An event-related potential study of decision making and feedback utilization in female college students who binge drink

Abstract

This study investigated the ability to use feedback for decision making in female college students who binge drink (BD) using the Iowa Gambling Task (IGT) and event-related potentials (ERPs). Twenty-seven binge drinkers and 23 non-binge drinkers (non-BD) were identified based on scores on the Korean version of the Alcohol Use Disorder Test and the Alcohol Use Questionnaire. The IGT consists of four cards, including two cards that result in a net loss, with large immediate gains but greater losses in the long term, and two cards that result in a net gain, with small immediate gains but reduced losses in the long term. Participants were required to choose one card at a time to maximize profit until the end of the task while avoiding losses. The BD group showed a significantly lower total net score than the non-BD group, indicating that the BD group chose more disadvantageous cards. The BD group showed significantly smaller {Delta}FRN amplitudes (difference in amplitudes of feedback-related negativity [FRN] between gain and loss feedback) except in P3. Additionally, {Delta}FRN amplitudes in the fronto-central area were positively correlated with the total net score and net scores for sectors 4 and 5. Thus, total net scores and later performance on the IGT increased as {Delta}FRN amplitudes from the fronto-central area increased. FRN is known to reflect early feedback evaluation employing a bottom-up mechanism, whereas P3 is known to reflect late feedback processing and allocation of attentional resources using a top-down mechanism. These results indicate that college students who binge drink have deficits in early evaluation of positive or negative feedback and that this deficit may be related to decision making deficits.