Fear to approach; identifying behavioural and neurological mechanisms underlying excessive avoidance behaviour.
Keywords
Loading...
Authors
Issue Date
2022-08-29
Language
en
Document type
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Title
ISSN
Volume
Issue
Startpage
Endpage
DOI
Abstract
Excessive avoidance has been marked as a transdiagnostic symptom involved in both
depressive and anxiety disorders. Recent findings have indicated that these avoidance
behaviours are a better indication of poor prognosis than other measures. Real-life
approach-avoidance decisions rely on a complex consideration of potential rewarding and
potential threatening consequences. However, preceding research on approach-avoidance
decisions is often centred around the threat component of the decision-making. To obtain a
deeper understanding of the shared mechanisms that are underlying depressive and anxiety
disorders, we assessed the behavioural and neurological correlates of avoidance behaviours
in a two-study research project. For this purpose, we used two different, yet similar,
approach-avoidance decision-making paradigms, being the fearful avoidance task (FAT) and
the passive-active approach-avoidance task (PAT). Both paradigms effectively evoked an
approach-avoidance conflict due to the inclusion of competing threat and reward levels.
Using whole-brain searchlight Multi-Variate Pattern Analysis (MVPA), we identified an
approach-avoidance decision-making network consisting of the precuneus, postcentral
gyrus, precentral gyrus, medial prefrontal cortex, and medial orbitofrontal cortex (study 1, N
= 27). Additionally, focussing on the reward components of complex decision-making, we
assessed whether anhedonia, a symptom characterized by attenuated reward sensitivity,
could explain individual differences in approach-avoidance decision-making (study 2, N = 15).
Considering the small sample size, we identified that higher anhedonia is paired with more
avoidance (non-significant). Taken all together, we have showed that approach-avoidance
decision-making relies on a complex cognitive consideration of potential threat and reward,
implicating a network of various brain regions related to emotional experience, decisionmaking,
motor preparation, goal-directed behaviour, and reward and threat assessment.
Keywords: MVPA, Avoidance, Decision Making, Anhedonia, Anxiety, Depression
Description
Citation
Faculty
Faculteit der Sociale Wetenschappen