title: Characterizing a psychiatric symptom dimension related to deficits in goal-directed control.
abstract: Prominent theories suggest that compulsive behaviors, characteristic of obsessive-compulsive disorder and addiction, are driven by shared deficits in goal-directed control, which confers vulnerability for developing rigid habits. However, recent studies have shown that deficient goal-directed control accompanies several disorders, including those without an obvious compulsive element. Reasoning that this lack of clinical specificity might reflect broader issues with psychiatric diagnostic categories, we investigated whether a dimensional approach would better delineate the clinical manifestations of goal-directed deficits. Using large-scale online assessment of psychiatric symptoms and neurocognitive performance in two independent general-population samples, we found that deficits in goal-directed control were most strongly associated with a symptom dimension comprising compulsive behavior and intrusive thought. This association was highly specific when compared to other non-compulsive aspects of psychopathology. These data showcase a powerful new methodology and highlight the potential of a dimensional, biologically-grounded approach to psychiatry research.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, New York University, New York, United States.|Department of Psychology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom.|Behavioural and Clinical Neuroscience Institute, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Claire M
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0001-9065-403X
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Gillan
authors.affiliation: Stanford Graduate School of Business, Stanford University, Stanford, United States.
authors.forename: Michal
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kosinski
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University College Dublin, Dulbin, Ireland.
authors.forename: Robert
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Whelan
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, New York University, New York, United States.|Center for Neural Science, New York University, New York, United States.|Nathan Kline Institute, New York, United States.
authors.forename: Elizabeth A
authors.initials: EA
authors.lastname: Phelps
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Princeton University, Princeton, United States.|Neuroscience Institute, Princeton University, Princeton, United States.
authors.forename: Nathaniel D
authors.initials: ND
authors.lastname: Daw
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D005260:Female; D006040:Goals; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009771:Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder / Q000503:physiopathology*; D019966:Substance-Related Disorders / Q000503:physiopathology*; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: compulsive; computational; dimensional; goal-directed; habit; human; human biology; medicine; neuroscience; psychiatry