Mathematical Models of Working Memory Processes in Externalizing Psychopathology

描述（由申请人提供）：外化（EXT）精神病理学（Krueger et al., 2002）包括各种常见的共同发生的精神疾病，包括注意缺陷/多动障碍、儿童对立违抗/行为障碍和成人犯罪越轨；它还反映了与反社会/非常规、情感/情绪失调以及冲动/行为约束不良相关的一系列去抑制人格特征（Bogg & Finn, 2009; Gorenstein & Newman, 1980; Krueger, 2002）。虽然EXT精神病理学的个人和社会成本是众所周知的，但关于哪些认知和动机过程是EXT精神病理学的病因机制，我们仍然知之甚少。理想情况下，充分了解EXT精神病理学的因果机制将导致更多的经验信息方法来诊断、预测和改善这一重大而广泛的人类痛苦来源。为此，最近的实证研究表明，注意力控制的减少和工作记忆（WM）的短期激活是忽视未来后果、偏好即时满足和不良被动回避倾向的中间机制，这些都与持续性EXT精神病理有关（Finn, 2002； Endres等人，正在审查中）。此外，最近的临床研究结果表明，注意力和WM训练范式是早发性EXT精神病理学的可行干预措施（例如，Klingberg等人，2002年）。本研究在此基础上发展了数学上严谨的实验和分析工具，以确定WM维持能力和检索效率（即，“多少”和“多快”的信息可以用来可靠地指导行为）在与早期发病和持续性EXT精神病理学相关的不适应方法回避倾向（即，对奖励的超敏感和对惩罚的低敏感）中所起的作用。拟议的研究将通过三个具体目标来补充现有的理论、实证和临床研究。第一种方法是使用系统析因技术（Townsend & Nozawa, 1995）作为一个数学框架，对EXT精神病理与WM中控制注意力减少和短期激活过程之间的关系进行建模。第二种方法是使用决策场理论（Townsend & Busemeyer, 1993,1992）作为数学框架，对认知负荷对EXT精神病理与难以区分趋近回避信号、调节趋近回避反应和考虑趋近回避决策之间的关系的影响进行建模。三是利用结构方程模型确定认知负荷对EXT精神病理与趋近回避倾向关联的影响是否通过WM的控制注意和短期激活过程介导。总的来说，这项研究代表了一个重要的研究项目，旨在阐明和干预一个人的独特体质和环境风险对早期发作和持续的EXT精神病理过程的中间神经认知和神经情感机制。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Externalizing (EXT) psychopathology (Krueger et al., 2002) encompasses various domains of commonly co- occurring psychiatric disorders, including attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder, childhood oppositional defiance/conduct disorder, and adult criminal deviance; it also reflects a constellation of disinhibited personality traits related to antisociality/unconventionality, affect/emotion dysregulation, and impulsivity/poor behavioral constraint (Bogg & Finn, 2009; Gorenstein & Newman, 1980; Krueger, 2002). Although the individual and societal costs of EXT psychopathology are well known, much remains unknown with regard to which cognitive and motivational processes are etiologic mechanisms in EXT psychopathology. Ideally, a full understanding of the causal mechanisms in EXT psychopathology would lead to more empirically-informed ways to diagnose, predict, and ameliorate this significant and wide reaching source of human suffering. Towards this end, recent empirical research suggest reduced attentional control and short-term activation in working memory (WM) are intermediate mechanisms in the neglect of future consequences, preference for immediate gratification, and poor passive avoidance tendencies associated with persistent EXT psychopathology (Finn, 2002; Endres et al., under review). Moreover, recent clinical findings suggest attention and WM training paradigms are viable interventions for early onset EXT psychopathology (e.g., Klingberg et al., 2002). The proposed study builds on this work by developing mathematically rigorous experimental and analytical tools for determining the role that reduced WM maintenance capacity and retrieval efficiency (i.e., "how much" and "how fast" information can be used to reliably guide behavior) plays in the maladaptive approach-avoidance tendencies (i.e., hypersensitivity to reward and hyposensitivity to punishment) associated with early onset and persistent EXT psychopathology. The proposed study will add to existing theoretical, empirical, and clinical research via three specific aims. The first is by using System Factorial Technology (Townsend & Nozawa, 1995) as a mathematical framework for modeling the association between EXT psychopathology and reduced controlled attention and short-term activation processes in WM. The second is by using Decision Field Theory (Townsend & Busemeyer, 1993, 1992) as a mathematical framework for modeling the effects of cognitive load on the association between EXT psychopathology and difficulty discriminating approach-avoidance signals, modulating approach-avoidance responses, and deliberating over approach-avoidance decisions. The third is by using structural equations modeling to determine whether the effects of cognitive load on the association between EXT psychopathology and approach-avoidance tendencies are mediated by controlled attention and short-term activation processes in WM. Overall, the proposed study represents an important step in a program of research aimed at elucidating and intervening on the intermediate neurocognive and neuroaffective mechanisms that underlie a persons' unique constitutional and environmental risk for an early onset and persistent course of EXT psychopathology. PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE: In line with NIMH's strategic object 1.4, the proposed study attempts to develop, validate, and disseminate more mathematically rigorous methodologies for assessing those cognitive and motivational mechanisms that are putative markers of etiologic vulnerability to externalizing psychopathology. Because laboratory tasks will be needed in future investigations into which brain-behavior systems support both vulnerability to and protection against the onset and persistence of externalizing psychopathology, mathematical models of performance on these task will be an important means to link dimensional models of EXT psychopathology together with neuroscience methods. In this way, the technologies developed and tested in the PS could eventually lead to more individualized and empirically-informed ways to diagnose, predict, and ameliorate mental illness, in general, and externalizing psychopathology, in particular.