Wyckmans Florent, Chatard Armand, Kornreich Charles, Gruson Damien, Jaafari Nemat, Noël Xavier
Laboratoire de Psychologie Médicale et d'Addictologie, Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB), place Van Gehuchten 4, 1020 Brussels, Belgium.
Faculty of Psychology, Université de Poitiers, MSHS Bat A5 - 5, rue Théodore Lefebvre, 86073 Poitiers, France.
Addict Behav Rep. 2024 Nov 23;20:100574. doi: 10.1016/j.abrep.2024.100574. eCollection 2024 Dec.
From both clinical and theoretical perspectives, understanding the functionality of evaluative reinforcement learning mechanisms (Model-Free, MF, and Model-Based, MB) under provoked stress, particularly in Alcohol Use Disorder (AUD), is crucial yet underexplored. This study aims to evaluate whether individuals with AUD who do not seek treatment show a greater tendency towards retrospective behaviors (MF) rather than prospective and deliberative simulations (MB) compared to controls. Additionally, it examines the impact of induced social stress on these decision-making processes.
A cohort comprising 117 participants, including 55 individuals with AUD and 62 controls, was examined. Acute social stress was induced through the socially evaluated cold pressor task (SECPT), followed by engagement in a Two-Step Markov task to assess MB and MF learning tendencies. We measured hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis stress response using salivary cortisol levels.
Both groups showed similar baseline cortisol levels and responses to the SECPT. Our findings indicate that participants with AUD exhibit a reduced reliance on MB strategies compared to those without AUD. Furthermore, stress decreases reliance on MB strategies in healthy participants, but this effect is not observed in those with AUD.
An atypical pattern of stress modulation impacting the balance between MB and MF reinforcement learning was identified in individuals with AUD who are not seeking treatment. Potential explanations for these findings and their clinical implications are explored.
从临床和理论角度来看，了解在应激状态下，尤其是酒精使用障碍（AUD）中，评估性强化学习机制（无模型，MF，和基于模型，MB）的功能至关重要，但尚未得到充分探索。本研究旨在评估与对照组相比，未寻求治疗的AUD个体是否更倾向于回顾性行为（MF）而非前瞻性和深思熟虑的模拟（MB）。此外，研究还考察了诱发的社会应激对这些决策过程的影响。
对117名参与者组成的队列进行了研究，其中包括55名AUD个体和62名对照。通过社会评估冷加压任务（SECPT）诱发急性社会应激，并随后进行两步马尔可夫任务以评估MB和MF学习倾向。我们使用唾液皮质醇水平测量下丘脑-垂体-肾上腺轴应激反应。
两组在皮质醇基线水平和对SECPT的反应方面相似。我们的数据表明，与无AUD的参与者相比，AUD参与者对MB策略的依赖程度降低。此外，应激会降低健康参与者对MB策略的依赖，但在AUD患者中未观察到这种效应。
在未寻求治疗的AUD个体中发现了一种非典型的应激调节模式，这种模式影响了MB和MF强化学习之间的平衡。本文探讨了这些发现的潜在解释及其临床意义。
