The Personality Trait of Intolerance to Uncertainty Affects Behavior in a Novel Computer-Based Conditioned Place Preference Task

Radell, Milen L.; Myers, Catherine E.; Beck, Kevin D.; Moustafa, Ahmed A.; Allen, Merrill J.

doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2016.01175

Cited by 22 publications

(22 citation statements)

References 65 publications

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“…Another learning task applicable to addiction in animal models is conditioned place preference in which a location is paired with a reward such as drug administration. Radell et al [ 66 ] found that high IU individuals tended to enter a more rewarding room first and concluded that IU may produce a cognitive bias that results in decision making processes which increase vulnerability to addiction.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Intolerance of uncertainty in opioid dependency – Relationship with trait anxiety and impulsivity

et al. 2017

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Intolerance of uncertainty (IU) is the tendency to interpret ambiguous situations as threatening and having negative consequences, resulting in feelings of distress and anxiety. IU has been linked to a number of anxiety disorders, and anxiety felt in the face of uncertainty may result in maladaptive behaviors such as impulsive decision making. Although there is strong evidence that anxiety and impulsivity are risk factors for addiction, there is a paucity of research examining the role of IU in this disorder. The rate of opioid addiction, in particular, has been rising steadily in recent years, which necessitates deeper understanding of risk factors in order to develop effective prevention and treatment methods. The current study tested for the first time whether opioid-dependent adults are less tolerant of uncertainty compared to a healthy comparison group. Opioid dependent patients undergoing methadone maintenance therapy (n = 114) and healthy comparisons (n = 69) completed the following scales: Intolerance of Uncertainty Scale, the Barrett Impulsivity Scale, and the State Trait Anxiety Inventory. Analysis revealed that these measures were positively correlated with each other and that opioid-dependent patients had significantly higher IU scores. Regression analysis revealed that anxiety mediated the relationship between IU and impulsivity. Hierarchical moderation regression found an interaction between addiction status and impulsivity on IU scores in that the relationship between these variables was only observed in the patient group. Findings suggest that IU is a feature of addiction but does not necessarily play a unique role. Further research is needed to explore the complex relationship between traits and how they may contribute to the development and maintenance of addiction.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Intolerance of uncertainty in opioid dependency – Relationship with trait anxiety and impulsivity

et al. 2017

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“…As highlighted by others [5, 6, 9], virtual reality CPP tasks provide the opportunity to assess the brain substrates involved in conditioned reward. Importantly, this task could also be used to assess the effects of pharmacological treatments on both the acquisition and extinction of appetitive conditioning.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Most recently, Astur and colleagues [8] extended their model to show that individuals exhibited a CPP for an environment associated with points, or secondary reinforcers with no intrinsic value. Finally, Radell et al [9] used a modified virtual reality CPP task with contingent delivery of secondary reinforcers (golden eggs) to show that individuals with a preference for familiarity over unpredictability exhibited a bias toward a room associated with a high probability of reward. Together these studies have demonstrated that it is possible to establish preferences for virtual environments associated with music, food and secondary reinforcers.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Virtual reality conditioned place preference using monetary reward

Childs

Astur

Wit

2017

Behavioural Brain Research

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Computerized tasks based on conditioned place preference (CPP) methodology offer the opportunity to study learning mechanisms involved in conditioned reward in humans. In this study, we examined acquisition and extinction of a CPP for virtual environments associated with monetary reward ($). Healthy men and women (N=57) completed a computerized CPP task in which they controlled an avatar within a virtual environment. On day 1, subjects completed 6 conditioning trials in which one room was paired with high $ and another with low $. Acquisition of place conditioning was assessed by measuring the time spent in each room during an exploration test of the virtual environments and using self-reported ratings of room liking and preference. Twenty-four hours later, retention and extinction of CPP were assessed during 4 successive exploration tests of the virtual environments. Participants exhibited a place preference for (spent significantly more time in) the virtual room paired with high $ over the one paired with low $ (p=0.015). They also reported that they preferred the high $ room (p<0.001) and liked it significantly more than the low $ room (p<0.001). However, these preferences were short-lived: 24h later subjects did not exhibit a behavioral or subjective preference for the high $ room. These findings show that individuals exhibit transient behavioral and subjective preferences for a virtual environment paired with monetary reward. Variations on this task may be useful to study mechanisms and brain substrates involved in conditioned reward and to examine the influence of drugs upon appetitive conditioning.

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“…Several computer-based analogues have been developed for use in humans ( Childs & De Wit, 2009 ; Molet, Billiet & Bardo, 2013 ; Astur, Carew & Deaton, 2014 ; Childs, Astur & De Wit, 2017 ). Most relevant to the current work is a study that examined whether IU was associated with CPP in a probabilistic task where college students could forage for reward (i.e., points in the task) in two virtual rooms, one of which was associated with more frequent reward ( Radell et al, 2016 ). This study found that, when given a choice, participants with higher IU tended to return to the room previously associated with a higher chance of reward, while those with lower IU showed no such preference ( Radell et al, 2016 ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Most relevant to the current work is a study that examined whether IU was associated with CPP in a probabilistic task where college students could forage for reward (i.e., points in the task) in two virtual rooms, one of which was associated with more frequent reward ( Radell et al, 2016 ). This study found that, when given a choice, participants with higher IU tended to return to the room previously associated with a higher chance of reward, while those with lower IU showed no such preference ( Radell et al, 2016 ). There are multiple possible interpretations of this preference, including that it may have resulted from a tendency to choose the more certain choice, i.e., returning to a location known to contain reward in the past, or from an increased tendency to pursue reward ( Radell et al, 2016 ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Intolerance of uncertainty and conditioned place preference in opioid addiction

Radell

Allen

Favaloro

et al. 2018

PeerJ

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Several personality factors have been implicated in vulnerability to addiction by impacting learning and decision making. One such factor is intolerance of uncertainty (IU), the tendency to perceive uncertain situations negatively and avoid them. Conditioned place preference (CPP), which compares preference for contexts paired with reward, has been used to examine the motivation for both drug and non-drug rewards. However, preference for locations associated with non-drug reward, as well as the potential influence of IU, has not been thoroughly studied in individuals with addiction. In the current study, we examined CPP using a computer-based task in a sample of addicted individuals undergoing opioid maintenance treatment and never-addicted controls. Patients were confirmed to have higher IU than controls. In the CPP task, the two groups did not differ in overall time spent in the previously-rewarded context. However, controls were more likely than patients to immediately return to this context. Contrary to our predictions, IU was not a significant predictor of preference for the previously-rewarded context, although higher IU in controls was associated with a higher number of rewards obtained in the task. No such relationship was found in patients.

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The Personality Trait of Intolerance to Uncertainty Affects Behavior in a Novel Computer-Based Conditioned Place Preference Task

Cited by 22 publications

References 65 publications

Intolerance of uncertainty in opioid dependency – Relationship with trait anxiety and impulsivity

Intolerance of uncertainty in opioid dependency – Relationship with trait anxiety and impulsivity

Virtual reality conditioned place preference using monetary reward

Intolerance of uncertainty and conditioned place preference in opioid addiction

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