Association for Behavior Analysis International

Pathological gambling is characterized by persistent, maladaptive risky choice, causing dysfunction in daily life. With technological advances, electronic gambling machines, e.g., slot machines, may increase risky choice using audiovisual cues paired with reinforcer delivery. The putative conditioned-reinforcing effects of these “win-paired cues” may be enhanced with the administration of stimulant drugs, such as d-amphetamine. The current study was designed to compare effects of d-amphetamine and win-paired-cue delivery on risky choice. To assess risky choice, a probability-discounting procedure was used with rats. Rats chose between one food pellet with 100% certainty and four food pellets with varying probabilities that decreased in blocks of trials across the session. Once choice data were obtained without any win-paired cues, varying doses of d-amphetamine (0.1-1.0 mg/kg, i.p.) were administered twice a week. A second dose-response function will then be obtained when win-paired cues (four flashes of the houselight) are presented with the larger reinforcer (a winning trial). Baseline results show that risky choice increased following the administration of d-amphetamine. It is expected that the combination of win-paired cues and d-amphetamine will further increase risky choice. For individuals who gamble, stimulant administration may increase the likelihood of escalated risky choice.

Psychotropic medications are commonly prescribed to manage underlying psychiatric disorders in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) (Mandell et al., 2008). In cases where children with ASD and IDD display severe problem behavior, the reduction of these behaviors often serves as a primary indicator of medication efficacy. However, additional measures, such as affective observations, may provide valuable insight into the comprehensive impact of psychiatric interventions. This case study examines Jasmine, a 13-year-old girl diagnosed with autism and disruptive mood dysregulation disorder, admitted to an inpatient hospital unit for the assessment and treatment of severe problem behavior. Partial interval data were collected every 15 minutes throughout the day to record Jasmine’s affect as positive, neutral, and/or negative. A novel analytical approach was applied to identify periods of greater mood stability. Conditional probability analysis of affect following medication administration showed that Jasmine was unlikely to exhibit negative affect approximately one hour post-medication, an effect persisting for over an hour. This analytic method holds promise for evaluating psychiatric intervention efficacy, with potential applications for optimizing medication scheduling, therapy sessions, and other therapeutic services.