Table 2.
Hypotheses, Reinforcement Learning Constructs and Corresponding Dependent Variables Based on the GNG and the GLA Tasks Studied in First-Episode Psychosis Patients
| Reinforcement Learning Constructs and Hypotheses | Results from the Current FEP sample | |
|---|---|---|
| Construct 1 | Go-Response Bias16 | |
| Hypothesis | Will correlate with positive symptom severity | - No Go-response bias was observed in the overall patient sample. - Overall Go-rate correlated with PANSS positive symptom score. |
| Measure | Overall Go-rate (GNG) | |
| Construct 2 | Rapid Reinforcement Learning15,16 | |
| Hypothesis | Will be disrupted in FEP patients | - Patients had lower win-stay rate on the GLA task than controls. - GLA win-stay rate correlated with SANS total score. - No rapid RL impairment was observed on the GNG task. |
| Will correlate with negative symptom severity | ||
| Measures | Lose-shift rate (GNG & GLA) | |
| Win-stay rate (GNG & GLA) | ||
| Construct 3 | Overall Reinforcement Learning15,16,43 | |
| Hypothesis | Will be mildly impaired in FEP patients | - Patients performed worse than controls on the positive stimuli in the GNG task and both positive (gain) and negative (loss- avoidance) stimuli in the GLA task. - Patients showed longer response latencies to positive stimuli than controls in the GNG task, but no deficit in RT acceleration to positive stimuli. - Overall RL measures did not correlate with negative symptoms |
| Will correlate with negative symptom severity | ||
| Measure s | Acquisition RT acceleration to positive stimuli (GNG) | |
| Learning across Acquisition blocks (GNG & GLA) | ||
| Construct 4 | Value-guided Choice16,43 | |
| Hypothesis | Will be mildly impaired in FEP patients | - Comparable performance between patients and controls on value-guided decision-making in both GNG and GLA tasks. - Patients’ [FP − NNeu] contrast values correlated with SANS amotivation scores. |
| Will correlate with negative symptom severity | ||
| Measures | [FP − NNeu] contrast and [NP − NNeu] contrast at Test/ transfer phase (GNG) | |
| [FW − FLA] preference at Test/transfer phase (GLA) |
Note: FLA, frequent loss-avoider; FP, familiar-positive; FW, frequent winner; GLA, gain vs loss-avoidance; GNG, Go/NoGo; NNeu, novel-neutral; NP, novel-positive; PANSS, Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale; POS, positive symptom dimension score; RL, reinforcement learning; RT, response time; SANS, Scale of the Assessment of Negative Symptoms.