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OpenTrials
Completed

NCT Number: NCT03420495

Decision-making Impairments in OCD: An Integrated Behavioral Economics Model

The investigators are examining whether conditions of ambiguity during decision-making may prime intolerance of uncertainty beliefs (i.e., difficulties coping with ambiguity, unpredictability, and the future) and lead to impaired performance when individuals with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) are making uncertain decisions compared to non-psychiatric controls.

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Key information

Conditions

Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder Anxiety Disorders Mental Disorders

Age range

18 year and older

Sex eligibility

All sexes

Study type

Interventional

Phase

Not applicable

Primary location

Massachusetts General Hospital

Boston, Massachusetts, 02114, United States

About this study

The primary aims of this study are to examine the extent to which individuals with OCD avoid decisions that involve ambiguity through the use of self-report and behavioral measures. Specifically, the investigators will examine how individuals with OCD minimize risk at the expense of monetary profit under conditions of ambiguity (relative to risky but unambiguous options) compared to non-psychiatric controls utilizing a series of judgment and decision-making (JDM) tasks.

Who can participate

Healthy volunteers accepted: Yes

Only the study team can determine whether someone qualifies for participation.

Inclusion criteria

  • Adults (age 18+)
  • Meet DSM-5 criteria for principal OCD (OCD group) or no current DSM-5 diagnosis (NPC group).
  • Sufficient fluency of English to understand study procedures and questionnaires
  • Ability to provide informed consent.
  • Comfortable and capable of using a computer to complete computer-based decision-making tasks.

Exclusion criteria

  • Color-blindness (which prevents completion of certain tasks)
  • Acute psychosis, bipolar disorder, substance use disorder, or suicidality. All other diagnostic comorbidities will be permitted to foster the accrual of a clinically relevant sample.
  • Serious neurological disorder or impairment (e.g., brain damage, blindness), attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), intellectual disability, or autism.

Treatment and study plan

Decision-Making Tasks

Behavioral

All participants will receive a structured diagnostic assessment and complete self-report questionnaires about cognitive factors, decision-making styles, and anxiety/mood symptoms. They then will be guided through three judgment and decision-making (JDM) paradigms (the Risk and Ambiguity Task, the Beads Task, and the Balloon Analogue Risk Task), each of which each has been modified to differ by whether the likelihood of potential adverse outcomes is provided (or whether it remains ambiguous).

Primary outcomes

  1. Ambiguity aversion score on the Risk and Ambiguity Task

    Time frame: Day 1

    In the Risk and Ambiguity Task participants make repeated choices between a certain payoff vs. a gamble. On low ambiguity trials, the likelihood of the gamble is known (i.e., "risky" lottery). On high ambiguity trials, the likelihood of the gamble is unknown (i.e., "ambiguous" lottery). Ambiguity aversion = (number of 50% risky lotteries chosen / total number of 50% risky lotteries) - (# of ambiguous lotteries chosen / total number of ambiguous lotteries).

  2. Average adjusted pump scores on the Balloon Analogue Risk Task (BART)

    Time frame: Day 1

    In the BART participants blow up a series of virtual balloons. With each pump: (a) they earn 5 cents that accumulate in a temporary reserve, but (b) the likelihood of the balloon exploding increases. When this occurs participants lose the money in their temporary reserve. At any time, participants can choose to transfer their earnings to a permanent savings bank (and move to the next balloon). Thus, participants weigh the likelihood of the negative outcome (i.e., the balloon exploding and losing money) with the potential gains (i.e., 5 cents per pump). In the low ambiguity version of the task, the likelihood of the balloon exploding is known. In the high ambiguity version, the likelihood of the balloon exploding is unknown. The average adjusted pump score = average number of pumps on trials in which the balloons did not explode.

Secondary outcomes

  1. Money spent on draws to decision (DTD) in the Beads Task

    Time frame: Day 1

    The Beads Task is a probabilistic inference task in which participants gather as much information (i.e., beads) as they desire before feeling "certain" enough to decide from which jar the beads have come. Participants will start off with a fixed amount of money, and invest money for each bead requested. If they answer correctly, the money earned will be transferred to a savings bank; if incorrect, they lose any earnings from that trial. Thus, participants must consider the tradeoff between the number of beads they choose and their accuracy as they decide. In the low ambiguity version of the task, the ratio of colored beads inside the jar is known. In the high ambiguity version, the ratio of colored beads inside the jar is unknown.

  2. Intolerance of Uncertainty Scale (IUS-12)

    Time frame: Day 1

    The IUS-12 measures reactions to uncertainty, ambiguity, and the future consisting of two subscales: Prospective and Inhibitory IU.

Sponsors and collaborators

Lead sponsor

Massachusetts General Hospital

Other

Collaborators

  • Obsessive Compulsive Foundation

Registry information

Important dates

Study start
2018
Primary completion
2019
Study completion
2019
First posted
Feb 5, 2018
Registry last updated
Mar 18, 2020

OpenTrials presents study information sourced from ClinicalTrials.gov. The official registry record should be consulted for the latest information.

View the official ClinicalTrials.gov record (opens in a new tab)

This listing is for discovery and informational purposes only. It is not medical advice, does not guarantee that a study is recruiting, and does not determine eligibility. Contact the study team and a qualified healthcare professional when considering participation.

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