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Psychology Commons

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Substance Abuse and Addiction

University of Kentucky

Theses and Dissertations--Psychology

Reinforcement Learning

Publication Year

Articles 1 - 2 of 2

Full-Text Articles in Psychology

Neural Hyperactivity During Value-Based Decision-Making In People With Daily/Near Daily Cannabis Use, Miranda Ramirez Jan 2024

Neural Hyperactivity During Value-Based Decision-Making In People With Daily/Near Daily Cannabis Use, Miranda Ramirez

Theses and Dissertations--Psychology

Value-based decision-making involves the coordinated effort of multiple brain regions to guide future choices based on past experiences. These processes are disrupted in cannabis use disorder, where individuals continue to use cannabis despite negative consequences. Reinforcement learning (RL) paradigms can be used to capture changes in the value of available options and may inform how the brain is impacted by frequent cannabis use. This study combined fMRI with behavioral modeling of probabilistic choice task data to compare value-based choices between young adults reporting daily/near daily cannabis use (CAN) and controls (CTRL). Participants selected one of two options reinforced ($0.25) at …


Neurobehavioral Measurements Of Natural And Opioid Reward Value, Aaron Paul Smith Jan 2019

Neurobehavioral Measurements Of Natural And Opioid Reward Value, Aaron Paul Smith

Theses and Dissertations--Psychology

In the last decade, (non)prescription opioid abuse, opioid use disorder (OUD) diagnoses, and opioid-related overdoses have risen and represent a significant public health concern. One method of understanding OUD is as a disorder of choice that requires choosing opioid rewards at the expense of other nondrug rewards. The characterization of OUD as a disorder of choice is important as it implicates decision- making processes as therapeutic targets, such as the valuation of opioid rewards. However, reward-value measurement and interpretation are traditionally different in substance abuse research compared to related fields such as economics, animal behavior, and neuroeconomics and may be …