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Reversal learning in those with early psychosis features contingency-dependent changes in loss response and learning
Andrea Baker1, Shuichi Suetani1,2,3,4, Peter Cosgrove1
1Queensland Centre for Mental Health Research, Brisbane, Australia.
Cognitive Neuropsychiatry
|September 22, 2023
Summary
Individuals with early psychosis exhibit altered responses to loss and hyper-adaptability, suggesting cognitive changes that may be compensatory. This impacts decision-making and functional outcomes in psychotic disorders.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Cognitive Psychology
- Psychiatry
Background:
- Psychotic disorders are associated with decision-making impairments.
- Cognitive deficits in psychosis may worsen over time.
- Early psychosis may present different learning phenotypes than persistent psychosis.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate goal-directed action and reversal learning in early psychosis.
- To compare learning behaviors between individuals with early psychosis and controls.
Main Methods:
- Proof-of-concept study design.
- Examined goal-directed action and reversal learning.
- Utilized computational modeling for analysis.
Main Results:
- No group differences in outcome-specific devaluation or 80:20 reversal learning.
- Early psychosis group altered response to loss at 80:40 contingency.
- Computational modeling revealed altered punishment learning in early psychosis, increasing stimulus persistence after loss.
- Higher IQ and lower clinical severity correlated with greater altered response to loss in early psychosis.
Conclusions:
- Preliminary evidence suggests altered response to loss and hyper-adaptability in early psychosis.
- These cognitive alterations may be compensatory mechanisms.
- Potential link to corticostriatal changes in psychotic disorders.
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