The impact of acute stress on reinforcement learning among people with problem gambling

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Author(s): Wyckmans, Florent ; Banerjee, Nilosmita ; Saeremans, Mélanie ; Otto, Ross ; Kornriech, Charles ; Gruson, Damien ; Carbone, Vincenzo ; Bechara, Antoine ; Noël, Xavier

Journal: Journal of Behavioral Addictions

Year Published: 2022

Date Added: January 24, 2023

According to the reinforcement learning (RL) theory, people make decisions based on the Model-Based (MB) and Model-Free (MF) systems. People with gambling disorder and those who are stressed often make decisions based on the MF system. The researchers examined how acute stress affects reinforcement learning in people with gambling disorder. They recruited 58 men with problem gambling and 58 men without problem gambling for the study. Half of the participants completed an acute stress task and half completed a control task. Participants then completed a task measuring MB and MF learning strategies. Participants with and without problem gambling showed similar levels of stress in response to the acute stress task and control task. In the control task, participants with problem gambling showed more MF learning than those without problem gambling. Stress resulted in a shift towards MF learning only among those without problem gambling.

Citation: Wyckmans, F., Banerjee, N., Saeremans, M., Otto, R., Kornreich, C., Vanderijst, L., Gruson, D., Carbone, V., Bechara, A., Buchanan, T., & Noël, X. (2022). The modulation of acute stress on model-free and model-based reinforcement learning in gambling disorder. Journal of Behavioral Addictions, 11(3), 831-844. https://doi.org/10.1556/2006.2022.00059

Article DOI: https://doi.org/10.1556/2006.2022.00059

Keywords: gambling disorder ; psychological distress ; stress

Conceptual Framework Factors: Environment - Social and Economic Impacts ; Psychological Factors ; Psychological - Coping Styles ; Gambling Environment

Study Design: Experimental: RCT (randomized controlled trial)

Geographic Coverage: Belgium

Study Population: All the 116 participants were men over 18 years old. They did not have a history of neurological or psychiatric diseases. Half of the participants had problem gambling (i.e., score of 6 or higher on the South Oaks Gambling Screen). On average, participants with problem gambling were 29 years old. Participants with problem gambling scored lower on working memory and fluid intelligence than the controls. They also had more psychiatric comorbidities, state-anxiety, depressive symptoms, and reward sensitivity. Half of the participants did not have problem gambling (i.e., control group). Participants in the control group were 31 years on average. Most participants did not smoke (62% of those with problem gambling and 67% of the control group).

Sampling Procedure: Participants were recruited through advertisement. A total of 116 people participated. This included 58 people with problem gambling who scored 6 or higher on the South Oaks Gambling Screen. Another 58 people without problem gambling were recruited to be controls. These controls were matched for age and education. Only men were recruited to avoid the effect of menstrual cycles on cortisol response to stress. Participants had to be over 18 years and could not have any history of neurological or psychiatric diseases.

Study Funding:

This research was funded by the Belgian Fund for Scientific Research.