The Influence of Emotion Regulation on the Neural Systems of Reward Processing

描述（由申请人提供）：冒险和寻求奖励的行为是强迫性赌博的斯台普斯，这是一种影响生活许多方面的渐进成瘾。在一个鼓励消费和即时回报的社会中，一个敢于冒险的人不断地被呈现出代表冒险机会的明显的条件暗示。这种明显的条件暗示导致了渴望--广义上的定义是对食欲刺激或事件的冲动或渴望。随着渴望强度的增加，成瘾物质的消耗增加（例如，可卡因）或行为（例如，冒险或赌博行为）。因此，治疗方案的存在不仅是为了科普成瘾（如强迫性赌博）的后果，而且也是为了减少寻求奖励的行为。一种潜在的治疗方法是使用以前因为中心的认知策略来调节由条件线索引起的渴望，以减少寻求奖励或冒险行为。本研究的目的是探讨情绪调节策略对奖赏加工神经系统的影响。认知策略在调节由固有情绪刺激或条件刺激引起的生理（如通过皮肤电导测量的）和神经（如通过神经成像测量的）反应方面是成功的。因此，这样的策略也可以成功地减少与更显著的条件刺激（例如，老虎机），随后影响行为（例如，减少冒险或赌博），同时调节涉及奖励处理的神经回路（例如，纹状体）。拟议中的研究将使用功能磁共振成像，结合生理和行为测量，调查下面概述的两个目标。目标1：探讨认知策略对显著刺激引起的生理唤醒、冒险行为及奖赏加工的神经机制的影响。目标2：考察即时强化条件下认知策略对奖赏加工和冒险行为神经机制的影响。一般的假设是，在食欲调节赌博任务中使用情绪调节将调节人类的奖励回路，同时参与参与认知控制的大脑区域。因此，这样的策略将导致由条件刺激引起的渴望或唤醒水平的降低，从而影响风险经济决策（即，选择一个安全的vs.有风险的选项）。这项建议是朝着长期研究计划迈出的第一步，该计划旨在调查可能有助于在社会和心理问题发生之前减少冒险或寻求奖励行为的技术。提案中描述的研究有可能支持技术，这些技术可能有助于在社会和心理问题发生之前，通过关注减少渴望来减少冒险或赌博行为。虽然拟议的研究目标是赌博行为，但潜在的结果可以转化为其他成瘾行为，这表明在减少冒险行为时使用先行重点策略。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Risk-taking and reward-seeking behaviors are staples of compulsive gambling, a progressive addiction that affects many aspects of life. In a society that encourages consumption and immediate rewards, a risk-taking individual is constantly presented with salient conditioned cues representing risk-taking opportunities. Such salient conditioned cues lead to craving - broadly defined as an urge or desire for an appetitive stimulus or event. As craving grows in intensity, an increase in consumption of the addictive substance (e.g., cocaine) or behavior (e.g., risk-taking or gambling behavior) can be observed. Thus, it is imperative that treatment options exist not only to cope with the consequences of addictions such as compulsive gambling, but also to curtail reward seeking behavior. One potential treatment is the use of antecedent-focused cognitive strategies to regulate craving elicited by conditioned cues, in order to decrease reward-seeking or risk-taking behavior. The goal of this proposal is to investigate the effects of emotion regulation strategies on the neural systems of reward processing. Cognitive strategies are successful in modulating both physiological (as measured by skin conductance) and neural (as measured by neuroimaging) responses elicited by an inherently emotional stimulus or a conditioned stimulus. Thus, such strategies may also be successful in reducing the anticipatory feelings or craving associated with a more salient conditioned stimulus (e.g., a slot machine), subsequently influencing behavior (e.g., decreased risk-taking or gambling), while modulating neural circuits involved in reward processing (e.g., striatum). The proposed studies will use fMRI, in conjunction with physiological and behavioral measures, to investigate two aims outlined below. AIM 1: To examine the influence of cognitive strategies on physiological arousal elicited by salient stimuli, risk-taking behavior & the neural mechanisms underlying reward processing. AIM 2: To examine the influence of cognitive strategies on the neural mechanisms of reward processing and risk-taking behavior when immediate reinforcement is presented. The general hypothesis is that using emotion regulation during an appetitive conditioning gambling task will modulate the human reward circuitry while engaging regions of the brain involved in cognitive control. Accordingly, such strategies will lead to decreases in craving or levels of arousal elicited by the conditioned stimulus, thus influencing risky economic decision-making (i.e., choosing a safe vs. the risky option). This proposal serves as an initial step towards a long-term research plan aimed at investigating techniques that may help curtail risk-taking or reward seeking behavior before social and psychological problems occur. The studies described in the proposal have the potential of supporting techniques that may help curtail risk-taking or gambling behavior by focusing on the reduction of craving, before social & psychological problems occur. Although the proposed studies target gambling behavior, the potential results can be translated to other addictions, suggesting the use of antecedent focused strategies in reducing risk-taking behavior.