Unconscious Processing in Decision-making

Behavioral Evidence on the Modulators of Unconscious Processing in Decision-making

This behavioral study on healthy participants aims to provide a baseline reference for assessing alterations of decision-making performance in pathological conditions. To this purpose, this single center non-interventional behavioral study will assess the extent to which decision-making performance is affected by distinct experimental manipulations, as well as by ageing effects, in 200 healthy individuals. The main questions it aims to answer are:

• to what extent is decision-making performance stable, within individuals, regardless of non-economic manipulations concerning stimuli perceptual features as well as type of processing and motor response required to participants?
• are these manipulations additionally influenced by participants' age?

Healthy participants will be recruited for distinct behavioral studies assessing the effects of the aforementioned manipulations of distinct metrics of decision-making performance, such as loss aversion, risk aversion, and delay discounting.

Study Overview

• Status: Recruiting
• Conditions: Healthy Volunteers
• Intervention / Treatment: Other: No intervention

Detailed Description

The fast growth of so-called Decision Neuroscience has clearly shown the implications of methods and results from behavioral economics as a potential bridge for translational research in neuro-psychiatric settings. The combination of behavioral and neural metrics allows to describe decision-making across multiple levels of explanation ranging from biological dispositions to contextual influences. To date, however, the translational implications of Decision Neuroscience are constrained by a relatively limited knowledge of the potential modulators of decision-making, which seem to include perceptual, cognitive and motor variables. In this regard, there is largely sparse evidence concerning the modulation of choices by highly different factors such as a) perceptual features of the stimuli (e.g., spatial distance between visually-presented potential gains and losses); b) type of processing required to participants (e.g., select vs. reject an option); c) type of motor response required to communicate the decision (e.g., press vs. release a button); d) subliminal vs. supraliminal perception of the stimuli. Moreover, there is evidence of ageing effects on decision-making, particularly when choice-related evaluations involve a trade-off between reward and risk. On this ground, this single center non-interventional behavioral study aims to investigate whether, and how, distinct well-established metrics of decision-making are influenced by the aforementioned factors. To this purpose, 200 healthy individuals will be recruited and assigned to different behavioral studies aimed to assess the effect of the aforementioned manipulations on well-established gambling tasks resulting in individual metrics of loss aversion (the tendency to prefer avoiding losses to acquiring equivalent gains), risk aversion (the preference for certain outcomes over probabilistic ones), and delay discounting (the decline in the present value of a reward with delay to its receipt). The results of this study are expected to provide a baseline reference for assessing alterations of decision-making performance in pathological conditions.

• Study Type: Observational
• Enrollment (Estimated): 200

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• Italy
  • Ita
    • Pavia, Ita, Italy, 27100
      • Recruiting
      • Istituti Clinici Scientifici Maugeri SpA
      • Contact: Nicola Canessa, PhD; Phone Number: +390382375845; Email: nicola.canessa@icsmaugeri.it
      • Contact: Tiziana Bachetti; Phone Number: +390382593210; Email: tiziana.bachetti@icsmaugeri.it
      • Principal Investigator: Nicola Canessa, PhD

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 18 years to 60 years (Adult)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: N/A

• Sampling Method: Probability Sample

Study Population

200 healty individuals, aged 18-60 years, sampled from the general population

Description

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

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Number of groups / cohorts

1

Cohorts and Interventions

Group / Cohort	Intervention / Treatment
All healthy participants; Healthy participants will be recruited and assigned to different behavioral studies assessing the effect of the experimental manipulations of interest on decision-making metrics.	Other: No intervention; No intervention

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Individual index of loss aversion	This variable reflect the spontaneous disposition to overweigh potential losses, compared with equivalent gains in decision-making, resulting in the tendency to avoid potential losses more than approach potential gains.	Behavioral-study day 1

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Individual index of risk aversion	This variable reflect the spontaneous preference for certain, compared with probabilistic, outcomes, resulting in the tendency to avoid risky options regardless of their expected value.	Behavioral-study day 1
Individual index of delay discounting	This variable reflects the tendency to discount delayed utilities/rewards compared with immediate ones, resulting in choices driven by the impulsive search for immediate gains regardless of potential larger future outcomes.	Behavioral-study day 1

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Istituti Clinici Scientifici Maugeri SpA
• Collaborators: Istituto Universitario di Studi Superiori Pavia

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): May 24, 2021
• Primary Completion (Estimated): December 31, 2025
• Study Completion (Estimated): December 31, 2025

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: March 7, 2023
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: March 7, 2023
• First Posted (Actual): March 20, 2023

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): April 9, 2024
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: April 8, 2024
• Last Verified: April 1, 2024

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: decision-making; unconscious processing; subliminal processing
• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Nervous System Diseases; Neurologic Manifestations; Neurobehavioral Manifestations; Consciousness Disorders; Unconsciousness
• Other Study ID Numbers: 2138

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: UNDECIDED
• IPD Plan Description: Requests for sharing will assessed case by case, and data will be made available on reasonable request.

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No