Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 8, 2026
06:11
A Conflict Model of Reward-seeking Behavior in Male Rats
Published on: February 20, 2019
Substance use and the value of control.
Elle M Giovanni1,2,3, Mimi Liljeholm4,5,6
1Department of Cognitive Sciences, University of California, Irvine, CA, USA.
Cognitive, Affective & Behavioral Neuroscience
|May 6, 2026
Summary
Substance use impacts decision-making, affecting the desire for control. Abstinence from psychostimulants increases preference for control, while opioid and alcohol abstinence shifts choices towards divergent outcomes and free will.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Cognitive Psychology
- Behavioral Economics
Background:
- Substance use disorders are characterized by a loss of control over consumption.
- Limited research explores how substance use affects agency and motivated behavior.
- Understanding these effects is crucial for addiction treatment and recovery.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the relationship between substance use history and the preference for environmental control.
- To examine how abstinence duration influences decision-making in controllable versus uncontrollable environments.
- To explore the neural underpinnings of agency in individuals with a history of substance use.
Main Methods:
- Utilized a hierarchical gambling task to assess preference for controllable environments.
- Employed cross-sectional substance use surveys to categorize participants.
- Applied computational cognitive modeling to analyze decision-making patterns.
- Included adult humans with self-reported abstinence from psychostimulants, opioids, alcohol, or sedatives.
Main Results:
- Longer abstinence from psychostimulants selectively increased the preference for instrumental control.
- Longer abstinence from opioids predicted increased preference for divergent outcome distributions.
- Longer abstinence from alcohol predicted increased preference for free choice, independent of controllability.
- These associations were distinct from the ability to maximize monetary payoffs.
Conclusions:
- Substance use history differentially impacts the valuation of agency and control in decision-making.
- The dopaminergic system is implicated in the coding of agency, influenced by substance use.
- Findings suggest distinct recovery trajectories for different substance use disorders regarding agency and control preferences.
Related Concept Videos
01:24Substance Use Disorders Affecting Sleep
Substance use disorders involve a pattern of using drugs more extensively than intended and continuing use despite harmful consequences. This includes legal substances like alcohol and nicotine, as well as illegal drugs. These disorders often involve both physical and psychological dependence, reflecting compulsive use of substances that significantly alter thoughts, feelings, and behaviors, contributing to a major public health issue.
Understanding the concepts of physical dependence,...
Understanding the concepts of physical dependence,...
01:17Drug Dependence
Medications are typically administered to achieve therapeutic effects. Some drugs can modify an individual's mood and perception, frequently resulting in various enjoyable experiences. However, this can result in drug dependency, a condition marked by continuous drug use despite potential negative consequences. Drug dependency primarily falls into two categories: psychological and physical dependence. Psychological dependence occurs when the pleasurable feelings induced by the drug...
01:25Self-Regulation
Self-regulation, also known as self-control, encompasses a range of cognitive and behavioral processes that allow individuals to adjust their internal states and outward actions to align with socially acceptable norms and long-term goals. It plays a fundamental role in adaptive functioning, from resisting impulsive behaviors to persisting through challenging tasks. While its benefits are widely recognized, self-regulation is not limitless. Muraven and Baumeister's theory posits that...
02:05Self-Presentation: Self-Monitoring and Self-Handicapping
People can go to great lengths to protect their self-image and present themselves in ways that they want others to see them. Sociologist Erving Goffman presented the idea that a person is like an actor on a stage. Calling his theory dramaturgy, Goffman believed that we use “impression management” to present ourselves to others as we hope to be perceived. Each situation is a new scene, and individuals perform different roles depending on who is present (Goffman, 1959). Think about the way you...
01:15Drug Abuse and Addiction: Pharmacological Phenomena
Drug dependence, abuse, and addiction are complex phenomena that can precipitate various abnormal states. Physical dependence refers to a state of pharmacological adaptation to a drug. This adaptation often results in tolerance—a reduced response to the drug after repeated administrations. When the drug use is abruptly stopped, withdrawal symptoms occur due to the body's need to readjust from the pharmacologically induced imbalance. However, tolerance and withdrawal symptoms do not necessarily...
02:45Self-Discrepancy Theory
One influential perspective on what motivates people's behavior is detailed in Tory Higgin's self-discrepancy theory (Higgins, 1987). He proposed that people hold disagreeing internal representations of themselves that lead to different emotional states.