Neurobehavioral differences in value-based decision making between people with cocaine use disorder and controls

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Decision Science
• Addiction Research

Background:

• Value-based decision-making is crucial for maximizing rewards in dynamic environments.
• Corticostriatal dopamine pathways, vital for value processing, are dysregulated in cocaine use disorder.
• Previous research has not fully explored how cocaine use disorder affects value-based decision-making.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate value-based decision-making differences between individuals with cocaine use disorder (pwCocUD) and controls.
• To examine the neural mechanisms underlying these differences using reinforcement learning modeling and fMRI.
• To understand how altered decision-making contributes to suboptimal choices in low-reward contexts.

Main Methods:

• A probabilistic concurrent monetary choice task with reversals was administered.
• Reinforcement learning modeling was used to assess decision-making parameters (e.g., β).
• Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) measured brain activity during decision-making.

Main Results:

• Both groups responded to reinforcement probabilities, but pwCocUD chose high-probability rewards less often.
• Reinforcement learning models showed lower β estimates in pwCocUD, indicating less consistent use of option values.
• Correlations between value-based choice consistency (β) and brain activity in reward and control regions differed significantly between groups, particularly in the dorsal anterior cingulate cortex.

Conclusions:

• Individuals with cocaine use disorder exhibit impaired value-based decision-making, characterized by reduced choice consistency and altered neural processing in key control regions.
• These findings highlight the impact of cocaine use disorder on the ability to adapt choices in uncertain, low-reward environments.
• Targeting neural networks involved in value-based decision-making may offer new avenues for neuromodulation interventions for cocaine use disorder.