Journal
NEUROSCIENCE AND BIOBEHAVIORAL REVIEWS
Volume 108, Issue -, Pages 771-780Publisher
PERGAMON-ELSEVIER SCIENCE LTD
DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2019.12.025
Keywords
Behavioral addiction; Non-substance addictive disorders; Behavioral control modes; Learning; Compulsivity; Reinforcement learning
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Funding
- Spanish Government (Ministerio de Economia y Competitividad, Secretaria de Estado de Investigacion, Desarrollo e Innovacion) [PSI2017-85488-P]
- Spanish Government (Convocatoria 2017 de Proyectos I+D de Excelencia, Spain) [PSI2017-85488-P]
- Spanish Government (Fondo Europeo de Desarrollo Regional, FEDER, European Union) [PSI2017-85488-P]
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Learning psycho(bio)logy has developed a solid corpus of evidence and theory regarding behavior control modes. The present article briefly reviews that literature and its influence on recent models in which the transition from goal-directed to compulsive behavior is identified as the main process underlying substance use disorders. This literature is also relevant to non-substance addictive disorders, and serves as basis to propose a restricted definition of behavioral addiction relying on the presence of behavior-specific compulsivity. Complementarily, we consider whether some activities can become disordered while remaining mostly goal-driven. Based on reinforcement learning models, relative outcome utility computation is proposed as an alternative mechanism through which dysfunctional behaviors (even not qualifying as addictive) can override adaptive ones, causing functional impairment. Beyond issues of conceptual delimitation, recommendations are made regarding the importance of identifying individual etiological pathways to dysregulated behavior, the necessity of accurately profiling at-risk individuals, and the potential hazards of symptom-based diagnosis. In our view, the validity of these recommendations does not depend on the position one takes in the nosological debate.
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