Rigid reduced successor representation as a potential mechanism for addiction

Difficulty in cessation of drinking, smoking, or gambling has been widely recognized. Conventional theories proposed relative dominance of habitual over goal-directed control, but human studies have not convincingly supported them. Referring to the recently suggested successor representation (SR) of states that enables partially goal-directed control, we propose a dopamine-related mechanism that makes resistance to habitual reward-obtaining particularly difficult. We considered that long-standing behavior towards a certain reward without resisting temptation can (but not always) lead to a formation of rigid dimension-reduced SR based on the goal state, which cannot be updated. Then, in our model assuming such rigid reduced SR, whereas no reward prediction error (RPE) is generated at the goal while no resistance is made, a sustained large positive RPE is generated upon goal reaching once the person starts resisting temptation. Such sustained RPE is somewhat similar to the hypothesized sustained fictitious RPE caused by drug-induced dopamine. In contrast, if rigid reduced SR is not formed and states are represented individually as in simple reinforcement learning models, no sustained RPE is generated at the goal. Formation of rigid reduced SR also attenuates the resistance-dependent decrease in the value of the cue for behavior, makes subsequent introduction of punishment after the goal ineffective, and potentially enhances the propensity of nonresistance through the influence of RPEs via the spiral striatum-midbrain circuit. These results suggest that formation of rigid reduced SR makes cessation of habitual reward-obtaining particularly difficult and can thus be a mechanism for addiction, common to substance and nonsubstance reward.

Automated summary

The formation of rigid reduced successor representations (SR) in habitual reward-obtaining behavior makes resistance particularly difficult, serving as a potential mechanism for addiction.