# Computationally guided modulation of cortical-striatal activity: Toward brain stimulation-based treatments for impulsive and risky decision making

> **NIH NIH K08** · DARTMOUTH-HITCHCOCK CLINIC · 2020 · $173,016

## Abstract

ABSTRACT
Impulsive and risky decision-making are observed in many psychiatric disorders (e.g., ADHD, bipolar, eating
and substance use disorders). Variation in the underlying psychological constructs of choice impulsivity (CI)
and risky choice (RC), can be evaluated in both pre-clinical and clinical populations using specific tasks—the
delay discounting task for CI and the risky decision-making task for RC. In patients, CI and RC task
performance associated with impulsive and risky decision-making, relates prospectively to problematic
behaviors—gambling, binge eating, substance use, violence and suicide—and also predicts non-response to
treatment and risk of relapse. Thus, treatments that can normalize decision-making, reflected in improved CI or
RC task performance, could have a meaningful clinical impact across an array of neuropsychiatric conditions.
Previous studies have correlated CI and RC task performance (in both rodents and humans) with specific
patterns of cortical-striatal activity, but few approved treatments for neuropsychiatric illness have been
developed for the purpose of targeting and therapeutically manipulating these systems-level neural activity
patterns. Therefore, this proposal will: (1) identify patterns of cortical-striatal activity correlated with CI and RC
task performance; (2) determine how targeting diverse cortical-striatal regions with deep brain stimulation
(DBS) alters cortical-striatal activity; and (3) use DBS to modulate activity patterns and correlate these with CI
and RC task performance changes. This proposal will identify neural systems-level treatment targets that will
aid in the development of circuit-based interventions (e.g., DBS and transcranial magnetic stimulation-TMS) for
maladaptive decision-making across an array of psychiatric conditions.
My primary goal under this proposal is to establish an independent research program that will address the
following questions: What are the neural systems-level activity patterns that are relevant to domains of mental
illness?; and How can a neural systems-level understanding of trans-diagnostic domains be leveraged to
enable circuit-based interventions to reach their therapeutic potential? I believe that transitioning my pre-
clinical research from models of disordered appetitive behavior to common domains of function that are
pathologic across many psychiatric conditions will enhance the translational relevance of my research
program. To make this transition and be at the forefront of computational psychiatry, I must acquire additional
training in advanced behavioral protocols and cutting-edge computational tools for analysis of high dimensional
neural data. The training outlined in this K08 complements my existing knowledge base (electrophysiology and
circuit-based interventions) and aligns well with the proposed Specific Aims to provide a context to gain
experience in these key areas of training through course work and one-on-one mentorship (both internal and...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9881359
- **Project number:** 5K08MH117347-02
- **Recipient organization:** DARTMOUTH-HITCHCOCK CLINIC
- **Principal Investigator:** Wilder T Doucette
- **Activity code:** K08 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $173,016
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2019-03-01 → 2023-02-28

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9881359

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9881359, Computationally guided modulation of cortical-striatal activity: Toward brain stimulation-based treatments for impulsive and risky decision making (5K08MH117347-02). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-24 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9881359. Licensed CC0.

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