The Computational and Neural Substrates of Ambiguity Avoidance in Anxiety
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...
| Main Authors: | , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Ubiquity Press
2022-02-01
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| Series: | Computational Psychiatry |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://cpsyjournal.org/articles/67 |
| _version_ | 1798002297478840320 |
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| author | Emma L. Lawrance Christopher R. Gagne Jill X. O’Reilly Janine Bijsterbosch Sonia J. Bishop |
| author_facet | Emma L. Lawrance Christopher R. Gagne Jill X. O’Reilly Janine Bijsterbosch Sonia J. Bishop |
| author_sort | Emma L. Lawrance |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | 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. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-11T11:49:43Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-71a88f9f2632463e86ae3479821e6736 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2379-6227 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-11T11:49:43Z |
| publishDate | 2022-02-01 |
| publisher | Ubiquity Press |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Computational Psychiatry |
| spelling | doaj.art-71a88f9f2632463e86ae3479821e67362022-12-22T04:25:25ZengUbiquity PressComputational Psychiatry2379-62272022-02-016110.5334/cpsy.6765The Computational and Neural Substrates of Ambiguity Avoidance in AnxietyEmma L. Lawrance0Christopher R. Gagne1Jill X. O’Reilly2Janine Bijsterbosch3Sonia J. Bishop4Institute for Global Health Innovation, Imperial College London, Kensington, London SW7 2AZ; Wellcome Centre for Integrative Neuroimaging, University of Oxford, FMRIB, John Radcliffe Hospital, Oxford, OX3 9DUMax Planck Institute for Biological Cybernetics, TübingenWellcome Centre for Integrative Neuroimaging, University of Oxford, FMRIB, John Radcliffe Hospital, Oxford, OX3 9DU, UK; Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Oxford, Anna Watts Building, Radcliffe Observatory Quarter, Woodstock Rd, Oxford OX2 6HG, US; Donders Centre for Cognition, Donders Institute, Montessorilaan 3, 6525 HR NijmegenDepartment of Radiology, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MODepartment of Psychology, UC Berkeley, Berkeley, California 94720, US; Helen Wills Neuroscience Institute, UC Berkeley, Berkeley, California 94720Theoretical 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.https://cpsyjournal.org/articles/67anxietyambiguityprobabilistic decision-makingfmriuncertaintycomputational modeling |
| spellingShingle | Emma L. Lawrance Christopher R. Gagne Jill X. O’Reilly Janine Bijsterbosch Sonia J. Bishop The Computational and Neural Substrates of Ambiguity Avoidance in Anxiety Computational Psychiatry anxiety ambiguity probabilistic decision-making fmri uncertainty computational modeling |
| title | The Computational and Neural Substrates of Ambiguity Avoidance in Anxiety |
| title_full | The Computational and Neural Substrates of Ambiguity Avoidance in Anxiety |
| title_fullStr | The Computational and Neural Substrates of Ambiguity Avoidance in Anxiety |
| title_full_unstemmed | The Computational and Neural Substrates of Ambiguity Avoidance in Anxiety |
| title_short | The Computational and Neural Substrates of Ambiguity Avoidance in Anxiety |
| title_sort | computational and neural substrates of ambiguity avoidance in anxiety |
| topic | anxiety ambiguity probabilistic decision-making fmri uncertainty computational modeling |
| url | https://cpsyjournal.org/articles/67 |
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