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Decision context and neurobehavioural disturbance in Huntington's disease
Lee-Anne Morris1,2, Kyla-Louise Horne3,4, Laura Paermentier4
1Department of Medicine, University of Otago, Christchurch, New Zealand. leeanne.morris@nzbri.org.
Cognitive, Affective & Behavioral Neuroscience
|November 18, 2025
Summary
Huntington's disease (HD) apathy did not affect cost sensitivity in a foraging task, but impulsivity in HD was linked to greater sensitivity to delay costs. Decision context is crucial for understanding HD-related behavioral changes.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Behavioral Economics
- Clinical Psychology
Background:
- Huntington's disease (HD) presents with apathy and impulsivity, impacting decision-making.
- Existing research often focuses on binary choices, neglecting 'stay or leave' decisions.
Purpose of the Study:
- To examine reward and cost sensitivity in a 'stay or leave' foraging task in individuals with HD.
- To associate sensitivity to effort and time costs with apathy and impulsivity in HD.
Main Methods:
- Participants with HD (n=37) and controls (n=40) performed a foraging task with varying effort and time costs.
- Apathy and impulsivity were assessed via questionnaires.
- Linear mixed models analyzed associations between cost sensitivity and clinical measures.
Main Results:
- Both groups increased 'stay' duration with rising costs, confirming theoretical predictions.
- Increased sensitivity to effort and delay costs was positively associated.
- Apathy in HD showed no link to altered cost sensitivity; impulsivity correlated with higher delay cost sensitivity.
Conclusions:
- Decision-making context significantly influences the manifestation of apathy and impulsivity in HD.
- Impulsivity, not apathy, is associated with altered sensitivity to delay costs in a foraging paradigm.
