Defensive freezing and its relation to approach-avoidance decision-making under threat

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Cognitive Psychology
• Decision Science

Background:

• Effective decision-making under acute threat is crucial for survival.
• Threat-induced physiological states, such as bradycardia (slowed heart rate), can influence decision-making processes.
• Understanding these influences is vital for improving interventions for conditions like anxiety and for professionals in high-stress occupations.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate how threat-induced bradycardia affects approach-avoidance decisions.
• To determine the computational mechanisms underlying value-based decisions under threat.
• To explore the interaction between physiological states, action tendencies, and decision-making.

Main Methods:

• Forty-two participants completed passive and active approach-avoidance tasks.
• Participants faced mixed outcomes of monetary gains and shock avoidance under threat of shock.
• Choice behavior was modeled, incorporating individual action tendencies and bradycardia alongside subjective outcome value.

Main Results:

• Decision-making was best predicted by a model including action tendencies and bradycardia, beyond subjective value.
• Threat-related bradycardia interacted with subjective value, modulated by the action context (passive vs. active).
• In action contexts incongruent with intrinsic tendencies, stronger bradycardia reduced the impact of subjective value on choices.

Conclusions:

• Physiological states like bradycardia significantly influence approach-avoidance decisions under threat.
• Models of decision-making must incorporate internal psychophysiological states and external action contexts for greater accuracy.
• Findings may inform biofeedback techniques to optimize decision-making under threat and aid in treating maladaptive decision patterns.