Reward prospect improves inhibitory control in female university students with a history of childhood sexual and physical abuse.

Background And Objectives: Childhood abuse and neglect increase the risk for psychiatric disorders (e.g., depression and anxiety) during adulthood and have been associated with deficits in cognitive control. The specific mechanisms underlying these cognitive control deficits are still unknown.

Methods: This study examined the expectation for reward to improve inhibitory control in young women (ages 18-35 years) with a history of childhood sexual and/or physical abuse (AG, N = 28), childhood emotional and/or physical neglect (NG, N = 30), or unaffected comparison women (HC, N = 40). They completed a previously validated rewarded (color-word) Stroop task and filled out questionnaires on depression, anxiety, and resilience.

Results: Surprisingly, a significant group by reward interaction revealed larger performance benefits under reward prospect (relative to no-reward) for the AG group relative to both the NG and HC groups.

Limitations: A small sample size limiting generalizability.

Conclusions: These results demonstrate sensitivity of abused subjects to reward in modulating cognitive control and might aid in discussing whether using reward schedules during therapeutic interventions could be effective.