title: Choice-option evaluation is preserved in early Huntington and Parkinson's disease.
abstract: The ability to choose effectively when faced with potential risks and rewards is fundamental for adaptive survival. The striatum has a well-established role supporting learning from the outcomes of decisions, but it remains unclear whether this structure is also necessary for computing expected value (i.e., advantageousness of potential decisions) when all information is explicitly given. We addressed this question presenting simple monetary gambles, where all decisional parameters were given and outcome feedback was absent, to patients with early Huntington's and Parkinson's disease, taken as complementary models of striatal dysfunction. Behavioural responses and associated times were found to be unaltered. This negative finding suggests that striatal activity may not be essential for decision-making in situations where all information is provided and learning from outcomes is unnecessary.
authors.affiliation: Scientific Department, Fondazione IRCCS Istituto Neurologico 'Carlo Besta', Milano, Italy. lminati@ieee.org
authors.forename: Ludovico
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Minati
authors.forename: Sylvie
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Piacentini
authors.forename: Francesca
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Ferrè
authors.forename: Lorenzo
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Nanetti
authors.forename: Luigi
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Romito
authors.forename: Caterina
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Mariotti
authors.forename: Marina
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Grisoli
authors.forename: Nick
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Medford
authors.forename: Hugo D
authors.initials: HD
authors.lastname: Critchley
authors.forename: Alberto
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Albanese
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D002755:Choice Behavior / Q000502:physiology*; D003342:Corpus Striatum / Q000502:physiology*; D003657:Decision Making / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006816:Huntington Disease / Q000503:physiopathology* / Q000523:psychology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010300:Parkinson Disease / Q000503:physiopathology* / Q000523:psychology