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Neural Modulation in Approach-Avoidance Conflicts in Externalizing Psychopathology

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Abstract

Externalizing psychopathology (EXT) is characterized by poor decision-making in situations that involve simultaneous cues for approach and avoidance behavior (i.e. approach-avoidance conflicts). Previous studies of EXT have examined these deficits primarily using tasks involving decisions between positive reward and negative punishment, suggesting that EXT is characterized by a general bias towards high salience (e.g. temporally proximal or reward) cues relative to low salience (e.g. temporally distal or loss) cues. However, in order to better characterize decision-making in approach-avoidance conflicts, the present study utilized a novel task to examine neural activation in contexts involving both positive reward and negative punishment as well as positive punishment and negative reward by manipulating physical proximity of affective cues. Neuroimaging results indicated that EXT was associated with deficits related to cue prioritization based on salience, suggesting that failure to differentiate relevant from less relevant information contributes to poor decision-making among individuals with EXT.

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Notes

  1. The following IAPS images were used: Negative: 1019, 1022, 1050, 1112, 1200, 1201, 1205, 1274, 1300, 1302, 1303, 1310, 1525, 2095, 2661, 2681, 2683, 2692, 2710, 2722, 2730, 2800, 2981, 3101, 3160, 3170, 3230, 3266, 3280, 3301, 3350, 3500, 3530, 3550, 6020, 6190, 6211, 6212, 6244, 6313, 6370, 6555, 6821, 6830, 6490, 7359, 7380, 8230, 8231, 8480, 9008, 9120, 9230, 9301, 9410, 9433, 9810. Neutral: 2025, 2191, 2200, 2210, 2214, 2235, 2270, 2280, 2381, 2383, 2393, 2480, 2485, 2493, 2495, 2499, 2500, 2514, 2575, 2579, 2580, 2635, 2840, 2850, 2870, 2880, 2890, 4605, 5130, 5395, 5535, 5750, 6150, 7000, 7002, 7004, 7010, 7020, 7025, 7035, 7036, 7037, 7040, 7041, 7090, 7095, 7096, 7100, 7140, 7205, 7217, 7233, 7493, 7560, 7590, 8311. Positive: 1340, 1463, 1710, 2057, 2091, 2303, 2346, 2352, 2650, 2655, 4533, 4598, 4599, 4601, 4603, 4608, 4676, 5621, 5623, 5626, 5628, 7200, 7220, 7260, 7282, 7340, 7400, 7430, 7460, 7475, 7480, 7481, 7503, 7640, 8030, 8031, 8034, 8041, 8160, 8161, 8178, 8180, 8185, 8186, 8190, 8200, 8210, 8320, 8350, 8370, 8400, 8490, 8496, 8500, 8503, 8540.

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by a grant from the National Institute of Health and National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIH/NIAAA RO1 AA13650) to P.R.F., a National Institute on Drug Abuse training grant fellowship (NIDA T32 DA024628) to A.J.L, and by the Indiana METACyt Initiative of Indiana University, which was funded in part through a major grant from the Lilly Endowment, Inc. The authors wish to thank Andrew Jahn and Kyle Gerst for technical and computer programming support; Tony Walker and Jeff Sturgeon for input device design and programming; and Sean Berry, Colleen McCracken, and Tiffany Barrios for assistance with data collection.

Funding

This work was supported by a grant from the National Institute of Health and National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIH/NIAAA RO1 AA13650) to P.R.F., a National Institute on Drug Abuse training grant fellowship (NIDA T32 DA024628) to A.J.L, and by the Indiana METACyt Initiative of Indiana University, which was funded in part through a major grant from the Lilly Endowment, Inc.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychiatry, Indiana University School of Medicine, 355 W. 16th St., Suite 2800, Indianapolis, IN, 46202, USA

    Allison J. Lake

  2. Department of Psychological & Brain Sciences, Indiana University, 1101 E. 10th St, Bloomington, IN, 47405, USA

    Peter R. Finn & Thomas W. James

  3. Program in Neuroscience, Indiana University, 1101 E. 10th St, Bloomington, IN, 47405, USA

    Thomas W. James

  4. Cognitive Science Program, Indiana University, 819 Eigenmann, 1900 E. 10th St, Bloomington, IN, 47406, USA

    Thomas W. James

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  1. Allison J. Lake
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Lake, A.J., Finn, P.R. & James, T.W. Neural Modulation in Approach-Avoidance Conflicts in Externalizing Psychopathology. Brain Imaging and Behavior 15, 1007–1024 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11682-020-00308-4

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