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Measuring the Subjective Value of Risky and Ambiguous Options using Experimental Economics and Functional MRI Methods
Published on: September 19, 2012
Dissociation between decision-making under risk and decision-making under ambiguity in premanifest and manifest
Najia Adjeroud1, Jeremy Besnard2, Christophe Verny3
1Institut des Neurosciences Paris-Saclay (Neuro-PSI), UMR 9197, Université Paris Sud, CNRS, Université Paris Saclay, Orsay, France; Centre National de Référence pour les Maladies Neurogénétiques de l'Adulte, Département de Neurologie, Centre Hospitalier Universitaire, Angers, France.
Abstract:
We investigated decision-making under ambiguity (DM-UA) and decision making under risk (DM-UR) in individuals with premanifest and manifest Huntington's disease (HD). Twenty individuals with premanifest HD and 23 individuals with manifest HD, on one hand, and 39 healthy individuals divided into two control groups, on the other, undertook a modified version of the Iowa Gambling Task (IGT), an adaptation of a DM-UA task, and a modified version of the Game of Dice Task (GDT), an adaptation of a DM-UR task. Participants also filled in a questionnaire of impulsivity and responded to cognitive tests specifically designed to assess executive functions. Compared to controls, individuals with premanifest HD were unimpaired in performing executive tests as well as in decision-making tasks, except for the Stroop task. In contrast, individuals with manifest HD were impaired in both the IGT and executive tasks, but not in the GDT. No sign of impulsivity was observed in individuals with premanifest or manifest HD. Our results suggest that the progression of HD impairs DM-UA without affecting DM-UR, and indicate that decision-making abilities are preserved during the premanifest stage of HD.
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