Financial Decision-Making in Neurological Patients

Area of Science:

• Cognitive Neuroscience
• Gerontology
• Neurology

Background:

• Financial abilities (FA) encompass basic to complex skills, including financial decision-making (FDM), crucial for independence.
• Previous research indicates reduced FDM in older adults and mild cognitive impairment (MCI), increasing fraud vulnerability.
• FDM's status in other neurological conditions and its relationship with basic FA remain under-investigated.

Purpose of the Study:

• To compare FDM and FA performance across patients with MCI, Parkinson's disease (PD), stroke, and healthy controls (HC).
• To determine the extent to which FDM can be predicted by other basic financial abilities in these groups.

Main Methods:

• Utilized the NADL-F short battery to assess FDM and FA.
• Compared subtest performances among MCI, PD, stroke patients, and HC.
• Analyzed the correlation between FDM scores and other FA subtest performances within each group.

Main Results:

• MCI patients showed deficits in FDM and several FA compared to HC.
• FDM was relatively preserved in PD and stroke patient samples.
• In HC, FDM correlated with numeracy and applied financial knowledge; in MCI and PD, it linked to some basic FA; no association found in stroke patients.

Conclusions:

• Financial decision-making is a complex cognitive function.
• FDM is only partially predictable by more basic financial abilities.
• The relationship between FDM and basic FA varies across different neurological conditions.