Neural Bases of Decision-making in Healthy Individuals

Study Overview
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Brief Summary
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The goal of this single center non-interventional fMRI study is to assess the neural bases of decision-making and executive functioning in healthy individuals,and whether/how their responsiveness is modulated by ageing. The main questions it aims to answer are: are there specific neural correlates for ageing effects on executive functioning (particularly inhibitory control) and decision-making? Is there a relationship, at the behavioral and neural levels, between ageing-related changes in executive functioning and decision-making? Healthy participants will be recruited for a behavioral assessment including multiple tests of decision-making and executive functioning/inhibitory control; a fMRI session to collect data concerning a) brain activity associated with decision-making and executive functioning, b) brain structural morphometriy (grey-matter volume/density), and c) brain structural connectivity (diffusion weighted imaging). Results will provide an useful baseline for investigating alterations of decision-making and executive functioning, and of their neural bases, in pathological conditions.

Detailed Description
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The fast growth of Decision Neuroscience is contributing to unveil the cognitive processes underlying choices and their neural bases. The results obtained so far show that decision-making involves neural mechanisms underpinning a complex balance between automatic appetitive or aversive drives generated by subcortical structures, and processes of executive control centered in fronto-parietal brain networks. While the role of meso-limbic structures in reinforcement learning have been widely investigated, it is much less clear to what extent are choices shaped by a) individual differences in executive skills; b) contextual factors potentially interfering with such skills, such as knowing that the outcome of those choices will impact only on one's own vs. another's welfare. This a critical gap, since executive abilities are known to decline even in physiological ageing, thus potentially interfering with the quality of choices. On this ground, this single center non-interventional fMRI study aims to provide novel insights into the relationship between executive and decision-making skills, and their possible changes with ageing, in 150 healthy individuals. This goal will be pursued by combining a behavioral assessment of decision-making and executive skills with a multimodal fMRI session including data concerning a) brain activity associated with decision-making and executive functioning in social vs. non-social contexts, b) brain structural morphometry (grey-matter volume/density), and c) brain structural connectivity (diffusion weighted imaging). The behavioral assessment will involve the main metric of decision-making (e.g., risk aversion, loss aversion, delay discounting) and executive functioning (e.g., selective attention and inhibitory control). MRI data will unveil the neural bases of individual differences in decision-making and executive performance in terms of performance-related patterns of brain activity, structure and connectivity. Results will provide an useful baseline for investigating alterations of decision-making and executive functioning, and of their neural bases, in pathological conditions.

Official Title
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A Non-interventional Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) Study on the Neural Bases of Decision-making in Healthy Individuals

Conditions
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Healthy Volunteers

Intervention / Treatment
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* Other: No intervention


Participation Criteria
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Eligibility Criteria
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Inclusion Criteria: Healthy participants, as determined by screening assessments and principal investigator judgment The participant must be able to comply with study requirements as judged by the principal investigator Exclusion Criteria: Any history of alcohol and/or drug abuse, addiction or suspicion of regular consumption of drugs of abuse Use of any psychoactive medication, or medications known to have effect on central nervous system (CNS) or blood flow Any contraindications for magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans or any brain/head abnormalities restricting MRI eligibility

Ages Eligible for Study
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Minimum Age: 18 Years
Maximum Age: 60 Years

Sexes Eligible for Study
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All

Study Plan
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How is the study designed?
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Arms and Interventions

| Participant Group/Arm | Intervention/Treatment |
| --- | --- |
| All healthy participants<br>All healthy participants will undergo behavioral assessment and fMRI | Other: No intervention<br>* No intervention<br>|

What is the study measuring?
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Primary Outcome Measures

| Outcome Measure | Measure Description | Time Frame |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Behavioral performance 1: Decision-making skills | Participants' decision-making performance will be assessed in terms of loss aversion (i.e., the overweighting of potential losses compared with gains), after removing the potential confounding effect of risk aversion | MRI-acquisition day 1 | 

Secondary Outcome Measures

| Outcome Measure | Measure Description | Time Frame |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Behavioral performance 2: Executive functioning skills | Participants' executive performance will be assessed in terms of well-know metrics such as selective attention and inhibitory control, measured with the Stroop Task and the Stop-Signal-Task, respectively. | MRI-acquisition day 1 | 
| Brain activity underlying decision-making and executive performance | Standard pipelines and pre-processing of fMRI task-related data will be used to detect regional changes of brain activity associated with individual differences in decision-making and executive performance. | MRI-acquisition day 1 | 
| Brain structure related to decision-making and executive performance | Standard pipelines and pre-processing of MRI T1-weighted data will be used to detect patterns of GM volume/density and structural connectivity associated with individual differences in decision-making and executive performance. | MRI-acquisition day 1 | 

 Terms related to the study
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Keywords Provided by Centre Hospitalier Valida
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decision-making, executive functioning, fMRI, ageing