Avolition predicts variability in optimal risk-taking in early psychosis

IF 3.6 2区医学 Q1 PSYCHIATRY

Schizophrenia Research Pub Date : 2025-04-10 DOI:10.1016/j.schres.2025.04.001

Pooja K. Patel , Melanie Blair Thies , Ashley Moyett , Sophie Arkin , Danielle Currin , Pamela DeRosse , Katherine H. Karlsgodt

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引用次数: 0

Abstract

Background

Adolescence and early adulthood are associated with increased risk-taking, with a growing understanding that risk-taking may be adaptive during this developmental period. In psychosis, failure to appropriately engage in optimal risk-taking due to altered reward processing may contribute to poor social and role functioning. We investigated differences in optimal risk-taking in early psychosis (EP), as well as the relationship between optimal risk-taking and the negative symptom of avolition.

Methods

Fifty-six EP participants and 52 healthy controls (HC) completed a modified version of the Balloon Analog Risk Task (BART). In the BART, individuals inflated a virtual balloon to gain points; if the balloon exploded, no points were gained. We manipulated degree of risk, such that trials were low-risk (high probability of reward, low probability of punishment) or high-risk (low probability of reward, high probability of punishment). We investigated differences between EP and HC in (1) risk-propensity on low- and high-risk trials, (2) total adverse outcomes, and (3) behavior changes following punishment.

Results

There were no significant differences between EP and HC on any BART metrics; however, in EP, the negative symptom of avolition was associated with reduced risk-propensity on low-risk trials and reduced risk-taking immediately following punishment on low-risk trials. In the high-risk condition, avolition was not associated with risk-propensity, number of adverse outcomes, or behavior following punishment.

Conclusions

These results suggest that risk-taking and response to punishment in high-risk situations may be preserved in psychosis, and that in lower-risk situations that allow for greater variability, behavior may be moderated by negative symptom severity.

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来源期刊

Schizophrenia Research 医学-精神病学

CiteScore

7.50

自引率

8.90%

发文量

429

审稿时长

10.2 weeks

期刊介绍： As official journal of the Schizophrenia International Research Society (SIRS) Schizophrenia Research is THE journal of choice for international researchers and clinicians to share their work with the global schizophrenia research community. More than 6000 institutes have online or print (or both) access to this journal - the largest specialist journal in the field, with the largest readership! Schizophrenia Research''s time to first decision is as fast as 6 weeks and its publishing speed is as fast as 4 weeks until online publication (corrected proof/Article in Press) after acceptance and 14 weeks from acceptance until publication in a printed issue. The journal publishes novel papers that really contribute to understanding the biology and treatment of schizophrenic disorders; Schizophrenia Research brings together biological, clinical and psychological research in order to stimulate the synthesis of findings from all disciplines involved in improving patient outcomes in schizophrenia.