Neurocognitive discounting

Alterations in the impulse-control balance, and in its neural bases, have been reported in obesity and eating disorders (EDs). Neuroimaging studies suggest a role of fronto-parietal networks in impulsive behaviour, with evaluation and anticipatory processes additionally recruiting meso-limbic regions. However, whether distinct facets of cognitive and motor impulsivity involve common vs. specific neural correlates remains unclear. We addressed this issue through Activation Likelihood Estimation (ALE) meta-analyses of fMRI studies on delay discounting (DD) and go/no-go (GNG) tasks, alongside conjunction and subtraction analyses...

Delay discounting-the extent to which individuals show a preference for smaller immediate rewards over larger delayed rewards-has been proposed as a transdiagnostic neurocognitive process across mental health conditions, but its examination in relation to posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is comparatively recent. To assess the aggregated evidence for elevated delay discounting in relation to posttraumatic stress, we conducted a meta-analysis on existing empirical literature. Bibliographic searches identified 209 candidate articles, of which 13 articles with 14 independent effect sizes were eligible for meta-analysis, reflecting a combined sample size of N = 6897...

BACKGROUND: Many people with harmful addictive behaviors may not meet formal diagnostic thresholds for a disorder. A dimensional approach, by contrast, including clinical and community samples, is potentially key to early detection, prevention, and intervention. Importantly, while neurocognitive dysfunction underpins addictive behaviors, established assessment tools for neurocognitive assessment are lengthy and unengaging, difficult to administer at scale, and not suited to clinical or community needs...

Temporal Discounting (TD) represents the mental devaluation of rewards that are available after a delay. Whether the hippocampus is critical for TD remains unclear, with marked discrepancies between animal and human studies: whereas animals with discrete hippocampal lesions display impaired TD, human participants with similar lesions show intact performance on classic intertemporal choice tasks. A candidate explanation for this discrepancy is that delays and rewards are experienced in the moment in animal studies but tend to be hypothetical in human studies...

Increased delay discounting is evident in bipolar disorder, though there is minimal research on the factors that impact delay discounting in this population. We evaluated neurocognitive correlates of delay discounting among relatively euthymic participants with bipolar disorder (N = 76) with ( n = 31) and without ( n = 45) past-year substance use disorders. There were no significant differences in the mean delay discounting value between the bipolar disorder group and the comorbid bipolar disorder and past-year substance use disorders group ( p = ...

INTRODUCTION: Opioid use disorder (OUD) continues to be a significant public health concern. Medications for OUD (MOUD) such as buprenorphine reduce overdose mortality, but relapses occur often, leading to adverse outcomes. Preliminary data suggest that cannabidiol (CBD) may be a potential adjunctive treatment to MOUD by attenuating cue-reactivity. This pilot study sought to evaluate the impact of a single dose of CBD on reward- and stress-related neurocognitive processes implicated in relapse among those with OUD...

Obesity is characterized by cardiometabolic and neurocognitive changes. However, how these two factors relate to each other in this population is unknown. We tested the association that cardiometabolic measures may have with impulse behaviors and white matter microstructure in adolescents with and without an excess weight. One hundred and eight adolescents (43 normal-weight and 65 overweight/obesity; 11-19 years old) were medically and psychologically (Temperament Character Inventory Revised, Three-Factor Eating Questionnaire-R18, Conners' Continuous Performance Test-II, Stroop Color and Word Test, Wisconsin Card Sorting Test, Kirby Delay Discounting Task) evaluated...

OBJECTIVE: The objective of the current investigation was to examine associations between symptomatic COVID-19 history, neurocognitive function, and psychiatric symptoms using cognitive task performance, functional brain imaging, and a prospective population survey. METHODS: Study 1 was a laboratory study conducted between 3 May 2022 and 16 Nov 2022 involving 120 fully vaccinated community dwelling adults between 18 and 84 years of age ( M age = 31.96 ( SD  = 20...

The aim of the current study was to examine the effects of length of abstinence on decision making (impulsive choice) and response inhibition (impulsive action) in former opiate users (OU). Participants included 45 OU in early remission [0-12 months of abstinence], 68 OU in sustained remission [>12 months of abstinence], and 68 control participants. Decision making was assessed with the Iowa Gambling Task (IGT), the Cambridge Gambling Task (CGT), and the Monetary Choice Questionnaire (MCQ). Response inhibition was examined with the Stop Signal Task (SST), and the Go/No-Go Task (GNG)...

Steeper delay discounting (i.e., the extent to which future rewards are perceived as less valuable than immediate ones) has been proposed as a transdiagnostic process across different health conditions, in particular psychiatric disorders. Impulsive decision-making is a hallmark of different neurodegenerative conditions but little is known about delay discounting in the domain of neurodegenerative conditions. We reviewed studies on delay discounting in patients with Parkinson's disease (PD) and in patients with dementia (Alzheimer's disease / AD or frontotemporal dementia / FTD)...

Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) is a promising treatment for cannabis use disorder in schizophrenia; however, gaps in the literature remain as to the potential role of neurocognitive functioning in treatment response. We evaluated the moderating role of select cognitive functions including baseline executive functioning, verbal memory, and sustained attention, and we explore the mediating role of changes in task performance on changes in cannabis use in both active and sham rTMS groups. Participants underwent high-frequency (20 Hz) rTMS applied to the bilateral dorsolateral prefrontal cortex 5x/week for 4 weeks...

Cannabis Use Disorder (CUD) has been linked to a complex set of neuro-behavioral risk factors. While many studies have revealed sex and gender differences, the relative importance of these risk factors by sex and gender has not been described. We used an "explainable" machine learning approach that combined decision trees [gradient tree boosting, XGBoost] with factor ranking tools [SHapley's Additive exPlanations (SHAP)] to investigate sex and gender differences in CUD. We confirmed that previously identified environmental, personality, mental health, neurocognitive, and brain factors highly contributed to the classification of cannabis use levels and diagnostic status...

There are certain characteristics of psychopathy that may be related to changes in intertemporal choices. Specifically, traits such as impulsivity or lack of inhibitory control may be associated with a more pronounced discounting function in intertemporal choices (IC) and, in turn, this function may be based on changes in the basic mechanisms of time estimation (TE). Therefore, this study aimed to examine potential differences in neurophysiological correlates, specifically through N1, P3, and LPP measurements, which may be related to TE and IC, examining their modulation according to psychopathic traits, different emotional conditions, and different decision-making conditions...

OBJECTIVE: Cross-national work on neurocognitive testing has been characterized by inconsistent findings, suggesting the need for improved harmonization. Here, we describe a prospective harmonization approach in an ongoing global collaborative study. METHOD: Visuospatial N -Back, Tower of London (ToL), Stop Signal task (SST), Risk Aversion (RA), and Intertemporal Choice (ITC) tasks were administered to 221 individuals from Brazil, India, the Netherlands, South Africa, and the USA...

Comorbid substance use disorders are highly prevalent in bipolar disorder, and research suggests that individuals with the comorbid presentation typically have worse outcomes than individuals with bipolar disorder without this comorbidity. However, psychosocial treatments for the comorbid presentation have not demonstrated effectiveness for both mood and substance use symptom domains, suggesting novel treatments are needed. An alternative path to treatment development is to identify mechanisms that underlie comorbid bipolar disorder and substance use disorders that can subsequently be targeted in treatment...

Delay discounting (or temporal discounting) refers to the decrease of the subjective value of a reward as the time interval for receiving that reward increases. A recent meta-analysis showed that delay discounting appears to be similar across the lifespan as younger, middle-aged, and older adults prefer sooner rewards, despite smaller, over later rewards, even if larger. However further investigation is needed to understand the potential role of individual factors in delay discounting across the lifespan. The present study aimed to contribute to this debate, by investigating the influence of sociodemographic, neurocognitive, and psychological variables on delay discounting...

Background: Vaccine hesitancy and inconsistent mitigation behavior performance have been significant challenges throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. In Canada, despite relatively high vaccine availability and uptake, willingness to accept booster shots and maintain mitigation behaviors in the post-acute phase of COVID-19 remain uncertain. The aim of the Canadian COVID-19 Experiences Project (CCEP) is threefold: 1) to identify social-cognitive and neurocognitive predictors of mitigation behaviors, 2) to identify optimal communication strategies to promote vaccination and mitigation behaviors, and 3) to examine brain health outcomes of SARS-CoV-2 infection and examine their longevity...

The capacity for subjective time in humans encompasses the perception of time's unfolding from moment to moment, as well as the ability to traverse larger temporal expanses of past- and future-oriented thought via mental time travel. Disruption in time perception can result in maladaptive outcomes-from the innocuous lapse in timing that leads to a burnt piece of toast, to the grievous miscalculation that produces a traffic accident-while disruption to mental time travel can impact core functions from planning appointments to making long-term decisions...

Introduction: Impairments in the multifaceted neuropsychological construct of cognitive impulsivity are a main feature of chronic tobacco smokers. According to the literature, these cognitive impairments are relevant for the initiation and maintenance of the smoking behavior. However, the neuroanatomical correlates of cognitive impulsivity in chronic smokers remain under-investigated. Methods: A sample of 28 chronic smokers (mean age = 28 years) not affected by polysubstance dependence and 24 matched non-smoker controls was recruited...

Obesity is a worldwide epidemic that is on the rise, with approximately 30% of the world population classified as either overweight or obese. The United States has some of the highest rates of obesity, and in most countries in the world, obesity now poses more of a serious health concern than malnutrition. Obesity is a chronic, relapsing disorder that is both preventable and treatable; however, traditional interventions that target eating less and exercising more have low success rates, especially in the long term...