title: Decision-making impairment in patients with multiple sclerosis: a case-control study.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To assess decision-making under explicit risk conditions in relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis patients and its relationship to decisions made under conditions of ambiguity. To assess cognitive functions related to decision-making performance in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS).
  
  
  METHODS
  MS center in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
  
  
  METHODS
  27 patients with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis and 27 sex-matched, age-matched and education-matched healthy controls.
  
  
  METHODS
  Neuropsychological assessment and decision-making evaluation using the Game of Dice Task and the Iowa Gambling Task.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Game of Dice Task and the Iowa Gambling Task scores.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Patients with MS showed significantly poorer performance on the Game of Dice Task, choosing disadvantageous dice more often (p=0.019), as well as significantly lower overall scores in the Iowa Gambling Task (p=0.007). Block analysis showed that patients with MS and controls had scores that were comparable for blocks 1 and 2 (p=0.15 and p=0.24, respectively). Conversely, patients with MS scored poorly on blocks 4 (p=0.003) and 5 (p=0.023), the last two of the test, corresponding to decision-making under conditions of risk. Finally, the Game of Dice Task performance together with the last three blocks of the Iowa Gambling Task were correlated with visuospatial learning, processing speed and working memory but not with executive functioning.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Patients with MS showed deficits in decision-making under risk conditions, which might be related to deficits in visuospatial learning, processing speed and working memory.
authors: Department of Neurology, Raúl Carrea Institute for Neurological Research (FLENI), Buenos Aires, Argentina.
authors: Mauricio F
authors: MF
authors: Farez
authors: Department of Neurology, Raúl Carrea Institute for Neurological Research (FLENI), Buenos Aires, Argentina.
authors: Lucía
authors: L
authors: Crivelli
authors: Department of Neurology, Raúl Carrea Institute for Neurological Research (FLENI), Buenos Aires, Argentina.
authors: Ramón
authors: R
authors: Leiguarda
authors: Department of Neurology, Raúl Carrea Institute for Neurological Research (FLENI), Buenos Aires, Argentina.
authors: Jorge
authors: J
authors: Correale
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001118:Argentina; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D003071:Cognition / Q000502:physiology; D003657:Decision Making; D056344:Executive Function / Q000502:physiology; D005260:Female; D005715:Gambling / Q000523:psychology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D020529:Multiple Sclerosis, Relapsing-Remitting / Q000523:psychology*; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D012309:Risk-Taking; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Decision-making; Executive function; Game of Dice Task; Iowa Gambling Task