Imprecise action selection in substance use disorder: Evidence for active learning impairments when solving the explore-exploit dilemma.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Substance use disorders (SUDs) are a major public health risk. However, mechanisms accounting for continued patterns of poor choices in the face of negative life consequences remain poorly understood.

Methods

We use a computational (active inference) modeling approach, combined with multiple regression and hierarchical Bayesian group analyses, to examine how treatment-seeking individuals with one or more SUDs (alcohol, cannabis, sedatives, stimulants, hallucinogens, and/or opioids; N = 147) and healthy controls (HCs; N = 54) make choices to resolve uncertainty within a gambling task. A subset of SUDs (N = 49) and HCs (N = 51) propensity-matched on age, sex, and verbal IQ were also compared to replicate larger group findings.

Results

Results indicate that: (

SUBMITTER: Smith R 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7502502 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature