The Bangor Gambling Task: Computerized replication and reappraisal of an emotion-based decision task

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Cognitive Psychology
• Decision Science

Background:

• Emotion-based decision making (EBDM) is crucial for adaptive behavior.
• Existing neuropsychological tasks for EBDM assessment, like the Bangor Gambling Task (BGT), lack computerized versions, hindering research.
• The original BGT is a simple card game assessing EBDM by requiring participants to adjust gambling behavior as winning probabilities decrease.

Purpose of the Study:

• To present a novel computerized version of the Bangor Gambling Task (BGT) developed in Matlab.
• To make the computerized BGT code publicly available to facilitate EBDM research.
• To evaluate the replicability, probabilistic structure, and efficiency of the computerized BGT.

Main Methods:

• Development of a computerized version of the BGT using Matlab.
• Administration of the computerized BGT to 81 participants.
• Analysis of trial-level and block-level gambling probabilities and task completion times.

Main Results:

• The computerized BGT was completed significantly faster (8.5 minutes) than the original paper version.
• Participants demonstrated reduced gambling probability over time, indicating learning and inhibition of initially rewarded behavior, consistent with EBDM.
• Later blocks of the task appear particularly sensitive for detecting EBDM deficits.

Conclusions:

• The computerized BGT is a rapid, reliable, and valid tool for assessing EBDM.
• The availability of the code will accelerate research into the mechanisms, validity, and clinical utility of EBDM.
• Proposed modifications may further enhance the task's utility in capturing initial learning and exploration phases of EBDM.