Abstract
The project investigated individual differences in how people learn from and respond to reward-associated cues, with the overarching goal of advancing our understanding of vulnerability to addictive behaviors. Addiction remains one of the leading causes of preventable morbidity and premature mortality worldwide, yet only a minority of individuals who engage in recreational drug use develop a substance use disorder. In line with the objectives of the PNRR Mission on Human Wellbeing (Cluster Health), the project sought to identify behavioral and neurophysiological mechanisms that may contribute to individual differences in addiction vulnerability, with the long-term aim of informing prevention strategies and the development of more targeted interventions.
Results achieved
The research focused on two well-established behavioral phenotypes, sign-tracking and goal-tracking, which represent a promising translational model for studying individual susceptibility to addiction. During associative learning, reward-predictive cues acquire motivational significance to different degrees across individuals. While both sign-trackers and goal-trackers learn that a cue predicts reward availability, sign-trackers tend to attribute greater incentive value to the cue itself, resulting in stronger motivational responses toward reward-associated stimuli. Previous evidence has linked this behavioral tendency to an increased risk of developing addictive behaviors, although the mechanisms accounting for this association remained only partially understood. The project was designed to test the hypothesis that sign-tracking reflects the interaction between enhanced motivational attraction toward reward-predictive cues and reduced inhibitory control over behavior. This theoretical framework extends current models of addiction by proposing that vulnerability arises not from heightened cue reactivity alone, but from the combination of excessive motivational drive and limitations in cognitive control processes. To address these questions, the project employed an integrated experimental approach combining behavioral measures with neurophysiological techniques. State-of-the-art methodologies previously developed by the participating research groups were successfully implemented to characterize individual differences in motivational and inhibitory processes. Data were collected from healthy participants spanning different levels of vulnerability to addictive behaviors, as well as from individuals with tobacco use disorder, allowing the investigation of these mechanisms across populations with different clinical profiles. Throughout the project, the two Research Units worked in close collaboration, integrating complementary theoretical perspectives and methodological expertise. This multidisciplinary approach enabled the collection of converging evidence on the cognitive and neural mechanisms underlying reward learning, motivational salience attribution, and inhibitory control. The project also contributed to consolidating experimental protocols and analytical procedures that can be adopted in future translational and clinical research. The findings generated by the project provide an important step toward a more comprehensive characterization of addiction vulnerability. Rather than considering motivational and executive mechanisms independently, the results support an integrated framework in which both processes jointly contribute to individual differences in behavior. This perspective offers a promising basis for the future development of more sensitive behavioral markers capable of identifying individuals at increased risk before the onset of clinically significant addictive disorders. The project further strengthened the scientific collaboration between the participating institutions, fostered the training of early-career researchers, and promoted the dissemination of results through scientific meetings, publications, and knowledge-transfer activities directed toward both the scientific community and broader stakeholders. The outcomes also establish a solid foundation for future studies investigating preventive interventions aimed at modulating motivational and inhibitory mechanisms associated with addiction risk. Overall, the results showed that individual differences in sign-tracking are better explained by the combined contribution of enhanced motivational responses to reward-associated cues and reduced inhibitory control than by either mechanism alone. The findings further showed that this integrated behavioral profile provides a more accurate characterization of vulnerability to addictive behaviors and represents a promising preclinical model for identifying individuals at increased risk of developing addiction.Project details
Unibo Team Leader: Sara Garofalo
Unibo involved Department/s:
Dipartimento di Psicologia "Renzo Canestrari"
Coordinator:
ALMA MATER STUDIORUM - Università di Bologna(Italy)
Total Eu Contribution: Euro (EUR) 225.000,00
Total Unibo Contribution: Euro (EUR) 113.000,00
Project Duration in months: 24
Start Date:
30/11/2023
End Date:
29/11/2025
