations that are kept in spite of evidence to the contrary. Therefore, individuals with strong prejudices might be dominated by habitual or "automatic" reactions at the expense of more controlled reactions. Computational theories suggest individual differences in the balance between habitual/model-free and deliberative/model-based decision-making. Methods: 127 subjects performed the two Step task and completed the blatant and subtle prejudice scale. Results: By using analyses of choices and reaction times in combination with computational modeling, subjects with stronger blatant prejudices showed a shift away from model-based control. There was no association between these decision-making processes and subtle prejudices. Conclusion: These results support the idea that blatant prejudices toward minorities are related to a relative dominance of habitual decision-making. This finding has important implications for developing interventions that target to change prejudices across societies. KW - subtle and blatant prejudice KW - immigrant KW - social behavior; KW - decision-making KW - computational modeling KW - reinforcement learning Y1 - 2022 U6 - https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.767022 SN - 1664-1078 VL - 12 PB - Frontiers Research Foundation CY - Lausanne ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Sebold, Miriam 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 A. 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 - CHAP A1 - Schad, Daniel A1 - Juenger, Elisabeth A1 - Sebold, Miriam A1 - Garbusow, Maria A1 - Bernhart, Nadine A1 - Javadi, Amir Homayoun A1 - Zimmermann, Ulrich S. A1 - Smolka, Michael N. A1 - Heinz, Andreas A1 - Rapp, Michael A. 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 - Garbusow, Maria A1 - Schad, Daniel A1 - Sebold, Miriam 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 - Deeken, Friederike A1 - Reichert, Markus A1 - Zech, Hilmar A1 - Wenzel, Julia A1 - Wedemeyer, Friederike A1 - Aguilera, Alvaro A1 - Aslan, Acelya A1 - Bach, Patrick A1 - Bahr, Nadja Samia A1 - Ebrahimi, Claudia A1 - Fischbach, Pascale Christine A1 - Ganz, Marvin A1 - Garbusow, Maria A1 - Großkopf, Charlotte M. A1 - Heigert, Marie A1 - Hentschel, Angela A1 - Karl, Damian A1 - Pelz, Patricia A1 - Pinger, Mathieu A1 - Riemerschmid, Carlotta A1 - Rosenthal, Annika A1 - Steffen, Johannes A1 - Strehle, Jens A1 - Weiss,, Franziska A1 - Wieder, Gesine A1 - Wieland, Alfred A1 - Zaiser, Judith A1 - Zimmermann, Sina A1 - Walter, Henrik A1 - Lenz, Bernd A1 - Deserno, Lorenz A1 - Smolka, Michael N. A1 - Liu, Shuyan A1 - Ebner-Priemer, Ulrich Walter A1 - Heinz, Andreas A1 - Rapp, Michael A. T1 - Patterns of Alcohol Consumption Among Individuals With Alcohol Use Disorder During the COVID-19 Pandemic and Lockdowns in Germany JF - JAMA Network Open N2 - Importance Alcohol consumption (AC) leads to death and disability worldwide. Ongoing discussions on potential negative effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on AC need to be informed by real-world evidence. Objective To examine whether lockdown measures are associated with AC and consumption-related temporal and psychological within-person mechanisms. Design, Setting, and Participants This quantitative, intensive, longitudinal cohort study recruited 1743 participants from 3 sites from February 20, 2020, to February 28, 2021. Data were provided before and within the second lockdown of the COVID-19 pandemic in Germany: before lockdown (October 2 to November 1, 2020); light lockdown (November 2 to December 15, 2020); and hard lockdown (December 16, 2020, to February 28, 2021). Main Outcomes and Measures Daily ratings of AC (main outcome) captured during 3 lockdown phases (main variable) and temporal (weekends and holidays) and psychological (social isolation and drinking intention) correlates. Results Of the 1743 screened participants, 189 (119 [63.0%] male; median [IQR] age, 37 [27.5-52.0] years) with at least 2 alcohol use disorder (AUD) criteria according to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (Fifth Edition) yet without the need for medically supervised alcohol withdrawal were included. These individuals provided 14 694 smartphone ratings from October 2020 through February 2021. Multilevel modeling revealed significantly higher AC (grams of alcohol per day) on weekend days vs weekdays (β = 11.39; 95% CI, 10.00-12.77; P < .001). Alcohol consumption was above the overall average on Christmas (β = 26.82; 95% CI, 21.87-31.77; P < .001) and New Year’s Eve (β = 66.88; 95% CI, 59.22-74.54; P < .001). During the hard lockdown, perceived social isolation was significantly higher (β = 0.12; 95% CI, 0.06-0.15; P < .001), but AC was significantly lower (β = −5.45; 95% CI, −8.00 to −2.90; P = .001). Independent of lockdown, intention to drink less alcohol was associated with lower AC (β = −11.10; 95% CI, −13.63 to −8.58; P < .001). Notably, differences in AC between weekend and weekdays decreased both during the hard lockdown (β = −6.14; 95% CI, −9.96 to −2.31; P = .002) and in participants with severe AUD (β = −6.26; 95% CI, −10.18 to −2.34; P = .002). Conclusions and Relevance This 5-month cohort study found no immediate negative associations of lockdown measures with overall AC. Rather, weekend-weekday and holiday AC patterns exceeded lockdown effects. Differences in AC between weekend days and weekdays evinced that weekend drinking cycles decreased as a function of AUD severity and lockdown measures, indicating a potential mechanism of losing and regaining control. This finding suggests that temporal patterns and drinking intention constitute promising targets for prevention and intervention, even in high-risk individuals. Y1 - 2022 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2022.24641 SN - 2574-3805 VL - 5 SP - 1 EP - 11 PB - JAMA Network / American Medical Association CY - Chicago, Illinois, USA ET - 8 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 A. 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 - 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 - GEN A1 - Kuschpel, Maxim S. A1 - Liu, Shuyan A1 - Schad, Daniel A1 - Heinzel, Stephan A1 - Heinz, Andreas A1 - Rapp, Michael A. T1 - Differential effects of wakeful rest, music and video game playing on working memory performance in the n-back task N2 - The interruption of learning processes by breaks filled with diverse activities is common in everyday life. We investigated the effects of active computer gaming and passive relaxation (rest and music) breaks on working memory performance. Young adults were exposed to breaks involving (i) eyes-open resting, (ii) listening to music and (iii) playing the video game “Angry Birds” before performing the n-back working memory task. Based on linear mixed-effects modeling, we found that playing the “Angry Birds” video game during a short learning break led to a decline in task performance over the course of the task as compared to eyes-open resting and listening to music, although overall task performance was not impaired. This effect was associated with high levels of daily mind wandering and low self-reported ability to concentrate. These findings indicate that video games can negatively affect working memory performance over time when played in between learning tasks. We suggest further investigation of these effects because of their relevance to everyday activity. T3 - Zweitveröffentlichungen der Universität Potsdam : Humanwissenschaftliche Reihe - 280 KW - attention KW - break interventions KW - cognitive resources KW - computer games KW - mind wandering KW - mozart effect KW - working memory Y1 - 2015 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-85151 ER - TY - GEN A1 - Liu, Shuyan A1 - Schad, Daniel A1 - Kuschpel, Maxim S. A1 - Rapp, Michael A. A1 - Heinz, Andreas T1 - Music and Video Gaming during Breaks BT - Influence on Habitual versus Goal-Directed Decision Making N2 - Different systems for habitual versus goal-directed control are thought to underlie human decision-making. Working memory is known to shape these decision-making systems and their interplay, and is known to support goal-directed decision making even under stress. Here, we investigated if and how decision systems are differentially influenced by breaks filled with diverse everyday life activities known to modulate working memory performance. We used a within-subject design where young adults listened to music and played a video game during breaks interleaved with trials of a sequential two-step Markov decision task, designed to assess habitual as well as goal-directed decision making. Based on a neurocomputational model of task performance, we observed that for individuals with a rather limited working memory capacity video gaming as compared to music reduced reliance on the goal-directed decision-making system, while a rather large working memory capacity prevented such a decline. Our findings suggest differential effects of everyday activities on key decision-making processes. T3 - Zweitveröffentlichungen der Universität Potsdam : Humanwissenschaftliche Reihe - 289 KW - Cognition KW - Cognitive impairment KW - Decision making KW - Games KW - Learning KW - Music cognition KW - Video games KW - Working memory Y1 - 2016 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-90700 SP - 1 EP - 12 ER - TY - GEN A1 - Hägele, Claudia A1 - Schlagenhauf, Florian A1 - Rapp, Michael A. A1 - Sterzer, Philipp A1 - Beck, Anne A1 - Bermpohl, Felix A1 - Stoy, Meline A1 - Ströhle, Andreas A1 - Wittchen, Hans-Ulrich A1 - Dolan, Raymond J. A1 - Heinz, Andreas T1 - Dimensional psychiatry BT - reward dysfunction and depressive mood across psychiatric disorders T2 - Postprints der Universität Potsdam : Humanwissenschaftliche Reihe N2 - A dimensional approach in psychiatry aims to identify core mechanisms of mental disorders across nosological boundaries. We compared anticipation of reward between major psychiatric disorders, and investigated whether reward anticipation is impaired in several mental disorders and whether there is a common psychopathological correlate (negative mood) of such an impairment. We used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and a monetary incentive delay (MID) task to study the functional correlates of reward anticipation across major psychiatric disorders in 184 subjects, with the diagnoses of alcohol dependence (n = 26), schizophrenia (n = 44), major depressive disorder (MDD, n = 24), bipolar disorder (acute manic episode, n = 13), attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD, n = 23), and healthy controls (n = 54). Subjects' individual Beck Depression Inventory-and State-Trait Anxiety Inventory-scores were correlated with clusters showing significant activation during reward anticipation. During reward anticipation, we observed significant group differences in ventral striatal (VS) activation: patients with schizophrenia, alcohol dependence, and major depression showed significantly less ventral striatal activation compared to healthy controls. Depressive symptoms correlated with dysfunction in reward anticipation regardless of diagnostic entity. There was no significant correlation between anxiety symptoms and VS functional activation. Our findings demonstrate a neurobiological dysfunction related to reward prediction that transcended disorder categories and was related to measures of depressed mood. The findings underline the potential of a dimensional approach in psychiatry and strengthen the hypothesis that neurobiological research in psychiatric disorders can be targeted at core mechanisms that are likely to be implicated in a range of clinical entities. T3 - Zweitveröffentlichungen der Universität Potsdam : Humanwissenschaftliche Reihe - 653 KW - dimensional KW - fMRI KW - reward system KW - ventral striatum KW - monetary incentive delay task KW - depressive symptoms Y1 - 2020 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-431064 SN - 1866-8364 IS - 653 SP - 331 EP - 341 ER - TY - GEN 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 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 - Garbusow, Maria A1 - Schad, Daniel A1 - Sommer, Christian A1 - Juenger, Elisabeth A1 - Sebold, Miriam 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 - JOUR A1 - Rapp, Michael A. A1 - Mell, Thomas A1 - Majic, Tomislav A1 - Treusch, Yvonne A1 - Nordheim, Johanna A1 - Niemann-Mirmehdi, Mechthild A1 - Gutzmann, Hans A1 - Heinz, Andreas T1 - Agitation in Nursing Home Residents With Dementia (VIDEANT Trial) - Effects of a Cluster-Randomized, Controlled, Guideline Implementation Trial JF - Journal of the American Medical Directors Association N2 - Objective: To test the effect of a complex guideline-based intervention on agitation and psychotropic prescriptions. Design, Setting, Participants: Cluster randomized controlled trial (VIDEANT) with blinded assessment of outcome in 18 nursing homes in Berlin, Germany, comprising 304 dementia patients. Intervention: Training, support, and activity therapy intervention, delivered at the level of each nursing home, focusing on the management of agitation in dementia. Control group nursing homes received treatment as usual. Measurements: Levels of agitated and disruptive behavior (Cohen-Mansfield agitation inventory [CMAI]) as the primary outcome. Number of neuroleptics, antidepressants, and cholinesterase inhibitors (ChEIs) prescribed in defined daily dosages (DDDs). Results: Of 326 patients screened, 304 (93.3%) were eligible and cluster-randomized to 9 intervention (n = 163) and 9 control (n = 141) nursing homes. Data were collected from 287 (94.4%) patients at 10 months. At 10 months, compared with controls, nursing home residents with dementia in the intervention group exhibited significantly less agitation as measured with the CMAI (adjusted mean difference, 6.24; 95% CI 2.03-14.14; P = .009; Cohen's d = 0.43), received fewer neuroleptics (P < .05), more ChEIs (P < .05), and more antidepressants (P < .05). Conclusion: Complex guideline-based interventions are effective in reducing agitated and disruptive behavior in nursing home residents with dementia. At the same time, increased prescription of ChEIs and antidepressants together with decreased neuroleptic prescription suggests an effect toward guideline-based pharmacotherapy. KW - Dementia KW - agitation KW - nursing home KW - guideline KW - trial Y1 - 2013 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jamda.2013.05.017 SN - 1525-8610 VL - 14 IS - 9 SP - 690 EP - 695 PB - Elsevier CY - New York ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Treusch, Yvonne A1 - Majic, Tomislav A1 - Page, Julie A1 - Gutzmann, Hans A1 - Heinz, Andreas A1 - Rapp, Michael A. T1 - Apathy in nursing home residents with dementia: Results from a cluster-randomized controlled trial JF - European psychiatry : the journal of the Association of European Psychiatrists N2 - Purpose: Here we evaluate an interdisciplinary occupational and sport therapy intervention for dementia patients suffering from apathy. Subjects and methods: A prospective, controlled, rater-blinded, clinical trial with two follow-ups was conducted as part of a larger cluster-randomized trial in 18 nursing homes in Berlin. n = 117 dementia patients with apathy, defined as a score of 40 or more on the apathy evaluation scale (AES) or presence of apathy on the Neuropsychiatric Inventory (NPI), were randomly assigned to intervention or control group. The intervention included 10 months of brief activities, provided once a week. The primary outcome measure was the total score on the AES scale measured directly after the intervention period and again after 12 months. Results: We found significant group differences with respect to apathy during the 10 month intervention period (F-2,F-82 = 7.79, P < 0.01), which reflected an increase in apathy in the control group, but not in the intervention group. Within one year after the intervention was ceased, the treatment group worsened and no longer differed significantly from the control group (P = 0.55). Conclusions: Our intervention was effective for the therapy of apathy in dementia, when applied, but not one year after cessation of therapy. (C) 2014 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved. KW - Dementia KW - Apathy KW - Non-pharmacological intervention KW - Occupational therapy KW - Sport therapy Y1 - 2015 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eurpsy.2014.02.004 SN - 0924-9338 SN - 1778-3585 VL - 30 IS - 2 PB - Elsevier CY - Paris ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Heinzel, Stephan A1 - Lorenz, Robert C. A1 - Brockhaus, Wolf-Ruediger A1 - Wuestenberg, Torsten A1 - Kathmann, Norbert A1 - Heinz, Andreas A1 - Rapp, Michael A. T1 - Working memory load-dependent brain response predicts behavioral training gains in older adults JF - The journal of neuroscience N2 - In the domain of working memory (WM), a sigmoid-shaped relationship between WM load and brain activation patterns has been demonstrated in younger adults. It has been suggested that age-related alterations of this pattern are associated with changes in neural efficiency and capacity. At the same time, WM training studies have shown that some older adults are able to increase their WM performance through training. In this study, functional magnetic resonance imaging during an n-back WM task at different WM load levels was applied to compare blood oxygen level-dependent (BOLD) responses between younger and older participants and to predict gains in WM performance after a subsequent 12-session WM training procedure in older adults. We show that increased neural efficiency and capacity, as reflected by more "youth-like" brain response patterns in regions of interest of the frontoparietal WM network, were associated with better behavioral training outcome beyond the effects of age, sex, education, gray matter volume, and baseline WM performance. Furthermore, at low difficulty levels, decreases in BOLD response were found after WM training. Results indicate that both neural efficiency (i. e., decreased activation at comparable performance levels) and capacity (i. e., increasing activation with increasing WM load) of a WM-related network predict plasticity of the WM system, whereas WM training may specifically increase neural efficiency in older adults. KW - aging KW - fMRI KW - neuroimaging KW - plasticity KW - training KW - working memory Y1 - 2014 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1523/JNEUROSCI.2463-13.2014 SN - 0270-6474 VL - 34 IS - 4 SP - 1224 EP - 1233 PB - Society for Neuroscience CY - Washington ER - TY - GEN A1 - Rapp, Michael A. A1 - Kluge, Ulrike A1 - Penka, Simone A1 - Vardar, Azra A1 - Aichberger, Marion Christina A1 - Mundt, Adrian P. A1 - Schouler-Ocak, Meryam A1 - Mösko, Mike A1 - Butler, Jeffrey A1 - Meyer-Lindenberg, Andreas A1 - Heinz, Andreas T1 - When local poverty is more important than your income: Mental health in minorities in inner cities T2 - World psychiatry Y1 - 2015 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1002/wps.20221 SN - 1723-8617 SN - 2051-5545 VL - 14 IS - 2 SP - 249 EP - 250 PB - Wiley-Blackwell CY - Hoboken ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Gleich, Tobias A1 - Spitta, Gianna A1 - Butler, Oisin A1 - Zacharias, Kristin A1 - Aydin, Semiha A1 - Sebold, Miriam A1 - Garbusow, Maria A1 - Rapp, Michael A. A1 - Schubert, Florian A1 - Buchert, Ralph A1 - Heinz, Andreas A1 - Gallinat, Jürgen T1 - Dopamine D2/3 receptor availability in alcohol use disorder and individuals at high risk BT - towards a dimensional approach JF - Addiction Biology N2 - Alcohol use disorder (AUD) is the most common substance use disorder worldwide. Although dopamine-related findings were often observed in AUD, associated neurobiological mechanisms are still poorly understood. Therefore, in the present study, we investigate D2/3 receptor availability in healthy participants, participants at high risk (HR) to develop addiction (not diagnosed with AUD), and AUD patients in a detoxified stage, applying F-18-fallypride positron emission tomography (F-18-PET). Specifically, D2/3 receptor availability was investigated in (1) 19 low-risk (LR) controls, (2) 19 HR participants, and (3) 20 AUD patients after alcohol detoxification. Quality and severity of addiction were assessed with clinical questionnaires and (neuro)psychological tests. PET data were corrected for age of participants and smoking status. In the dorsal striatum, we observed significant reductions of D2/3 receptor availability in AUD patients compared with LR participants. Further, receptor availability in HR participants was observed to be intermediate between LR and AUD groups (linearly decreasing). Still, in direct comparison, no group difference was observed between LR and HR groups or between HR and AUD groups. Further, the score of the Alcohol Dependence Scale (ADS) was inversely correlated with D2/3 receptor availability in the combined sample. Thus, in line with a dimensional approach, striatal D2/3 receptor availability showed a linear decrease from LR participants to HR participants to AUD patients, which was paralleled by clinical measures. Our study shows that a core neurobiological feature in AUD seems to be detectable in an early, subclinical state, allowing more individualized alcohol prevention programs in the future. KW - alcohol KW - D2/3 receptors KW - dependence KW - dopamine KW - high risk KW - PET Y1 - 2020 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1111/adb.12915 SN - 1369-1600 VL - 26 IS - 2 SP - 1 EP - 10 PB - Wiley-Blackwell CY - Hoboken ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Haegele, Claudia A1 - Schlagenhauf, Florian A1 - Rapp, Michael A. A1 - Sterzer, Philipp A1 - Beck, Anne A1 - Bermpohl, Felix A1 - Stoy, Meline A1 - Stroehle, Andreas A1 - Wittchen, Hans-Ulrich A1 - Dolan, Raymond J. A1 - Heinz, Andreas T1 - Dimensional psychiatry: reward dysfunction and depressive mood across psychiatric disorders JF - Psychopharmacology N2 - A dimensional approach in psychiatry aims to identify core mechanisms of mental disorders across nosological boundaries. We compared anticipation of reward between major psychiatric disorders, and investigated whether reward anticipation is impaired in several mental disorders and whether there is a common psychopathological correlate (negative mood) of such an impairment. During reward anticipation, we observed significant group differences in ventral striatal (VS) activation: patients with schizophrenia, alcohol dependence, and major depression showed significantly less ventral striatal activation compared to healthy controls. Depressive symptoms correlated with dysfunction in reward anticipation regardless of diagnostic entity. There was no significant correlation between anxiety symptoms and VS functional activation. Our findings demonstrate a neurobiological dysfunction related to reward prediction that transcended disorder categories and was related to measures of depressed mood. The findings underline the potential of a dimensional approach in psychiatry and strengthen the hypothesis that neurobiological research in psychiatric disorders can be targeted at core mechanisms that are likely to be implicated in a range of clinical entities. KW - Dimensional KW - fMRI KW - Reward system KW - Ventral striatum KW - Monetary incentive delay task KW - Depressive symptoms Y1 - 2015 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1007/s00213-014-3662-7 SN - 0033-3158 SN - 1432-2072 VL - 232 IS - 2 SP - 331 EP - 341 PB - Springer CY - New York ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Majic, Tomislav A1 - Gutzmann, Hans A1 - Heinz, Andreas A1 - Lang, Undine E. A1 - Rapp, Michael A. T1 - Animal-assisted therapy and agitation and depression in nursing home residents with dementia - a matched case-control trial JF - The American journal of geriatric psychiatry : official journal of the American Association for Geriatric Psychiatry N2 - Objectives: To investigate the efficacy of animal-assisted therapy (AAT) on symptoms of agitation/aggression and depression in nursing home residents with dementia in a randomized controlled trial. Previous studies have indicated that AAT has beneficial effects on neuropsychiatric symptoms in various psychiatric disorders but few studies have investigated the efficacy of AAT in patients suffering from dementia. Methods: Of 65 nursing home residents with dementia (mean [standard deviation] age: 81.8 [9.2] years; mean Mini-Mental State Examination score: 7.1 [0.7]), 27 matched pairs (N = 54) were randomly assigned to either treatment as usual or treatment as usual combined with AAT, administered over 10 weekly sessions. Blinded raters assessed cognitive impairment with the Mini-Mental State Examination, presence of agitation/aggression with the Cohen-Mansfield Agitation Inventory, and depression with the Dementia Mood Assessment Scale at baseline and during a period of 4 weeks after AAT intervention. Results: In the control group, symptoms of agitation/aggression and depression significantly increased over 10 weeks; in the intervention group, patients receiving combined treatment displayed constant frequency and severity of symptoms of agitation/aggression (F-1,F-48 = 6.43; p <0.05) and depression (F-1,F-48 = 26.54; p <0.001). Symptom amelioration did not occur in either group. Conclusions: AAT is a promising option for the treatment of agitation/aggression and depression in patients with dementia. Our results suggest that AAT may delay progression of neuropsychiatric symptoms in demented nursing home residents. Further research is needed to determine its long-time effects. KW - AAT KW - Alzheimer disease KW - agitation KW - animal-assisted therapy KW - BPSD KW - depression KW - dog-assisted therapy KW - nursing home Y1 - 2013 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jagp.2013.03.004 SN - 1064-7481 SN - 1545-7214 VL - 21 IS - 11 SP - 1052 EP - 1059 PB - Lippincott Williams & Wilkins CY - Philadelphia ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Heinzel, Stephan A1 - Lorenz, Robert C. A1 - Pelz, Patricia A1 - Heinz, Andreas A1 - Walter, Henrik A1 - Kathmann, Norbert A1 - Rapp, Michael A. A1 - Stelzel, Christine T1 - Neural correlates of training and transfer effects in working memory in older adults JF - NeuroImage : a journal of brain function N2 - As indicated by previous research, aging is associated with a decline in working memory (WM) functioning, related to alterations in fronto-parietal neural activations. At the same time, previous studies showed that WM training in older adults may improve the performance in the trained task (training effect), and more importantly, also in untrained WM tasks (transfer effects). However, neural correlates of these transfer effects that would improve understanding of its underlying mechanisms, have not been shown in older participants as yet. In this study, we investigated blood-oxygen-level-dependent (BOLD) signal changes during n-back performance and an untrained delayed recognition (Sternberg) task following 12 sessions (45 min each) of adaptive n-back training in older adults. The Sternberg task used in this study allowed to test for neural training effects independent of specific task affordances of the trained task and to separate maintenance from updating processes. Thirty-two healthy older participants (60-75 years) were assigned either to an n-back training or a no-contact control group. Before (t1) and after (t2) training/waiting period, both the n-back task and the Sternberg task were conducted while BOLD signal was measured using functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) in all participants. In addition, neuropsychological tests were performed outside the scanner. WM performance improved with training and behavioral transfer to tests measuring executive functions, processing speed, and fluid intelligence was found. In the training group, BOLD signal in the right lateral middle frontal gyrus/caudal superior frontal sulcus (Brodmann area, BA 6/8) decreased in both the trained n-back and the updating condition of the untrained Sternberg task at t2, compared to the control group. fMRI findings indicate a training-related increase in processing efficiency of WM networks, potentially related to the process of WM updating. Performance gains in untrained tasks suggest that transfer to other cognitive tasks remains possible in aging. (C) 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. KW - Aging KW - Working memory KW - Training KW - Transfer KW - Neuroimaging KW - fMRI KW - Updating KW - Executive functions KW - Fluid intelligence Y1 - 2016 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuroimage.2016.03.068 SN - 1053-8119 SN - 1095-9572 VL - 134 SP - 236 EP - 249 PB - Elsevier CY - San Diego ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Kuschpel, Maxim S. A1 - Liu, Shuyan A1 - Schad, Daniel A1 - Heinzel, Stephan A1 - Heinz, Andreas A1 - Rapp, Michael A. T1 - Differential effects of wakeful rest, music and video game playing on working memory performance in the n-back task JF - Frontiers in psychology N2 - The interruption of learning processes by breaks filled with diverse activities is common in everyday life. We investigated the effects of active computer gaming and passive relaxation (rest and music) breaks on working memory performance. Young adults were exposed to breaks involving (i) eyes-open resting, (ii) listening to music and (iii) playing the video game “Angry Birds” before performing the n-back working memory task. Based on linear mixed-effects modeling, we found that playing the “Angry Birds” video game during a short learning break led to a decline in task performance over the course of the task as compared to eyes-open resting and listening to music, although overall task performance was not impaired. This effect was associated with high levels of daily mind wandering and low self-reported ability to concentrate. These findings indicate that video games can negatively affect working memory performance over time when played in between learning tasks. We suggest further investigation of these effects because of their relevance to everyday activity. KW - break interventions KW - computer games KW - mozart effect KW - working memory KW - attention KW - cognitive resources KW - mind wandering Y1 - 2015 U6 - https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2015.01683 SN - 1664-1078 IS - 6 PB - Frontiers Research Foundation CY - Lausanne ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Aichberger, Marion Christina A1 - Montesinos, Amanda Heredia A1 - Bromand, Zohra A1 - Yesil, Rahsan A1 - Temur-Erman, Selver A1 - Rapp, Michael A. A1 - Heinz, Andreas A1 - Schouler-Ocak, Meryam T1 - Suicide attempt rates and intervention effects in women of Turkish origin in Berlin JF - European psychiatry : the journal of the Association of European Psychiatrists N2 - Purpose: Ethnic minority groups show elevated suicide attempt rates across Europe. Evidence suggests a similar trend for women of Turkish origin in Germany, yet data on suicidal behaviour in minorities in Germany is scarce. The objective was to examine rates of suicidal behaviour, underlying motives, and to explore the effectiveness of an intervention program. Methods: From 05/2009-09/2011, data on all suicide attempts among women of Turkish origin who presented at a hospital-based emergency unit in Berlin, Germany, were collected. A multi-modal intervention was conducted in 2010 and the effects of age, generation and the intervention on suicide attempt rates were examined. Results: At the start, the highest rate was found in women aged 18-24 years with 225.4 (95% CI = 208.8-242.0)/100,000. Adjustment disorder was the most prevalent diagnosis with 49.7% (n = 79), being more common in second-generation women (P = .004). Further analyses suggested an effect of the intervention in the youngest age group (trend change of beta = -1.25; P = .017). Conclusion: Our findings suggest a particularly high rate of suicide attempts by 18-24-year-old, second-generation women of Turkish origin in Berlin. Furthermore, our results suggest a trend change in suicide attempts in women aged 18-24 years related to a population-based intervention program. (C) 2015 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved. KW - Suicide attempt KW - Incidence rates KW - Turkish migrants KW - Intervention study Y1 - 2015 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eurpsy.2014.12.003 SN - 0924-9338 SN - 1778-3585 VL - 30 IS - 4 SP - 480 EP - 485 PB - Elsevier CY - Paris ER - TY - INPR A1 - Heinz, Andreas A1 - Charlet, Katrin A1 - Rapp, Michael A. T1 - Public mental health: a call to action T2 - World psychiatry Y1 - 2015 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1002/wps.20182 SN - 1723-8617 SN - 2051-5545 VL - 14 IS - 1 SP - 49 EP - 50 PB - Wiley-Blackwell CY - Hoboken ER - TY - CHAP A1 - Haegele, Claudia A1 - Friedel, Eva A1 - Schlagenhauf, Florian A1 - Sterzer, Philipp A1 - Beck, Anne A1 - Bermpohl, Felix A1 - Rapp, Michael A. A1 - Stoy, Meline A1 - Stroehle, Andreas A1 - Dolan, Raymond J. A1 - Heinz, Andreas T1 - Reward expectation and affective responses across psychiatric disorders - A dimensional approach T2 - Biological psychiatry : a journal of psychiatric neuroscience and therapeutics ; a publication of the Society of Biological Psychiatry KW - dimensional KW - transdiagnostic KW - reward system KW - ventral striatum KW - fMRI Y1 - 2014 SN - 0006-3223 SN - 1873-2402 VL - 75 IS - 9 SP - 91S EP - 92S PB - Elsevier CY - New York ER - TY - GEN A1 - Heinz, Andreas A1 - Beck, Anne A1 - Rapp, Michael A. T1 - Alcohol as an Environmental Mortality Hazard T2 - JAMA psychiatry Y1 - 2016 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1001/jamapsychiatry.2016.0399 SN - 2168-622X SN - 2168-6238 VL - 73 SP - 549 EP - 550 PB - American Veterinary Medical Association CY - Chicago 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 - Liu, Shuyan A1 - Kuschpel, Maxim S. A1 - Schad, Daniel A1 - Heinz, Andreas A1 - Rapp, Michael A. T1 - Differential Effects of Music and Video Gaming During Breaks on Auditory and Visual Learning JF - Cyberpsychology, behavior and social networking N2 - The interruption of learning processes by breaks filled with diverse activities is common in everyday life. This study investigated the effects of active computer gaming and passive relaxation (rest and music) breaks on auditory versus visual memory performance. Young adults were exposed to breaks involving (a) open eyes resting, (b) listening to music, and (c) playing a video game, immediately after memorizing auditory versus visual stimuli. To assess learning performance, words were recalled directly after the break (an 8:30 minute delay) and were recalled and recognized again after 7 days. Based on linear mixed-effects modeling, it was found that playing the Angry Birds video game during a short learning break impaired long-term retrieval in auditory learning but enhanced long-term retrieval in visual learning compared with the music and rest conditions. These differential effects of video games on visual versus auditory learning suggest specific interference of common break activities on learning. Y1 - 2015 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1089/cyber.2015.0140 SN - 2152-2715 SN - 2152-2723 VL - 18 IS - 11 SP - 647 EP - 653 PB - Liebert CY - New Rochelle ER - 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 - Tschorn, Mira A1 - Schulze, Susanne A1 - Förstner, Bernd Rainer A1 - Holmberg, Christine A1 - Spallek, Jacob A1 - Heinz, Andreas A1 - Rapp, Michael A. T1 - Predictors and prevalence of hazardous alcohol use in middle-late to late adulthood in Europe JF - Aging & mental health N2 - Objectives: Even low to moderate levels of alcohol consumption can have detrimental health consequences, especially in older adults (OA). Although many studies report an increase in the proportion of drinkers among OA, there are regional variations. Therefore, we examined alcohol consumption and the prevalence of hazardous alcohol use (HAU) among men and women aged 50+ years in four European regions and investigated predictors of HAU. Methods: We analyzed data of N = 35,042 participants of the European SHARE study. We investigated differences in alcohol consumption (units last week) according to gender, age and EU-region using ANOVAs. Furthermore, logistic regression models were used to examine the effect of income, education, marital status, history of a low-quality parent-child relationship and smoking on HAU, also stratified for gender and EU-region. HAU was operationalized as binge drinking or risky drinking (<12.5 units of 10 ml alcohol/week). Results: Overall, past week alcohol consumption was 5.0 units (+/- 7.8), prevalence of HAU was 25.4% within our sample of European adults aged 50+ years. Male gender, younger age and living in Western Europe were linked to both higher alcohol consumption and higher risks of HAU. Income, education, smoking, a low-quality parent-child relationship, living in Northern and especially Eastern Europe were positively associated with HAU. Stratified analyses revealed differences by region and gender. Conclusions: HAU was highly prevalent within this European sample of OA. Alcohol consumption and determinants of HAU differed between EU-regions, hinting to a necessity of risk-stratified population-level strategies to prevent HAU and subsequent alcohol use disorders. KW - Hazardous alcohol use KW - older adults KW - middle-aged adults KW - Europe KW - alcohol KW - drug and alcohol abuse KW - cross-national KW - international studies KW - environmental factors KW - housing KW - rural-urban factors KW - epidemiology (mental health) Y1 - 2022 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1080/13607863.2022.2076208 SN - 1360-7863 SN - 1364-6915 VL - 27 IS - 5 SP - 1001 EP - 1010 PB - Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group CY - Abingdon ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Heinzel, Stephan A1 - Riemer, Thomas G. A1 - Schulte, Stefanie A1 - Onken, Johanna A1 - Heinz, Andreas A1 - Rapp, Michael A. T1 - Catechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT) genotype affects age-related changes in plasticity in working memory: a pilot study JF - BioMed research international N2 - Objectives. Recent work suggests that a genetic variation associated with increased dopamine metabolism in the prefrontal cortex (catechol-O-methyltransferase Val158Met; COMT) amplifies age-related changes in working memory performance. Research on younger adults indicates that the influence of dopamine-related genetic polymorphisms on working memory performance increases when testing the cognitive limits through training. To date, this has not been studied in older adults. Method. Here we investigate the effect of COMT genotype on plasticity in working memory in a sample of 14 younger (aged 24-30 years) and 25 older (aged 60-75 years) healthy adults. Participants underwent adaptive training in the n-back working memory task over 12 sessions under increasing difficulty conditions. Results. Both younger and older adults exhibited sizeable behavioral plasticity through training (P < .001), which was larger in younger as compared to older adults (P < .001). Age-related differences were qualified by an interaction with COMT genotype (P < .001), and this interaction was due to decreased behavioral plasticity in older adults carrying the Val/Val genotype, while there was no effect of genotype in younger adults. Discussion. Our findings indicate that age-related changes in plasticity in working memory are critically affected by genetic variation in prefrontal dopamine metabolism. Y1 - 2014 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1155/2014/414351 SN - 2314-6133 SN - 2314-6141 PB - Hindawi Publishing Corp. CY - New York ER -