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- Buchanan, E. M., et al.
(author)
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The Psychological Science Accelerator's COVID-19 rapid-response dataset
- 2023
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In: Scientific Data. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 2052-4463. ; 10:1
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Psychological Science Accelerator coordinated three large-scale psychological studies to examine the effects of loss-gain framing, cognitive reappraisals, and autonomy framing manipulations on behavioral intentions and affective measures. The data collected (April to October 2020) included specific measures for each experimental study, a general questionnaire examining health prevention behaviors and COVID-19 experience, geographical and cultural context characterization, and demographic information for each participant. Each participant started the study with the same general questions and then was randomized to complete either one longer experiment or two shorter experiments. Data were provided by 73,223 participants with varying completion rates. Participants completed the survey from 111 geopolitical regions in 44 unique languages/dialects. The anonymized dataset described here is provided in both raw and processed formats to facilitate re-use and further analyses. The dataset offers secondary analytic opportunities to explore coping, framing, and self-determination across a diverse, global sample obtained at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, which can be merged with other time-sampled or geographic data.
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- Verharen, J. P. H., et al.
(author)
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Limbic control over the homeostatic need for sodium
- 2019
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In: Scientific Reports. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 2045-2322. ; 9
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The homeostatic need for sodium is one of the strongest motivational drives known in animals. Although the brain regions involved in the sensory detection of sodium levels have been mapped relatively well, data about the neural basis of the motivational properties of salt appetite, including a role for midbrain dopamine cells, have been inconclusive. Here, we employed a combination of fiber photometry, behavioral pharmacology and c-Fos immunohistochemistry to study the involvement of the mesocorticolimbic dopamine system in salt appetite in rats. We observed that sodium deficiency affected the responses of dopaminergic midbrain neurons to salt tasting, suggesting that these neurons encode appetitive properties of sodium. We further observed a significant reduction in the consumption of salt after pharmacological inactivation of the nucleus accumbens (but not the medial prefrontal cortex), and microstructure analysis of licking behavior suggested that this was due to decreased motivation for, but not appreciation of salt. However, this was not dependent on dopaminergic neurotransmission in that area, as infusion of a dopamine receptor antagonist into the nucleus accumbens did not alter salt appetite. We conclude that the nucleus accumbens, but not medial prefrontal cortex, is important for the behavioral expression of salt appetite by mediating its motivational component, but that the switch in salt appreciation after sodium depletion, although detected by midbrain dopamine neurons, must arise from other areas.
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| 6. |
- Verharen, J. P. H., et al.
(author)
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Corticolimbic mechanisms of behavioral inhibition under threat of punishment
- 2019
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In: Journal of Neuroscience. - 0270-6474. ; 39:22, s. 4353-4364
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Being able to limit the pursuit of reward to prevent negative consequences is an important expression of behavioral inhibition. Everyday examples of an inability to exert such control over behavior are the overconsumption of food and drugs of abuse, which are important factors in the development of obesity and addiction, respectively. Here, we use a behavioral task that assesses the ability of male rats to exert behavioral restraint at the mere sight of palatable food during the presentation of an audiovisual threat cue to investigate the corticolimbic underpinnings of behavioral inhibition. We demonstrate a prominent role for the medial prefrontal cortex in the exertion of control over behavior under threat of punishment. Moreover, task engagement relies on function of the ventral striatum, whereas the basolateral amygdala mediates processing of the threat cue. Together, these data show that inhibition of reward pursuit requires the coordinated action of a network of corticolimbic structures. © 2019, Society for Neuroscience. All rights reserved.
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| 7. |
- Verharen, J. P. H., et al.
(author)
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Dopaminergic contributions to behavioral control under threat of punishment in rats
- 2020
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In: Psychopharmacology. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 0033-3158 .- 1432-2072. ; 237, s. 1769-1782
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Rationale Excessive intake of rewards, such as food and drugs, often has explicit negative consequences, including the development of obesity and addiction, respectively. Thus, choosing not to pursue reward is the result of a cost/benefit decision, proper execution of which requires inhibition of behavior. An extensive body of preclinical and clinical evidence implicates dopamine in certain forms of inhibition of behavior, but it is not fully known how it contributes to behavioral inhibition under threat of explicit punishment. Objectives To assess the involvement of midbrain dopamine neurons and their corticostriatal output regions, the ventral striatum and prefrontal cortex, in control over behavior under threat of explicit (foot shock) punishment in rats. Methods We used a recently developed behavioral inhibition task, which assesses the ability of rats to exert behavioral restraint at the mere sight of food reward, under threat of foot shock punishment. Using in vivo fiber photometry, chemogenetics, c-Fos immunohistochemistry, and behavioral pharmacology, we investigated how dopamine neurons in the ventral tegmental area, as well as its output areas, the ventral striatum and prefrontal cortex, contribute to behavior in this task. Results Using this multidisciplinary approach, we found little evidence for a direct involvement of ascending midbrain dopamine neurons in inhibitory control over behavior under threat of punishment. For example, photometry recordings suggested that VTA DA neurons do not directly govern control over behavior in the task, as no differences were observed in neuronal population activity during successful versus unsuccessful behavioral control. In addition, chemogenetic and pharmacological manipulations of the mesocorticolimbic DA system had little or no effect on the animals' ability to exert inhibitory control over behavior. Rather, the dopamine system appeared to have a role in the motivational components of reward pursuit. Conclusions Together, our data provide insight into the mesocorticolimbic mechanisms behind motivated behaviors by showing a modulatory role of dopamine in the expression of cost/benefit decisions. In contrast to our expectations, dopamine did not appear to directly mediate the type of behavioral control that is tested in our task.
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| 8. |
- Verharen, J. P. H., et al.
(author)
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How Reward and Aversion Shape Motivation and Decision Making: A Computational Account
- 2020
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In: Neuroscientist. - : SAGE Publications. - 1073-8584. ; 26:1, s. 87-99
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Processing rewarding and aversive signals lies at the core of many adaptive behaviors, including value-based decision making. The brain circuits processing these signals are widespread and include the prefrontal cortex, amygdala and striatum, and their dopaminergic innervation. In this review, we integrate historic findings on the behavioral and neural mechanisms of value-based decision making with recent, groundbreaking work in this area. On the basis of this integrated view, we discuss a neuroeconomic framework of value-based decision making, use this to explain the motivation to pursue rewards and how motivation relates to the costs and benefits associated with different courses of action. As such, we consider substance addiction and overeating as states of altered value-based decision making, in which the expectation of reward chronically outweighs the costs associated with substance use and food consumption, respectively. Together, this review aims to provide a concise and accessible overview of important literature on the neural mechanisms of behavioral adaptation to reward and aversion and how these mediate motivated behaviors.
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- Verharen, J. P. H., et al.
(author)
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Insensitivity to Losses: A Core Feature in Patients With Anorexia Nervosa?
- 2019
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In: Biological Psychiatry: Cognitive Neuroscience and Neuroimaging. - : Elsevier BV. - 2451-9022.
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Background: Patients with anorexia nervosa (AN) demonstrate aberrations in choice behavior, including impairments in laboratory measures of decision making. Although a wealth of studies suggest that these aberrations arise from alterations in value processing, it remains unclear by which core component of value processing this is mediated. Methods: We fit trial-by-trial data of patients with AN (n = 60 first cohort, n = 216 second cohort) and healthy control participants (n = 55) performing the Iowa Gambling Task to a computational model based on prospect utility theory. We determined, per participant, the best-fit model parameters and compared these between the groups. Results: Analyses revealed a decreased estimate of model parameter λ in patients with AN, indicative of an attenuation of loss-aversive behavior in the Iowa Gambling Task. In comparison, measures of reward sensitivity, value-based learning, and exploration versus exploitation were unaltered in patients with AN. A measurement in a second independent cohort replicated the finding that loss aversion, typically observed in healthy individuals, is reduced in patients with AN. Conclusions: We show that patients with AN, in contrast to healthy control participants, demonstrate reduced loss-aversive behavior. This finding provides important fundamental insights into the decision-making capacity of patients with AN, suggesting alterations in the mechanisms involved in value processing related to negative feedback. © 2019
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