Reward-paired cues can powerfully influence behavior. In people suffering from addictions, addiction-related cues (such as drug paraphernalia or casino lights and sounds) can trigger addictive behavior and relapse. My earlier work has addressed the effects of reward-paired cues on cost-benefit decision making as one candidate mechanism whereby cue exposure might translate into these harmful outcomes (Cherkasova et al JNeurosci, 2018, DOI:10.1523/JNEUROSCI.1171-18.2018).

Current work is continuing to examine the effects of reward cues on decision making, with some projects also focusing on reinforcement learning and delay discounting.

 Individual Differences

Cue reactivity, or amplified response to addiction-related cues, is thought to play a critical role in clinical course and outcome of addiction. However, cue reactivity is typically observed after an addiction develops. Could there also be a trait-like predisposition to forming powerful cue-reward associations that confers addiction vulnerability? Research in rodents tells us that there is trait-like individual variation in the tendency to attribute incentive salience to reward cues expressed as types of Pavlovian conditioned approach behavior (“sign-tracking” and “goal-tracking”). This area of our work aims to determine whether such trait-like variation also exists in humans and what role it might play in addiction vulnerability and reactivity to addiction-related cues.

Gambling & Problem Gambling

Slot machines - whether in casinos or online - are gambling products associated with some of the most serious harms. What is it about slot machines that makes them such a risky form of gambling? Our lab’s research aims to better understand the role of slot machine design features such as reinforcement schedules and sensory reward cues (flashing lights, money imagery, and “bells and whistles”) in promoting problematic gambling patterns. This work is funded by the International Center for Responsible Gambling and is being done in collaboration with the Centre for Gambling Research at the University of British Columbia. Other related work addresses the effects of sensory reward cues on risky decision making in people with problematic gambling behaviors.

 Cue-reactivity in e-cigarette users

This work examines individual differences in cue-reactivity in e-cigarette users and smokers. It aims to relate sign-tracking and goal-tracking propensity (see above) to vaping and smoking cue-induced cravings, decision-making biases, and brain activity measured using EEG.