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BMC Psychiatry
Published in: BMC Psychiatry 1/2019

Open Access 01-12-2019 | Research article

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

Authors: Thiago Wendt Viola, João Paulo Otolia Niederauer, Bruno Kluwe-Schiavon, Breno Sanvicente-Vieira, Rodrigo Grassi-Oliveira

Published in: BMC Psychiatry | Issue 1/2019

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Abstract

Background

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.

Methods

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.

Results

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.

Conclusions

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.
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Metadata
Title
Cocaine use disorder in females is associated with altered social decision-making: a study with the prisoner’s dilemma and the ultimatum game
Authors
Thiago Wendt Viola
João Paulo Otolia Niederauer
Bruno Kluwe-Schiavon
Breno Sanvicente-Vieira
Rodrigo Grassi-Oliveira
Publication date
01-12-2019
Publisher
BioMed Central
Published in
BMC Psychiatry / Issue 1/2019
Electronic ISSN: 1471-244X
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1186/s12888-019-2198-0

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