A multi-pronged investigation of option generation using depression, PET and modafinil

Option generation is a critical process in decision making, but previous studies have largely focused on choices between options given by a researcher. Consequently, how we self-generate options for behaviour remain poorly understood. Here, we investigated option generation in major depressive disorder and how dopamine might modulate this process, as well as the effects of modafinil (a putative cognitive enhancer) on option generation in healthy individuals. We first compared differences in self-generated options between healthy non-depressed adults [n = 44, age = 26.3 years (SD 5.9)] and patients with major depressive disorder [n = 54, age = 24.8 years (SD 7.4)]. In the second study, a subset of depressed individuals [n = 22, age = 25.6 years (SD 7.8)] underwent PET scans with 11C-raclopride to examine the relationships between dopamine D2/D3 receptor availability and individual differences in option generation. Finally, a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, three-way crossover study of modafinil (100 mg and 200 mg), was conducted in an independent sample of healthy people [n = 19, age = 23.2 years (SD 4.8)] to compare option generation under different doses of this drug. The first study revealed that patients with major depressive disorder produced significantly fewer options [t(96) = 2.68, P = 0.009, Cohen's d = 0.54], albeit with greater uniqueness [t(96) = -2.54, P = 0.01, Cohen's d = 0.52], on the option generation task compared to healthy controls. In the second study, we found that 11C-raclopride binding potential in the putamen was negatively correlated with fluency (r = -0.69, P = 0.001) but positively associated with uniqueness (r = 0.59, P = 0.007). Hence, depressed individuals with higher densities of unoccupied putamen D2/D3 receptors in the putamen generated fewer but more unique options, whereas patients with lower D2/D3 receptor availability were likely to produce a larger number of similar options. Finally, healthy participants were less unique [F(2,36) = 3.32, P = 0.048, partial η2 = 0.16] and diverse [F(2,36) = 4.31, P = 0.021, partial η2 = 0.19] after taking 200 mg versus 100 mg and 0 mg of modafinil, while fluency increased linearly with dosage at a trend level [F(1,18) = 4.11, P = 0.058, partial η2 = 0.19]. Our results show, for the first time, that option generation is affected in clinical depression and that dopaminergic activity in the putamen of patients with major depressive disorder may play a key role in the self-generation of options. Modafinil was also found to influence option generation in healthy people by reducing the creativity of options produced.