Cocaine use disorder in females is associated with altered social decision-making: a study with the prisoner's dilemma and the ultimatum game

Chronic cocaine use is associated with cognitive deficits, including poor performance on neuropsychological tasks of memory, executive functions, theory of mind and decision-making. However, the relationship between cocaine use disorder and social decision-making remains unclear. This is particularl...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:	BMC psychiatry Vol. 19; no. 1; pp. 211 - 9
Main Authors:	Viola, Thiago Wendt, Niederauer, João Paulo Otolia, Kluwe-Schiavon, Bruno, Sanvicente-Vieira, Breno, Grassi-Oliveira, Rodrigo
Format:	Journal Article
Language:	English
Published:	England BioMed Central Ltd 05-07-2019 BioMed Central BMC
Subjects:	Adult Behavior Care and treatment Chocolate Choice Behavior Clinical decision making Cocaine Cocaine abuse Cocaine-related disorders Cocaine-Related Disorders - psychology Cognition Cognitive ability Cooperation Cooperative Behavior Criminal sentences Decision Making Demography Drug abuse Drug use Evidence Executive function Experiments Female Females Game theory Games, Recreational - psychology Humans Mental disorders Methods Paradigms Prisoner Dilemma Prisoners Psychiatric patients Psychiatry Psychosis Social aspects Social Behavior Substance abuse Cocaine-related disorders Cocaine Cognition Decision making
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Summary:	Chronic cocaine use is associated with cognitive deficits, including poor performance on neuropsychological tasks of memory, executive functions, theory of mind and decision-making. However, the relationship between cocaine use disorder and social decision-making remains unclear. This is particularly relevant given the fact that many cocaine abusers present impairments in social functioning. In this sense, game theory paradigms have been helping to comprehend the behavior of psychiatric patients when they directly engage in social situations, which may better approximate many of their real-life choices. The present study investigated social decision-making in individuals with or without cocaine use disorder, examining their behavior in the Prisoner's Dilemma and in the Ultimatum Game. Thus, 129 females diagnosed with cocaine use disorder and 55 females with no history of substance abuse were recruited and performed both social decision-making tasks. Additional assessments included information about demographics, patterns of substance consumption and executive function performance. Females with cocaine use disorder opted more often to not defect in the Prisoner's Dilemma, while in the Ultimatum Game they frequently chose to accept the first and unfair offer as responders. These effects were more pronounced within females with long-term history of cocaine use. Associations between cocaine use disorder and altered social decision-making were independent from demographic and executive function variables. The influence of cocaine use disorder on social decision-making was detected in both game paradigms, resulting in more cooperative behavior in the Prisoner's Dilemma and higher acceptance rate of unfair offers in the Ultimatum Game. Further studies should focus on investigating these associations to shed light on the putative biopsychosocial factors underlying the observed effects.
ISSN:	1471-244X 1471-244X
DOI:	10.1186/s12888-019-2198-0