Metacognitive impairments extend perceptual decision making weaknesses in compulsivity

Area of Science:

• Cognitive Neuroscience
• Computational Psychiatry

Background:

• Metacognitive insight, or awareness of one's own abilities, is crucial for adaptive decision making.
• Psychotherapeutic theories suggest impaired metacognition in compulsivity, but empirical evidence is limited.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate metacognitive abilities in individuals with varying levels of compulsivity.
• To differentiate between metacognitive and perceptual decision-making impairments using computational models.

Main Methods:

• Examined 20 low-compulsive and 20 high-compulsive participants from a population-based sample, matched for cognitive and psychiatric factors.
• Employed hierarchical computational modeling on a visual global motion detection task.
• Segregated metacognitive and perceptual decision-making performance.

Main Results:

• High-compulsive participants demonstrated reduced metacognitive ability.
• A concurrent deficit in perceptual decision making was observed, with slower evidence accumulation for motion.
• Metacognitive impairment was independent of perceptual decision-making difficulties.

Conclusions:

• The compulsivity spectrum is linked to diminished self-monitoring capabilities.
• This metacognitive deficit is a key feature of compulsivity, separate from perceptual processing issues.
• Computational modeling provides a powerful tool for dissecting cognitive impairments in psychiatric conditions.