Cited by 331Schizophrenia research and treatmentNeural and Behavioral Psychology StudiesNeurotransmitter Receptor Influence on Behavior

Probabilistic reversal learning impairments in schizophrenia: Further evidence of orbitofrontal dysfunction

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Waltz, James A., Gold, James M.·2007·Schizophrenia Research

Abstract

Impairments in feedback processing and reinforcement learning appear to be prominent aspects of schizophrenia (SZ), which may relate to symptoms of the disorder. Evidence from cognitive neuroscience investigations indicates that disparate brain systems may underlie different kinds of feedback-driven learning. The ability to rapidly shift response tendencies in the face of negative feedback, when reinforcement contingencies are reversed, is an important type of learning thought to depend on ventral prefrontal cortex (PFC). Schizophrenia has long been associated with dysfunction in dorsolateral areas of PFC, but evidence for ventral PFC impairment in more mixed. In order to assess whether SZ patients experience particular difficulty in carrying out a cognitive function commonly linked to ventral PFC function, we administered to 34 patients and 26 controls a modified version of an established probabilistic reversal learning task from the experimental literature [Cools, R., Clark, L., Owen, A.M., Robbins, T.W., 2002. Defining the neural mechanisms of probabilistic reversal learning using event-related functional magnetic resonance imaging. J. Neurosci. 22, 4563-4567]. Although SZ patients and controls performed similarly on the initial acquisition of probabilistic contingencies, patients showed substantial learning impairments when reinforcement contingencies were reversed, achieving significantly fewer reversals [chi(2)(6)=15.717, p=0.008]. Even when analyses were limited to subjects who acquired all probabilistic contingencies initially (22 patients and 20 controls), patients achieved significantly fewer reversals [chi(2)(3)=9.408, p=0.024]. These results support the idea that ventral PFC dysfunction is a prevalent aspect of schizophrenic pathophysiology, which may contribute to deficits in reinforcement learning exhibited by patients. Further studies are required to investigate the roles of dopaminergic systems in these impairments.

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Crossref · 10.1016/j.schres.2007.03.010

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  • Behavioral studies report that sensitivity to reward is intact in schizophrenia, but deficits are evident in rapid reward learning on trial-to-trial feedback, such as reversal learning, and in reward-related decision-making.

    “Behavioral studies of reward learning have reported that sensitivity to reward is intact in schizophrenia, but deficits are evident in rapid reward learning on the basis of trial-to-trial feedback, such as reversal learning, and in reward-related decision-making [406,409-413].”

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  1. Pfohl B, Blum N, Zimmerman M, Stangl D. Structured Interview for DSM-III-R Personality Disorders (SIDP-R) University of Iowa, Department of Psychiatry; Iowa City, IA: 1989. [Google Scholar]

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Authors
Waltz, J. A., & Gold, J. M.
Affiliations
University of Maryland, Baltimore (US)
Corresponding author
Waltz, James A.
Venue
Schizophrenia Research
Publisher
Elsevier BV
Published
2007-07
Volume
93
Issue
1-3
Pages
296-303
ISSN
0920-9964 (ISSN-L)
OpenAlex
W2010547854
Cited by
331
References
50
Citations by year
2026: 6 · 2025: 14 · 2024: 12 · 2023: 15 · 2022: 20 · 2021: 21 · 2020: 16 · 2019: 19 · 2018: 17 · 2017: 17 · 2016: 35 · 2015: 26 · 2014: 17 · 2013: 15 · 2012: 13
FWCI
10.09
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • Schizophrenia Research (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
Funders
  • National Institutes of Health (5p30mh068580-03, 5k12rr023250-05, 5r01mh080066-10)
  • National Institute of Mental Health (P30 MH-068580, R01-MH080066, R24MH072647)
  • National Center for Research Resources (K12-RR023250)
Topics
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Psychiatry and Mental health › Schizophrenia research and treatment
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Neural and Behavioral Psychology Studies
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience › Neurotransmitter Receptor Influence on Behavior
Keywords
schizophrenia, probabilistic reversal learning
MeSH terms
Adult, Basal Ganglia, Brain Mapping, Discrimination Learning, Female, Humans, Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Male, Middle Aged, Probability Learning, Psychiatric Status Rating Scales, Psychomotor Performance, Reversal Learning, Reward, Schizophrenia, Schizophrenic Psychology, Prefrontal Cortex, Feedback, Psychological

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