In this special 30th Anniversary issue, we aim to gather the most recent and perhaps the most important scientific advances the Iowa Gambling Task (IGT) has made over the past three decades, at the behest of our Specialty Chief Editor, Professor Antoine Bechara (one of the inventors of the IGT). In the decades since, there have been a wide variety of uses of the Iowa gambling tasks in a variety of clinical and preclinical studies, expanding well beyond the initial version. The IGT especially excels in predictive and concurrent validity in clinical settings. More specifically, research has demonstrated that administering the IGT can assist in identifying neural mechanisms of therapeutic targets. Furthermore, the use of the IGT can help with predicting disease risk, thereby creating prodromal diagnostics and subclinical thresholds of cognitive decline.
In this article collection, we want to highlight research that focuses on the use of the IGT in translational research. A primary goal is to identify IGT outcomes that can help predict disease risk with high sensitivity and specificity. Through this collection of research, we would also like help create an algorithm that researchers and clinicians can easily use to operationally define thresholds and stages of cognitive decline associated with disease pathology via the IGT.
A secondary goal for this collection is to shed light on the neurobiological mechanisms through the IGT involved in in non-aversive decision-making in rat-to-human translational studies. Through this, we hope to better define therapeutic drug and gene targets that are associated with IGT performance outcomes.
The overall objective for this topic is to focus on the use of the IGT in translational settings. Therefore, the scope is broad, but there are a few key requirements that must be met by all papers submitted within this topic. All papers must
• Directly use the IGT,
• Use variations of the IGT, or
• Made animal model modifications of the IGT
The Following Research Areas are Especially Encouraged (but not limited to)
o Translational, preclinical, or clinical studies elucidating the neurobiological mechanisms initiated by the IGT that might be used to identify prodromal symptoms or predict risks for poor outcomes in psychiatric, neurological diseases or disorders [i.e. parkinsonism, early-stage or prodromal Parkinson’s disease, prosopagnosia, Asperger’s syndrome, autism spectrum disorders; eating disorders, dyslexia, conduct disorder, etc.]
o Off label pharmacological, endogenous, or gene therapy studies that significantly enhance or impair IGT performance outcomes
o Longitudinal IGT performance outcomes to determine ability/inability to learn that will predict poor clinical trajectory in chronic illnesses, diseases, or disorders due to therapeutic non-compliance
o Methodological studies that create an algorithm to define parameters, thresholds, or stages of cognitive function across the lifespan, as a function of aging, cognitive decline vs. mild or moderate impairment vs. dementia
In this special 30th Anniversary issue, we aim to gather the most recent and perhaps the most important scientific advances the Iowa Gambling Task (IGT) has made over the past three decades, at the behest of our Specialty Chief Editor, Professor Antoine Bechara (one of the inventors of the IGT). In the decades since, there have been a wide variety of uses of the Iowa gambling tasks in a variety of clinical and preclinical studies, expanding well beyond the initial version. The IGT especially excels in predictive and concurrent validity in clinical settings. More specifically, research has demonstrated that administering the IGT can assist in identifying neural mechanisms of therapeutic targets. Furthermore, the use of the IGT can help with predicting disease risk, thereby creating prodromal diagnostics and subclinical thresholds of cognitive decline.
In this article collection, we want to highlight research that focuses on the use of the IGT in translational research. A primary goal is to identify IGT outcomes that can help predict disease risk with high sensitivity and specificity. Through this collection of research, we would also like help create an algorithm that researchers and clinicians can easily use to operationally define thresholds and stages of cognitive decline associated with disease pathology via the IGT.
A secondary goal for this collection is to shed light on the neurobiological mechanisms through the IGT involved in in non-aversive decision-making in rat-to-human translational studies. Through this, we hope to better define therapeutic drug and gene targets that are associated with IGT performance outcomes.
The overall objective for this topic is to focus on the use of the IGT in translational settings. Therefore, the scope is broad, but there are a few key requirements that must be met by all papers submitted within this topic. All papers must
• Directly use the IGT,
• Use variations of the IGT, or
• Made animal model modifications of the IGT
The Following Research Areas are Especially Encouraged (but not limited to)
o Translational, preclinical, or clinical studies elucidating the neurobiological mechanisms initiated by the IGT that might be used to identify prodromal symptoms or predict risks for poor outcomes in psychiatric, neurological diseases or disorders [i.e. parkinsonism, early-stage or prodromal Parkinson’s disease, prosopagnosia, Asperger’s syndrome, autism spectrum disorders; eating disorders, dyslexia, conduct disorder, etc.]
o Off label pharmacological, endogenous, or gene therapy studies that significantly enhance or impair IGT performance outcomes
o Longitudinal IGT performance outcomes to determine ability/inability to learn that will predict poor clinical trajectory in chronic illnesses, diseases, or disorders due to therapeutic non-compliance
o Methodological studies that create an algorithm to define parameters, thresholds, or stages of cognitive function across the lifespan, as a function of aging, cognitive decline vs. mild or moderate impairment vs. dementia