Assigning the right credit to the wrong action: compulsivity in the general population is associated with augmented outcome-irrelevant value-based learning

Abstract Compulsive behavior is enacted under a belief that a specific act controls the likelihood of an undesired future event. Compulsive behaviors are widespread in the general population despite having no causal relationship with events they aspire to influence. In the current study, we tested w...

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Main Authors:	Nitzan Shahar, Tobias U. Hauser, Rani Moran, Michael Moutoussis, NSPN consortium, Edward T. Bullmore, Raymond J. Dolan
Format:	article
Language:	EN
Published:	Nature Publishing Group 2021
Subjects:	Neurosciences. Biological psychiatry. Neuropsychiatry RC321-571
Online Access:	https://doaj.org/article/0751085565d7490b93c7fe66f00e19a0
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spelling	oai:doaj.org-article:0751085565d7490b93c7fe66f00e19a02021-11-07T12:17:42ZAssigning the right credit to the wrong action: compulsivity in the general population is associated with augmented outcome-irrelevant value-based learning10.1038/s41398-021-01642-x2158-3188https://doaj.org/article/0751085565d7490b93c7fe66f00e19a02021-11-01T00:00:00Zhttps://doi.org/10.1038/s41398-021-01642-xhttps://doaj.org/toc/2158-3188Abstract Compulsive behavior is enacted under a belief that a specific act controls the likelihood of an undesired future event. Compulsive behaviors are widespread in the general population despite having no causal relationship with events they aspire to influence. In the current study, we tested whether there is an increased tendency to assign value to aspects of a task that do not predict an outcome (i.e., outcome-irrelevant learning) among individuals with compulsive tendencies. We studied 514 healthy individuals who completed self-report compulsivity, anxiety, depression, and schizotypal measurements, and a well-established reinforcement-learning task (i.e., the two-step task). As expected, we found a positive relationship between compulsivity and outcome-irrelevant learning. Specifically, individuals who reported having stronger compulsive tendencies (e.g., washing, checking, grooming) also tended to assign value to response keys and stimuli locations that did not predict an outcome. Controlling for overall goal-directed abilities and the co-occurrence of anxious, depressive, or schizotypal tendencies did not impact these associations. These findings indicate that outcome-irrelevant learning processes may contribute to the expression of compulsivity in a general population setting. We highlight the need for future research on the formation of non-veridical action−outcome associations as a factor related to the occurrence and maintenance of compulsive behavior.Nitzan ShaharTobias U. HauserRani MoranMichael MoutoussisNSPN consortiumEdward T. BullmoreRaymond J. DolanNature Publishing GrouparticleNeurosciences. Biological psychiatry. NeuropsychiatryRC321-571ENTranslational Psychiatry, Vol 11, Iss 1, Pp 1-9 (2021)
institution	DOAJ
collection	DOAJ
language	EN
topic	Neurosciences. Biological psychiatry. Neuropsychiatry RC321-571
spellingShingle	Neurosciences. Biological psychiatry. Neuropsychiatry RC321-571 Nitzan Shahar Tobias U. Hauser Rani Moran Michael Moutoussis NSPN consortium Edward T. Bullmore Raymond J. Dolan Assigning the right credit to the wrong action: compulsivity in the general population is associated with augmented outcome-irrelevant value-based learning
description	Abstract Compulsive behavior is enacted under a belief that a specific act controls the likelihood of an undesired future event. Compulsive behaviors are widespread in the general population despite having no causal relationship with events they aspire to influence. In the current study, we tested whether there is an increased tendency to assign value to aspects of a task that do not predict an outcome (i.e., outcome-irrelevant learning) among individuals with compulsive tendencies. We studied 514 healthy individuals who completed self-report compulsivity, anxiety, depression, and schizotypal measurements, and a well-established reinforcement-learning task (i.e., the two-step task). As expected, we found a positive relationship between compulsivity and outcome-irrelevant learning. Specifically, individuals who reported having stronger compulsive tendencies (e.g., washing, checking, grooming) also tended to assign value to response keys and stimuli locations that did not predict an outcome. Controlling for overall goal-directed abilities and the co-occurrence of anxious, depressive, or schizotypal tendencies did not impact these associations. These findings indicate that outcome-irrelevant learning processes may contribute to the expression of compulsivity in a general population setting. We highlight the need for future research on the formation of non-veridical action−outcome associations as a factor related to the occurrence and maintenance of compulsive behavior.
format	article
author	Nitzan Shahar Tobias U. Hauser Rani Moran Michael Moutoussis NSPN consortium Edward T. Bullmore Raymond J. Dolan
author_facet	Nitzan Shahar Tobias U. Hauser Rani Moran Michael Moutoussis NSPN consortium Edward T. Bullmore Raymond J. Dolan
author_sort	Nitzan Shahar
title	Assigning the right credit to the wrong action: compulsivity in the general population is associated with augmented outcome-irrelevant value-based learning
title_short	Assigning the right credit to the wrong action: compulsivity in the general population is associated with augmented outcome-irrelevant value-based learning
title_full	Assigning the right credit to the wrong action: compulsivity in the general population is associated with augmented outcome-irrelevant value-based learning
title_fullStr	Assigning the right credit to the wrong action: compulsivity in the general population is associated with augmented outcome-irrelevant value-based learning
title_full_unstemmed	Assigning the right credit to the wrong action: compulsivity in the general population is associated with augmented outcome-irrelevant value-based learning
title_sort	assigning the right credit to the wrong action: compulsivity in the general population is associated with augmented outcome-irrelevant value-based learning
publisher	Nature Publishing Group
publishDate	2021
url	https://doaj.org/article/0751085565d7490b93c7fe66f00e19a0
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Assigning the right credit to the wrong action: compulsivity in the general population is associated with augmented outcome-irrelevant value-based learning

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