Compulsivity is linked to reduced adolescent development of goal-directed control and frontostriatal functional connectivity

Abstract

A characteristic of adaptive behavior is its goal-directed nature. An ability to act in a goal-directed manner is progressively refined during development, but this refinement can be impacted by the emergence of psychiatric disorders. Disorders of compulsivity have been framed computationally as a deficit in model-based control, and have been linked also to abnormal frontostriatal connectivity. However, the developmental trajectory of model-based control, including an interplay between its maturation and an emergence of compulsivity, has not been characterized. Availing of a large sample of healthy adolescents (n = 569) aged 14 to 24 y, we show behaviorally that over the course of adolescence there is a within-person increase in model-based control, and this is more pronounced in younger participants. Using a bivariate latent change score model, we provide evidence that the presence of higher compulsivity traits is associated with an atypical profile of this developmental maturation in model-based control. Resting-state fMRI data from a subset of the behaviorally assessed subjects (n = 230) revealed that compulsivity is associated with a less pronounced change of within-subject developmental remodeling of functional connectivity, specifically between the striatum and a frontoparietal network. Thus, in an otherwise clinically healthy population sample, in early development, individual differences in compulsivity are linked to the developmental trajectory of model-based control and a remodeling of frontostriatal connectivity.

Children perform extensive information gathering when it is not costly

“…In our model, this parameter not only governs how strongly the actual choices depend on their individual valuation, but also determines how precisely you think about the future and thus how well you can rely on the current information you have already gathered. Our finding is thus likely to align with a slow emergence of model-based reasoning ( Decker et al, 2016 ; Smid et al, 2020 ; Vaghi et al, 2020 ) and related aspects of higher-order cognitive computations (e.g., Bolenz & Eppinger, 2020 ; Decker et al, 2016 ; Hauser, Iannaccone, Walitza, Brandeis, & Brem, 2015 ; Somerville et al, 2017 ; Tymula et al, 2012 ; van den Bos, Rodriguez, Schweitzer, & McClure, 2015 ) that require substantial resources that may not be available until later in adolescence ( Thompson-Schill et al, 2009 ; Ziegler et al, 2019 ).…”

“…This could be because changes in this age range are more nuanced than between children and adolescents. Moreover, information gathering differences could be present primarily in more complex decision problems that require excessive use of cognitive maps and model-based reasoning ( Schulz et al, 2019 ; Vaghi et al, 2020 ). In addition, it would be interesting to observe how information gathering changes in even younger children and to assess whether pre-school children show similar levels of information-gathering.…”

A Selective Increase in OC Symptoms is Driving Information Seeking and Guideline Adherence During the Covid-19 Pandemic

“…The here documented elevations of anxiety and depression scores during the pandemic are in line with previous studies conducted of the (UK) general public (7–12). For the first time, we also report a heightening in OC symptoms in the general public with levels exceeding previous non-patient populations, in part matching patient levels (25,38–40). This observation is of particular importance as OCD is likely to be disproportionally affected by this pandemic with many of the governmental guidelines directly promoting OCD symptoms (43).…”

“…To assess OC symptoms, we used the PI-WSUR total score, which, with a mean of 31.643 ( SD =23.026; cf. Figure 2A) at T1, showed clearly elevated levels compared to previous population samples (25,38–40). Some sub-scores revealed scores similar to OCD patient samples (Supplemental Figure 2) (25).…”

Dissociable mechanisms of reward learning co-mature during human adolescence as predicted by macaque lesion models

“…Our results may suggest that part of the developmental changes underlying these behaviors are rooted in a specific subcomponent of reward learning that rely on the GRS, and that is linked to late maturing lateral parts of prefrontal cortex. Therefore, an increased focus on the contribution of the prefrontal cortex in addition to subcortical structures important for value coding (Galvan & McGlennen, 2013; Mills et al ., 2014; Insel et al ., 2017; Vaghi et al ., 2020) might in the future improve our understanding of adolescent risk taking, learning and choice.…”