The Computational and Neural Substrates of Ambiguity Avoidance in Anxiety.
The Computational and Neural Substrates of Ambiguity Avoidance in Anxiety.
复制标题
DOI：
10.5334/cpsy.67
复制
发表时间：
2022
期刊：
影响因子：
--
通讯作者：
Bishop, Sonia J
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Lawrance, Emma L;Gagne, Christopher R;O'Reilly, Jill X;Bijsterbosch, Janine;Bishop, Sonia J
理论上的解释将焦虑与不容忍模棱两可联系起来。然而，这种关系并没有很好地操作经验。在这里，我们使用计算和神经成像方法来表征焦虑相关的差异，在令人厌恶的决策下的模糊性和相关模式的皮层活动。成年人参与者在每次试验中选择两个骨灰盒。每个骨灰盒中的标记（“0”和“X”）的比率确定了电刺激接收的概率。每个瓮上方的数字指示如果递送电击将接收到的刺激的幅度。在模棱两可的试验中，两个骨灰盒中的一个有标记封闭。通过改变被遮挡的标记的数量，我们操纵了缺失信息的程度。在更高水平的缺失信息下，存在更大的二阶不确定性，即，关于从骨灰盒中取出给定类型的令牌的概率的更多不确定性。成年人参与者表现出避免模糊的选项，增加了缺失信息的水平。信息水平依赖型歧义厌恶程度与特质焦虑呈显著正相关。在决策期间，背侧前扣带皮层和额下沟的活动都随着信息缺失而增加。在高缺失信息试验中，当参与者继续选择模糊选项时，观察到这些区域的参与程度更高;这在高特质焦虑个体中尤其明显。这些发现与易受焦虑影响的个体相一致，他们需要更大程度地激活额叶区域，以支持理性决策，从而克服在高水平缺失信息时进行模糊回避的倾向。
Theoretical accounts have linked anxiety to intolerance of ambiguity. However, this relationship has not been well operationalized empirically. Here, we used computational and neuro-imaging methods to characterize anxiety-related differences in aversive decision-making under ambiguity and associated patterns of cortical activity. Adult human participants chose between two urns on each trial. The ratio of tokens (‘O’s and ‘X’s) in each urn determined probability of electrical stimulation receipt. A number above each urn indicated the magnitude of stimulation that would be received if a shock was delivered. On ambiguous trials, one of the two urns had tokens occluded. By varying the number of tokens occluded, we manipulated the extent of missing information. At higher levels of missing information, there is greater second order uncertainty, i.e., more uncertainty as to the probability of pulling a given type of token from the urn. Adult human participants demonstrated avoidance of ambiguous options which increased with level of missing information. Extent of ‘information-level dependent’ ambiguity aversion was significantly positively correlated with trait anxiety. Activity in both the dorsal anterior cingulate cortex and inferior frontal sulcus during the decision-making period increased as a function of missing information. Greater engagement of these regions, on high missing information trials, was observed when participants went on to select the ambiguous option; this was especially apparent in high trait anxious individuals. These findings are consistent with individuals vulnerable to anxiety requiring greater activation of frontal regions supporting rational decision-making to overcome a predisposition to engage in ambiguity avoidance at high levels of missing information.