Evidence mapPaperPMID 39379394Full record

ArticleNPJ science of learning2024

Sex differences in motivational biases over instrumental actions.

Luigi A E Degni, Sara Garofalo, Gianluca Finotti, Francesca Starita, Trevor W Robbins, Giuseppe di Pellegrino

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in NPJ science of learning, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
3citing papers in PubMed
field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

3 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Article
  2. Reduced Pavlovian Value Updating Alters Decision-Making in Sign-Trackers.The Journal of neuroscience : the official journal of the Society for Neuroscience · 2026
    Article
  3. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

6 authors.

Luigi A E DegniCenter for Studies and Research in Cognitive Neuroscience, Department of Psychology, University of Bologna, Cesena, Italy. luigi.degni@unibo.it.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-8870-3517
Sara GarofaloCenter for Studies and Research in Cognitive Neuroscience, Department of Psychology, University of Bologna, Cesena, Italy.
Gianluca FinottiCenter for Studies and Research in Cognitive Neuroscience, Department of Psychology, University of Bologna, Cesena, Italy.
Francesca StaritaCenter for Studies and Research in Cognitive Neuroscience, Department of Psychology, University of Bologna, Cesena, Italy.
Trevor W RobbinsDepartment of Psychology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-0642-5977
Giuseppe di PellegrinoCenter for Studies and Research in Cognitive Neuroscience, Department of Psychology, University of Bologna, Cesena, Italy.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Motivational (i.e., appetitive or aversive) cues can bias value-based decisions by affecting either direction and intensity of instrumental actions. Despite several findings describing important interindividual differences in these biases, whether biological sex can also play a role is still up to debate. By comparing females and males in both appetitive and aversive Pavlovian-to-Instrumental Transfer paradigms we found that, while motivational cues similarly bias the direction of instrumental actions in both sexes, the intensity of such actions is increased by the cue in male participants only. The present results constitute compelling evidence that a crucial motivational bias of daily actions directed to obtaining rewards or avoiding punishments is modulated by biological sex. This evidence sheds new light on the role of sex in motivational processes that underlie decision-making, highlighting the importance of considering sex as a crucial factor in future research on this topic.

Identifiers

PMID39379394
PMCPMC11461879

What Socratic holds

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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.