There is substantial evidence linking early-life stress (ELS) to negative health outcomes in adulthood, including addiction. However, the neurocognitive and behavioral mechanisms through which ELS increases these risks remain unclear. To address this gap in knowledge, we developed a novel instrumental learning paradigm to explore the effects of ELS on the balance of habitual versus goal-directed learning. Habits efficiently reproduce repetitive behaviors but are inflexible when reward contingencies related to those behaviors change. Persisting in performing a response after its outcome has been devalued is the hallmark of habitual behavior in instrumental learning. Participants with a history of higher ELS were significantly more likely to make habitual responses in this instrumental avoidance learning paradigm than individuals with a history of lower ELS. Logistic regression analysis showed that ELS is significantly related to habitual responding over and above the effects of retrospective socioeconomic status, trait and state anxiety, depression and recent levels of stress. Analysis of the differential impacts of the type of ELS suggested that these effects are largely driven by experiences of physical neglect.

有大量证据表明，早期生活压力（ELS）与成年后的负面健康结果（包括成瘾）有关。然而，ELS 增加这些风险的神经认知和行为机制仍不清楚。为了解决这一知识差距，我们开发了一种新颖的工具性学习范式，以探索 ELS 对习惯性学习与目标导向性学习之间平衡的影响。习惯可以有效地再现重复行为，但当与这些行为相关的奖励意外事件发生变化时，习惯就会变得不灵活。在结果被贬值后坚持做出反应是工具性学习中习惯行为的标志。与具有较低 ELS 历史的参与者相比，具有较高 ELS 历史的参与者在这种工具性回避学习范式中做出习惯性反应的可能性明显更大。逻辑回归分析表明，ELS 与习惯性反应显着相关，而不仅仅是回顾性社会经济地位、特质和状态焦虑、抑郁和近期压力水平的影响。对 ELS 类型的不同影响的分析表明，这些影响很大程度上是由身体忽视的经历驱动的。