Pharmacological investigations of effort-based decision-making in humans: Naltrexone and nicotine.

ABSTRACT: Many mental health disorders are characterized by an impaired ability, or willingness, to exert effort to obtain rewards. This impairment is modeled in effort-based decision tasks, and neuropharmacological studies implicate dopamine in this process. However, other transmitter systems such as opioidergic and cholinergic systems have received less attention. Here, in two separate studies we tested the acute effects of naltrexone and nicotine on effort-based decision-making in healthy adults. In Study 1, we compared naltrexone (50mg and 25mg) to placebo, and in Study 2, a pilot study, we compared nicotine (7mg) to placebo. In both studies, participants completed the Effort Expenditure for Rewards Task (EEfRT), which measured effort-based decision-making related to monetary rewards. Although s

SUBMITTER: Nunez C 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9534411 | biostudies-literature | 2022

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature