Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 12, 2025
Measuring the Subjective Value of Risky and Ambiguous Options using Experimental Economics and Functional MRI Methods
Published on: September 19, 2012
Neural correlates of risk taking in patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder during risky decision-making
Yan Han1, Feng Gao1, Xiang Wang1
1Medical Psychological Center, The Second Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, Hunan 410011, China; Medical Psychological Institute of Central South University, Changsha, Hunan 410011, China; National Clinical Research Center for Mental Disorders, Changsha, Hunan 410011, China.
Background:
The risk preference during decision-making and the neural substrates involved in patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) remained unclear. The current study was designed to evaluate the risk-taking behaviors during decision-making and neural correlates in patients with OCD, thereby providing a deeper insight into their impaired decision-making function.
Methods:
Fifty-one patients with OCD and 50 healthy controls (HCs) were included in this study. All subjects underwent functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) scans while completing the Balloon Analog Risk Task (BART). The behavior indicator and cognitive model parameter in BART, as well as the neural correlates of risk-taking behaviors were analyzed.
Results:
Compared to HCs, the OCD group performed a significantly higher level of risk-averse behaviors, and the cognitive model parameter revealed that patients with OCD tend to decrease their risk level after receiving negative feedbacks during BART. The fMRI results based on prespecified brain regions showed that the OCD group exhibited significantly decreased activation modulated by risk levels both in the left and right insula.
Limitations:
The effect of medication in this study could not be completely ruled out, and it is difficult to temporally separate different states of decision-making in the BART.
Conclusions:
Individuals with OCD exhibited a higher level of risk aversion during decision-making process, and the dysfunction of the insula may be the neural basis of the increased risk aversion in OCD. These findings provide further insights into the mechanism of risk aversion and impaired decision-making function in individuals with OCD.
Related Concept Videos
01:28Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder
01:20Decision Making
Automatic decision-making is fast, intuitive, and relies on gut feelings...
01:14Decision Making: Traditional Method
First, a specific claim about the population parameter is decided based on the research question and is stated in a simple form. Further, an opposing statement to this claim is also stated. These statements can act as null and alternative hypotheses, out of which a null hypothesis would be a...
01:09Decision Making: P-value Method
First, a specific claim about the population parameter is proposed. The claim is based on the research question and is stated in a simple form. Further, an opposing statement to the claim is also stated. These statements can act as null and alternative hypotheses: a null hypothesis would be a neutral statement while the alternative hypothesis can...
01:24Personality Disorders: Dependent and Obsessive-Compulsive
Dependent Personality Disorder
Dependent personality disorder is characterized by an excessive reliance on others to manage various aspects of life. Individuals with this disorder often struggle...
01:37Reason and Intuition