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. 2024 Aug 13;13(3):779-790.
doi: 10.1556/2006.2024.00043. Print 2024 Oct 4.

Blunted sensitivity to expected value during risky decision making in individuals with problematic pornography use

Jianfeng Wang  1   2 , Shuangyi Qu  2 , Ruiyu Li  2 , Shaoyue Tang  2 , Hong Li  1
Affiliations

Blunted sensitivity to expected value during risky decision making in individuals with problematic pornography use

Jianfeng Wang et al. J Behav Addict. .

Abstract

Background and aims: Neurobiological models of addiction posit that addiction manifests through an amplified salience towards addiction-associated stimuli and a diminished responsiveness to non-addiction-related incentives. However, existing research on reward processing in individuals with problematic pornography use (PPU) has primarily been limited to sexual cue reactivity.

Methods: In this event-related potential (ERP) study, we employed a risky decision-making task involving 30 individuals with PPU and 33 healthy controls (HCs) to examine the effects of PPU on non-pornographic (money) reward valuation.

Results: Compared to HCs, individuals with PPU exhibited compromised sensitivity to monetary rewards. Specifically, while the HC group demonstrated a differential response in late positive potential (LPP) amplitude to various expected value (EV) levels, this pattern was absent in the PPU group. This impairment was associated with poorer adaptive decision-making, as evidenced by PPU participants' inability to adjust risk choices based on changes in EV, leading to a propensity for riskier decisions in disadvantageous situations.

Discussion and conclusions: The findings of impaired monetary evaluation in individuals with PPU may potentially explain why they continually pursue pornographic rewards while showing insensitivity to other rewards in daily life. Consequently, treatment development strategies may prioritize improving sensitivity to non-pornographic rewards within this population.

Keywords: event-related potential; late positive potential; problematic pornography use; reward valuation; risky decision-making.

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Conflict of interest statement

Conflict of interest: The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Fig. 1.
Fig. 1.
Schematic representation of the Cups task. Participants were tasked with selecting between safe and risky options across both gain and loss domains. Safe options appeared on the left side of the screen, while risky options were displayed on the right
Fig. 2.
Fig. 2.
The proportion of risky selections across risk advantageous (RA) and risk disadvantageous (RD) conditions in both gain and loss domains for the PPU and HC groups
Fig. 3.
Fig. 3.
The grand averaged ERP waveforms of LPP components at electrodes CP3, CPz, and CP4 during the risk evaluation stage in individuals with PPU and HCs. The LPP was assessed between 500 and 800 ms following stimulus presentation
Fig. 4.
Fig. 4.
Scalp topographies of the LPP amplitudes difference between RA and RD conditions (across 500–800 ms) for individuals with PPU and HCs in both gain and loss domains
Fig. 5.
Fig. 5.
Correlation between the ERP EV sensitivity index (residualized RALPP) and the behavioral EV sensitivity index (residualized RArisky ratio) in the loss domain for all participants
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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