Features of the reward-based decision-making in patients with alcohol use disorders

Galkin S.A.; Bokhan N.A.

doi:https://doi.org/10.17116/jnevro202312302137

Close metadata

Recommended articles:

Clinical and dynamic features of alcoholism formation in middle-aged and elderly patients with primary organic mental disorders. S.S. Korsakov Journal of Neurology and Psychiatry. 2024;(9):73-78

Polymorphic variants in the cluster of genes encoding trace amine receptors and cognitive functioning in patients with schizophrenia spectrum disorders and healthy controls. S.S. Korsakov Journal of Neurology and Psychiatry. 2024;(9):122-128

The technology of induction of physiological ketosis in asthenia of various origins and decreased resistance to cognitive and physical activity. S.S. Korsakov Journal of Neurology and Psychiatry. 2024;(10):48-54

A pilot study of associations of markers of glial and neuronal degeneration with executive functions in alcohol use disorders. S.S. Korsakov Journal of Neurology and Psychiatry. 2024;(10):74-79

Arterial hypertension is an oxidative stress, as a pathogenetic target for the treatment of chronic cerebrovascular insufficiency. S.S. Korsakov Journal of Neurology and Psychiatry. 2025;(1):84-90

Indicators of the background spectral power of the EEG in patients with alcohol dependence complicated by exogenous organic brain disease. S.S. Korsakov Journal of Neurology and Psychiatry. 2025;(1):112-118

Neurobiological potential of astragaloside IV and prospects for its use in the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease. S.S. Korsakov Journal of Neurology and Psychiatry. 2025;(2):7-12

Cognitive vascular disorders and morphometric parameters of the prefrontal, dorsolateral cortex and thalamus in post-stroke patients. S.S. Korsakov Journal of Neurology and Psychiatry. 2025;(2):91-95

Features of parameters of cerebral hemodynamics in patients with alcoholism with different flexibility of cognitive functions. S.S. Korsakov Journal of Neurology and Psychiatry. 2025;(2):96-100

The influence of neurofeedback on the β-rhythm of the brain on the characteristics of attention in athletes with different training orientations. Problems of Balneology, Physiotherapy and Exercise Therapy. 2024;(6-2):20-25

Abstract:

Foreign studies increasingly emphasize the role of reward-based cognitive decision-making and its contribution to alcohol and drug abuse. Unfortunately, such studies are extremely few in Russia. Given the importance of the insufficiency of cognitive functions, primarily the decision-making process based on reward, among the risk factors of addictive pathology, increasing the severity of alcoholism, reducing the effectiveness of its therapy and rehabilitation, research in this direction is extremely relevant. This review summarizes and systematizes current data on the features of the cognitive decision-making process based on reward in patients with alcohol dependence. An analysis of the literature has shown that reward-based decision making is an important component of addictive behavior. Patients with alcohol dependence, as well as people, who abuse alcohol, demonstrate clear impairment of this cognitive function. Thus, the relative value of diagnosing disorders in decision-making in modern psychiatry is beyond doubt. It is recommended to include the above tests in the diagnostic complex of a psychiatrist, along with standard psychometric tools.

Keywords:

alcohol use disorders

cognitive functions

decision-making

cognitive deficit

executive control

memory

attention

thinking

Authors:

Galkin S.A.

Mental Health Research Institute of the Tomsk National Research Medical Center of the Russian Academy of Science

ORCID: 0000-0002-7709-3917

Bokhan N.A.

Mental Health Research Institute of the Tomsk National Research Medical Center of the Russian Academy of Science

ORCID: 0000-0002-1052-855X

Received:

05.08.2022

Accepted:

08.08.2022

Close metadata

References:

Galkin SA, Bokhan NA. Anxiety level and EEG indicators in alcohol dependence: a model for predicting the duration of therapeutic remission. Rossijskij Psihiatricheskij Zhurnal. 2022;1:34-39. (In Russ.). https://doi.org/10.47877/1560-957X-2022-10104
Morogin VG, Kostina NP. Socio-psychological history of alcoholization In Russia. Medicinskaya Psihologiya v Rossii. 2013;5:16. (In Russ.).
Galkin SA, Bokhan NA. The role of functional brain activity in the impairment of inhibitory control in alcohol dependence. Zhurnal Nevrologii i Psikhiatrii im. S.S. Korsakova. 2021;11:67-72. (In Russ.). https://doi.org/10.17116/jnevro202112111167
Le Berre AP, Fama R, Sullivan EV. Executive Functions, Memory, and Social Cognitive Deficits and Recovery in Chronic Alcoholism: A Critical Review to Inform Future Research. Alcohol Clin Exp Res. 2017;8:1432-1443. https://doi.org/10.1111/acer.13431
Yen FS, Wang SI, Lin SY, et al. The impact of heavy alcohol consumption on cognitive impairment in young old and middle old persons. J Transl Med. 2022;1:155. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12967-022-03353-3
Stephan RA, Alhassoon OM, Allen KE, et al. Meta-analyses of clinical neuropsychological tests of executive dysfunction and impulsivity in alcohol use disorder. Am J Drug Alcohol Abuse. 2017;1:24-43. https://doi.org/10.1080/00952990.2016.1206113
Yang P, Tao R, He C, et al. The Risk Factors of the Alcohol Use Disorders-Through Review of Its Comorbidities. Front Neurosci. 2018;12:303. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnins.2018.00303
Day AM, Kahler CW, Ahern DC, Clark US. Executive Functioning in Alcohol Use Studies: A Brief Review of Findings and Challenges in Assessment. Curr Drug Abuse Rev. 2015;1:26-40. https://doi.org/10.2174/1874473708666150416110515
Draheim C, Pak R, Draheim AA, Engle RW. The role of attention control in complex real-world tasks. Psychon Bull Rev. 2022;1:55. https://doi.org/10.3758/s13423-021-02052-2
Paelecke-Habermann Y, Paelecke M, Mauth J, et al. A comparison of implicit and explicit reward learning in low risk alcohol users versus people who binge drink and people with alcohol dependence. Addict Behav Rep. 2019;9:100178. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.abrep.2019.100178
Riddle J, Alexander ML, Schiller CE, et al. Reward—based Decision—making Engages Distinct Modes of Cross-Frequency Coupling. Cereb Cortex. 2022;10:2079-2094. https://doi.org/10.1093/cercor/bhab336
Verdejo-Garcia A, Garcia-Fernandez G, Dom G. Cognition and addiction. Dialogues Clin Neurosci. 2019;3:281-290. https://doi.org/10.31887/DCNS.2019.21.3/gdom
Li Y, Hu X. Decision Making Approach with Focus Point and Regret. Wuhan Univ J Nat Sci. 2019;24:519-523. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11859-019-1431-5
Leonard S. The Foundations of Statistics. New York, Wiley. 1954;294. https://doi.org/10.1002/nav.3800010316
Andrade LF, Petry NM. Delay and probability discounting in pathological gamblers with and without a history of substance use problems. Psychopharmacology. 2012;219:491-499. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00213-011-2508-9
Hamilton KR, Littlefield AK, Anastasio NC, et al. Rapid-response impulsivity: Definitions, measurement issues, and clinical implications. Pers Disord Theor Res Treat. 2015;6:168. https://doi.org/10.1037/per0000100
Hamilton KR, Mitchell MR, Wing VC, et al. Choice impulsivity: Definitions, measurement issues, and clinical implications. Pers Disord Theor Res Treat. 2015;6:182. https://doi.org/10.1037/per0000099
Bickel WK, Marsch LA. Toward a behavioral economic understanding of drug dependence: delay discounting processes. Addiction. 2011;96:73-86. https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1360-0443.2001.961736.x
Wilson MJ, Vassilieva J. Decision-making under risk, but not under ambiguity, predicts pathological gambling in discrete types of abstinent substance users. Frontiers in Psychiatry. 2018;6:239. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyt.2018.00239
Clark L, Lawrence AJ, Sahakian BJ, Robbins TW. Impulsivity in problem gambling: a common marker across addictive behaviours? Biol Psychiatry. 2006;59:128. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biopsych.2006.03.006
Krain AL, Wilson AM, Arbuckle R, et al. Distinct neural mechanisms of risk and ambiguity: a meta-analysis of decision-making. Neuroimage. 2006;32:477-484. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuroimage.2006.02.047
Lemenager T, Richter A, Reinhard I, et al. Impaired decision making in opiate addiction correlates with anxiety and self-directedness but not substance use parameters. J Addict Med. 2011;5:203-213. https://doi.org/10.1097/ADM.0b013e31820b3e3d
Duarte NA, Woods SP, Rooney A, et al. Working memory deficits affect risky decision—making in methamphetamine users with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder. J Psychiatr Res. 2012;46:492-499. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpsychires.2012.01.006
Verdejo-Garcia A, Perez-Garcia M. Profile of executive deficits in cocaine and heroin polysubstance users: common and differential effects on separate executive components. Psychopharmacology. 2007;190:517-530. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00213-006-0632-8
Ciccarelli M, Griffiths MD, Nigro G, Cosenza M. Decision making, cognitive distortions and emotional distress: a comparison between pathological gamblers and healthy controls. J Behav Ther Exp Psychiatry. 2017;54:204-210. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbtep.2016.08.012
Brevers D, Bechara A, Cleeremans A, Noel X. Iowa Gambling Task (IGT): twenty years after-gambling disorder and IGT. Front Psychol. 2013;4:665. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2013.00665
Badiani A, Belin D, Epstein D, et al. Opiate versus psychostimulant addiction: the differences do matter. Nat Rev Neurosci. 2011;12:685-700. https://doi.org/10.1038/nrn3104
Bornovalova MA, Daughters SB, Hernandez GD, et al. Differences in impulsivity and risk-taking propensity between primary users of crack cocaine and primary users of heroin in a residential substance-use program. Exp Clin Psychopharmacol. 2005;13:311-318. https://doi.org/10.1037/1064-1297.13.4.311
Ersche KD, Clark L, London M, et al. Profile of executive and memory function associated with amphetamine and opiate dependence. Neuropsychopharmacology. 2006;31:1036-1047. https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.npp.1300889
Pirastu R, Fais R, Messina M, et al. Impaired decision—making in opiate-dependent subjects: effect of pharmacological therapies. Drug Alcohol Depend. 2006;83:163-168. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2005.11.008
Verdejo-Garcia A, Benbrook A, Funderburk F, et al. The differential relationship between cocaine use and marijuana use on decision-making performance over repeat testing with the Iowa Gambling Task. Drug Alcohol Depend. 2007;90:2-11. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2007.02.004
Verdejo-Garcia A, Chong T, Stout JC, et al. Stages of dysfunctional decision-making in addiction. Pharmacol Biochem Behav. 2018;164:99-105. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pbb.2017.02.003
Rogers RD, Everitt BJ, Baldacchino A, et al. Dissociable deficits in the decision-making cognition of chronic amphetamine abusers, opiate abusers, patients with focal damage to prefrontal cortex, and tryptophan-depleted normal volunteers: evidence for monoaminergic mechanisms. Neuropsychopharmacology. 1999;4:322-339. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0893-133X(98)00091-8
Bechara A. Iowa Gambling Task Professional Manual. Boca Raton, FL: Psychological Assessment Resources, Inc. 2007.
Liu X, Hairston J, Schrier M, Fan J. Common and distinct networks underlying reward valence and processing stages: a meta-analysis of functional neuroimaging studies. Neurosci Biobehav Rev. 2011;5:1219-1236. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neubiorev.2010.12.012
Yazdi K, Rumetshofer T, Gnauer M, et al. Neurobiological processes during the Cambridge gambling task. Behav Brain Res. 2019;356:295-304. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bbr.2018.08.017
Czapla M, Simon JJ, Richter B, et al. The impact of cognitive impairment and impulsivity on relapse of alcohol-dependent patients: implications for psychotherapeutic treatment. Addict Biol. 2016;4:873-884. https://doi.org/10.1111/adb.12229
Lawrence AJ, Luty J, Bogdan NA, et al. Problem gamblers share deficits in impulsive decision-making with alcohol-dependent individuals. Addiction. 2009;104:1006-1015. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1360-0443.2009.02533.x
Canessa N, Basso G, Carne I, et al. Increased decision latency in alcohol use disorder reflects altered resting-state synchrony in the anterior salience network. Sci Rep. 2021;1:19581. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-99211-1
Al-Zahrani MA, Elsayed YA. The impacts of substance abuse and dependence on neuropsychological functions in a sample of patients from Saudi Arabia. Behav Brain Funct. 2009;5:48. https://doi.org/10.1186/1744-9081-5-48
Davies SJ, Pandit SA, Feeney A, et al. Is there cognitive impairment in clinically ‘healthy’ abstinent alcohol dependence? Alcohol Alcohol. 2005;6:498-503. https://doi.org/10.1093/alcalc/agh203
Fama R, Rosenbloom MJ, Sassoon SA, et al. Differential effect of alcoholism and HIV infection on visuomotor procedural learning and retention. Alcohol Clin Exp Res. 2012;36:1738-1747. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1530-0277.2012.01790.x
Frolova YuG, Lado AV. Decision-making factors in patients with alcohol dependence. Zhurnal Belorusskogo Gosudarstvennogo Universiteta. Filosofiya. Psihologiya. 2018;2:101-107. (In Russ.).
Subay B, Sonmez MB. Interoceptive Awareness, Decision—making and Impulsiveness in Male Patients with Alcohol or Opioid Use Disorder. Subst Use Misuse. 2021;9:1275-1283. https://doi.org/10.1080/10826084.2021.1914108
Kovacs I, Richman MJ, Janka Z, et al. Decision making measured by the Iowa Gambling Task in alcohol use disorder and gambling disorder: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Drug Alcohol Depend. 2017;181:152-161. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2017.09.023
Lejuez CW, Read JP, Kahler CW, et al. Evaluation of a behavioral measure of risk taking: the Balloon Analogue Risk Task (BART). J Exp Psychol Appl. 2002;2:75-84. https://doi.org/10.1037/1076-898x.8.2.75
Raspopova NI, Dzhamantayeva MSh, Murzabayeva RA. The role of social and personal factors in the genesis of addictive disorders. Vestnik Kazahskogo Nacional’nogo Medicinskogo Universiteta. 2019;1:228-236. (In Russ.).
Ashenhurst JR, Jentsch JD, Ray LA. Risk-taking and alcohol use disorders symptomatology in a sample of problem drinkers. Exp Clin Psychopharmacol. 2011;5:361-370. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0024412
Fernie G, Cole JC, Goudie AJ, Field M. Risk-taking but not response inhibition or delay discounting predict alcohol consumption in social drinkers. Drug and Alcohol Dependence. 2010;1-2:54-61.
Rose AK, Jones A, Clarke N, Christiansen P. Alcohol-induced risk taking on the BART mediates alcohol priming. Psychopharmacology (Berl). 2014;11:2273-2280. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00213-013-3377-1
Campbell JA, Samartgis JR, Crowe SF. Impaired decision making on the Balloon Analogue Risk Task as a result of long-term alcohol use. J Clin Exp Neuropsychol. 2013;10:1071-1081. https://doi.org/10.1080/13803395.2013.856382
Canning JR, Schallert MR, Larimer ME. A Systematic Review of the Balloon Analogue Risk Task (BART) in Alcohol Research. Alcohol Alcohol. 2022;1:85-103. https://doi.org/10.1093/alcalc/agab004
Claus ED, Hutchison KE. Neural mechanisms of risk taking and relationships with hazardous drinking. Alcohol Clin Exp Res. 2012;6:932-940. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1530-0277.2011.01694.x
Forster SE, Finn PR, Brown JW. A preliminary study of longitudinal neuroadaptation associated with recovery from addiction. Drug Alcohol Depend. 2016;168:52-60. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2016.08.626
Yarosh HL, Hyatt CJ, Meda SA, et al. Relationships between reward sensitivity, risk-taking and family history of alcoholism during an interactive competitive fMRI task. PLoS One. 2014;2:e88188. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0088188
Murray DE, Durazzo TC, Mon A, et al. Brain perfusion in polysubstance users: relationship to substance and tobacco use, cognition, and self-regulation. Drug Alcohol Depend. 2015;150:120-128. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2015.02.022
Gomez P, Ratcliff R, Perea M. A model of the go/no-go task. J Exp Psychol Gen. 2007;3:389-413. https://doi.org/10.1037/0096-3445.136.3.389
Kreusch F, Quertemont E, Vilenne A, Hansenne M. Alcohol abuse and ERP components in Go/No-go tasks using alcohol-related stimuli: impact of alcohol avoidance. Int J Psychophysiol. 2014;1:92-99. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijpsycho.2014.08.001
Ahmadi A, Pearlson GD, Meda SA. Influence of alcohol use on neural response to Go/No-Go task in college drinkers. Neuropsychopharmacology. 2013;11:2197-2208. https://doi.org/10.1038/npp.2013.119
Zhao X, Qian W, Fu L, Maes J. Deficits in go/no-go task performance in male undergraduate high-risk alcohol users are driven by speeded responding to go stimuli. Am J Drug Alcohol Abuse. 2017;6:656-663. https://doi.org/10.1080/00952990.2017.1282502
Liu Y, Grasman R, Wiers RW, et al. Moderate acute alcohol use impairs intentional inhibition rather than stimulus-driven inhibition. Psychol Res. 2021;4:1449-1461. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00426-020-01353-w
Galkin SA, Peshkovskaya AG, Kisel NI. Inhibitory (restraining) control in alcohol dependence: clinical significance. Narkologiya. 2022;7:27-34. (In Russ.).
Galkin SA, Ivanova SA, Bokhan NA. Executive functions and their role in predicting therapeutic response in patients with depressive disorders. Zhurnal Nevrologii i Psikhiatrii im. S.S. Korsakova. 2021;5:40-44. (In Russ.). https://doi.org/10.17116/jnevro202112105140
Galkin SA, Vasilyeva SN, Ivanova SA, Bokhan NA. Inhibitory control and its effect on the therapy of patients with affective disorders. Rossijskij Psihiatricheskij Zhurnal. 2020;4:71-76. (In Russ.). https://doi.org/10.24411/1560-957X-2020-10409
Galkin SA, Peshkovskaya AG, Roshchina OV, et al. Features of brain activity in alcohol dependence in the task of inhibitory control. Bulletin of Siberian Medicine. 2020;4:38-45. (In Russ.). https://doi.org/10.20538/1682-0363-2020-4-38-45
Correas A, Lopez-Caneda E, Beaton L, et al. Decreased event-related theta power and phase-synchrony in young binge drinkers during target detection: An anatomically-constrained MEG approach. J Psychopharmacol. 2019;3:335-346. https://doi.org/10.1177/0269881118805498
Anton-Toro LF, Bruna R, Suarez-Mendez I, et al. Abnormal organization of inhibitory control functional networks in future binge drinkers. Drug Alcohol Depend. 2021;218:108401. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2020.108401
Shibata T, Shimoyama I, Ito T, et al. The time course of interhemispheric EEG coherence during a GO/NO-GO task in humans. Neurosci Lett. 2005;23:117-120.
Shibata T, Shimoyama I, Ito T, et al. The synchronization between brain areas under motor inhibition process in humans estimated by event-related EEG coherence. Neurosci Res. 2006;31:265-271.