Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder and Decision Making under Ambiguity: A Systematic Review with Meta-Analysis

In the last decade, decision-making has been proposed to have a central role in obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) aetiology, since patients show pathological doubt and an apparent inability to make decisions. Here, we aimed to comprehensively review decision making under ambiguity, as measured by...

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Main Authors: Veronica Nisticò, Andrea De Angelis, Roberto Erro, Benedetta Demartini, Lucia Ricciardi
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2021-01-01
Series:Brain Sciences
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3425/11/2/143
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author Veronica Nisticò
Andrea De Angelis
Roberto Erro
Benedetta Demartini
Lucia Ricciardi
author_facet Veronica Nisticò
Andrea De Angelis
Roberto Erro
Benedetta Demartini
Lucia Ricciardi
author_sort Veronica Nisticò
collection DOAJ
description In the last decade, decision-making has been proposed to have a central role in obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) aetiology, since patients show pathological doubt and an apparent inability to make decisions. Here, we aimed to comprehensively review decision making under ambiguity, as measured by the Iowa Gambling Task (IGT), in OCD, using a meta-analytic approach. According to PRISMA Guidelines, we selected 26 studies for a systematic review and, amongst them, 16 studies were included in a meta-analysis, comprising a total of 846 OCD patients and 763 healthy controls (HC). Our results show that OCD patients perform significantly lower than HC at the IGT, pointing towards the direction of a decision making impairment. In particular, this deficit seems to emerge mainly in the last three blocks of the IGT. IGT scores in OCD patients under the age of 18 were still significantly lower than in HC. Finally, no difference emerged between medicated and unmedicated patients, since they both scored significantly lower at the IGT compared to HC. In conclusion, our results are in line with the hypothesis according to which decision making impairment might represent a potential endophenotype lying between the clinical manifestation of OCD and its neurobiological aetiology.
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spelling doaj.art-d360713903fd459aba6cfe4f8c0313882023-12-03T14:17:23ZengMDPI AGBrain Sciences2076-34252021-01-0111214310.3390/brainsci11020143Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder and Decision Making under Ambiguity: A Systematic Review with Meta-AnalysisVeronica Nisticò0Andrea De Angelis1Roberto Erro2Benedetta Demartini3Lucia Ricciardi4Dipartimento di Scienze della Salute, Università degli Studi di Milano, 20142 Milano, ItalyNeurosciences Research Centre, Molecular and Clinical Sciences Research Institute, St George’s University of London, London SW17 0RE, UKDipartimento di Medicina, Chirurgia e Odontoiatria “Scuola Medica Salernitana”, Università di Salerno, 84018 Baronissi, Salerno, ItalyDipartimento di Scienze della Salute, Università degli Studi di Milano, 20142 Milano, ItalyNeurosciences Research Centre, Molecular and Clinical Sciences Research Institute, St George’s University of London, London SW17 0RE, UKIn the last decade, decision-making has been proposed to have a central role in obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) aetiology, since patients show pathological doubt and an apparent inability to make decisions. Here, we aimed to comprehensively review decision making under ambiguity, as measured by the Iowa Gambling Task (IGT), in OCD, using a meta-analytic approach. According to PRISMA Guidelines, we selected 26 studies for a systematic review and, amongst them, 16 studies were included in a meta-analysis, comprising a total of 846 OCD patients and 763 healthy controls (HC). Our results show that OCD patients perform significantly lower than HC at the IGT, pointing towards the direction of a decision making impairment. In particular, this deficit seems to emerge mainly in the last three blocks of the IGT. IGT scores in OCD patients under the age of 18 were still significantly lower than in HC. Finally, no difference emerged between medicated and unmedicated patients, since they both scored significantly lower at the IGT compared to HC. In conclusion, our results are in line with the hypothesis according to which decision making impairment might represent a potential endophenotype lying between the clinical manifestation of OCD and its neurobiological aetiology.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3425/11/2/143obsessive-compulsive disorderdecision makingIowa Gambling Taskambiguityriskmeta-analysis
spellingShingle Veronica Nisticò
Andrea De Angelis
Roberto Erro
Benedetta Demartini
Lucia Ricciardi
Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder and Decision Making under Ambiguity: A Systematic Review with Meta-Analysis
Brain Sciences
obsessive-compulsive disorder
decision making
Iowa Gambling Task
ambiguity
risk
meta-analysis
title Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder and Decision Making under Ambiguity: A Systematic Review with Meta-Analysis
title_full Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder and Decision Making under Ambiguity: A Systematic Review with Meta-Analysis
title_fullStr Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder and Decision Making under Ambiguity: A Systematic Review with Meta-Analysis
title_full_unstemmed Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder and Decision Making under Ambiguity: A Systematic Review with Meta-Analysis
title_short Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder and Decision Making under Ambiguity: A Systematic Review with Meta-Analysis
title_sort obsessive compulsive disorder and decision making under ambiguity a systematic review with meta analysis
topic obsessive-compulsive disorder
decision making
Iowa Gambling Task
ambiguity
risk
meta-analysis
url https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3425/11/2/143
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