Transfer from goal-directed behavior to stimulus-response habits and its modulation by acute stress in individuals with risky gaming behavior

• Published in: Scientific reports 2024-10, Vol.14 (1), p.26015-19, Article 26015
• Main Authors: Schmid, Anna M., Thomas, Tobias A., Blümel, Stefan, Erdal, Nicolas K., Müller, Silke M., Merz, Christian J., Wolf, Oliver T., Brand, Matthias, Müller, Astrid, Steins-Loeber, Sabine
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: 631/477/2811; 692/699/476/5; Addictions; Addictive behaviors; Adolescent; Adult; Behavior; Behavior, Addictive - psychology; Conditioning; Cues; Drug use; Female; Gaming disorder; Goals; Habits; Habitual behavior; Hormones; Humanities and Social Sciences; Humans; Male; multidisciplinary; Nervous system; Pavlovian-to-instrumental transfer; Psychotherapy; Reward; Risk-Taking; Science; Science (multidisciplinary); Social behavior; Social interactions; Stress; Stress, Psychological - psychology; Substance use disorder; Training; Video Games - psychology; Young Adult
• ISSN: 2045-2322; 2045-2322
• DOI: 10.1038/s41598-024-73899-3

Habitual responses towards addiction-related cues play a relevant role in the development and maintenance of addictions. Such automatic responses may be more likely under stress, as stress has been shown to induce a shift from goal-directed to habitual behavior. The current study investigated these mechanisms in risky gaming behavior. Individuals with risky gaming behavior ( n  = 68), as established by a structured clinical interview, and a matched control group ( n  = 67) completed a Pavlovian-to-Instrumental Transfer (PIT) paradigm with gaming-related cues and rewards. After the Pavlovian training, participants underwent a stress (Trier Social Stress Test) or control condition before performing the instrumental training and the transfer phase of the PIT paradigm. To assess habitual behavior, the gaming-related rewards were devalued after half of the transfer phase. In both groups, gaming-related cues enhanced the choice of the gaming-related reward and this gaming PIT effect was reduced, however, not eliminated by the devaluation. Unexpectedly, stress did not significantly increase responding for the gaming-related reward in participants aware of the stimulus-outcome associations, however seemed to enhance habitual responding in unaware participants. Our findings underline the relevance of gaming-related cues in triggering habitual responses, which may undermine attempts to change a problematic gaming behavior.