Dataset Information

Purpose in life and conflict-related neural responses during health decision-making.

ABSTRACT: OBJECTIVE:Having a strong sense of purpose in life is associated with positive health behaviors. However, the processes through which purpose leads to health are unclear. The current study compared neural activity among individuals with higher versus lower purpose while they made health-related decisions in response to messages promoting health behavior change. METHOD:A total of 220 adults with a sedentary lifestyle who were likely to feel conflicted in response to health messages underwent functional MRI while viewing messages encouraging physical activity and indicated the self-relevance of the messages. We focused on activity within dorsal anterior cingulate cortex (dACC), anterior insula (AI), dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC), and ventrolateral prefrontal cortex (VLPFC) as identified by meta-analytically defined maps of regions previously implicated in conflict-related processing, while participants considered the self-relevance of the messages. RESULTS:Individuals with higher (vs. lower) purpose showed less activity in dACC, AI, DLPFC, and VLPFC while making health-decisions. Lower brain response in these regions mediated the effect of higher purpose on greater endorsement of the messages. CONCLUSIONS:Individuals with strong purpose may be less likely to experience conflict-related regulatory burden during health decision-making, which may in turn allow them to accept conflicting yet beneficial health messages. Reduced brain reactivity in dACC, AI, DLPFC, and VLPFC may reflect reduced conflict-related processing during health decision-making relevant to longer term lifestyle goals. This adds to mounting evidence linking purpose and a range of positive health-related outcomes, as well as evidence suggesting that dACC, AI, DLPFC, and VLPFC track conflict-related processes relevant to longer term goals and values. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2019 APA, all rights reserved).

SUBMITTER: Kang Y

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7233478 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

ACCESS DATA

Publications

Purpose in life and conflict-related neural responses during health decision-making.

Kang Yoona Y Strecher Victor J VJ Kim Eric E Falk Emily B EB

Health psychology : official journal of the Division of Health Psychology, American Psychological Association 20190422 6

<h4>Objective</h4>Having a strong sense of purpose in life is associated with positive health behaviors. However, the processes through which purpose leads to health are unclear. The current study compared neural activity among individuals with higher versus lower purpose while they made health-related decisions in response to messages promoting health behavior change.<h4>Method</h4>A total of 220 adults with a sedentary lifestyle who were likely to feel conflicted in response to health messages ...[more]

PMID: 31008647

Similar Datasets

Project description:Animal approach-avoidance conflict paradigms have been used extensively to operationalize anxiety, quantify the effects of anxiolytic agents, and probe the neural basis of fear and anxiety. Results from human neuroimaging studies support that a frontal-striatal-amygdala neural circuitry is important for approach-avoidance learning. However, the neural basis of decision-making is much less clear in this context. Thus, we combined a recently developed human approach-avoidance paradigm with functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to identify neural substrates underlying approach-avoidance conflict decision-making. Fifteen healthy adults completed the approach-avoidance conflict (AAC) paradigm during fMRI. Analyses of variance were used to compare conflict to nonconflict (avoid-threat and approach-reward) conditions and to compare level of reward points offered during the decision phase. Trial-by-trial amplitude modulation analyses were used to delineate brain areas underlying decision-making in the context of approach/avoidance behavior. Conflict trials as compared to the nonconflict trials elicited greater activation within bilateral anterior cingulate cortex, anterior insula, and caudate, as well as right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (PFC). Right caudate and lateral PFC activation was modulated by level of reward offered. Individuals who showed greater caudate activation exhibited less approach behavior. On a trial-by-trial basis, greater right lateral PFC activation related to less approach behavior. Taken together, results suggest that the degree of activation within prefrontal-striatal-insula circuitry determines the degree of approach versus avoidance decision-making. Moreover, the degree of caudate and lateral PFC activation related to individual differences in approach-avoidance decision-making. Therefore, the approach-avoidance conflict paradigm is ideally suited to probe anxiety-related processing differences during approach-avoidance decision-making.

Project description:Many real-world situations require navigating decisions for both reward and threat. While there has been significant progress in understanding mechanisms of decision-making and mediating neurocircuitry separately for reward and threat, there is limited understanding of situations where reward and threat contingencies compete to create approach-avoidance conflict (AAC). Here, we leverage computational learning models, independent component analysis (ICA), and multivariate pattern analysis (MVPA) approaches to understand decision-making during a novel task that embeds concurrent reward and threat learning and manipulates congruency between reward and threat probabilities. Computational modeling supported a modified reinforcement learning model where participants integrated reward and threat value into a combined total value according to an individually varying policy parameter, which was highly predictive of decisions to approach reward vs avoid threat during trials where the highest reward option was also the highest threat option (i.e., approach-avoidance conflict). ICA analyses demonstrated unique roles for salience, frontoparietal, medial prefrontal, and inferior frontal networks in differential encoding of reward vs threat prediction error and value signals. The left frontoparietal network uniquely encoded degree of conflict between reward and threat value at the time of choice. MVPA demonstrated that delivery of reward and threat could accurately be decoded within salience and inferior frontal networks, respectively, and that decisions to approach reward vs avoid threat were predicted by the relative degree to which these reward vs threat representations were active at the time of choice. This latter result suggests that navigating AAC decisions involves generating mental representations for possible decision outcomes, and relative activation of these representations may bias subsequent decision-making towards approaching reward or avoiding threat accordingly.

Project description:BackgroundBoth patients and surrogate decision-makers experience decisional conflict when making a major medical treatment decision with life or death implications. The relationship between health literacy and decisional conflict while making a major medical treatment decision is not understood.ObjectiveTo identify the prevalence of individuals making major medical treatment decisions for themselves or someone else and to explore the relationships between decisional conflict and circumstances of the decision as well as the decision-maker.DesignTwo-phase survey study: in phase 1, we screened for who made a major treatment decision; in phase 2, we asked eligible respondents about their experience making the decision.ParticipantsAddress-based random sample of 4000 Wisconsin residents; 1072 completed phase 1 and 464 completed phase 2.Main measuresWe asked respondents about types of decisions made, the most difficult decision made, and characteristics of the decision-maker and the decision. We included the Decisional Conflict Scale and four domains of the Health Literacy Questionnaire. Open-ended questions also allowed respondents to describe their experiences.Key resultsAbout 43% of respondents reported making a major medical treatment decision. Decisions about major surgery and life support were regarded as the most difficult decisions. Respondents who made the decision for a spouse/partner (β = 6.65, p = 0.012), parent (β = 9.27, p < 0.001), or someone else (β = 10.7, p < 0.001) had higher decisional conflict. Respondents who reported higher ability to actively engage with healthcare providers (β = - 5.24, p = 0.002) and to understand health information well enough to know what to do (β = - 6.12, p = 0.001) had lower decisional conflict.ConclusionsThe need to make major treatment decisions is likely to increase and making decisions on someone else's behalf appeared to be especially difficult. Improving communication to encourage patient and family engagement in the decision-making conversation, particularly for individuals with limited health literacy, may be helpful.

Dataset Information

Purpose in life and conflict-related neural responses during health decision-making.

Publications

Purpose in life and conflict-related neural responses during health decision-making.

Similar Datasets

OmicsDI is part of the ELIXIR infrastructure

Tweets