title: Decision Making and Cognitive Behavioral Flexibility in a OCD Sample: a Study in a Virtual Environment.
abstract: Neuropsychological disorders are common in Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) patients. Executive functions, verbal fluency and verbal memory, shifting attention from one aspect of stimuli to others, mental flexibility, engaging in executive planning and decision making, are the most involved cognitive domains. We focus on two aspects of neuropsychological function: decision making and cognitive behavioral flexibility, assessed through a virtual version of the Multiple Errand Test (V-MET), developed using the NeuroVR software. Thirty OCD patients were compared with thirty matched control subjects. The results showed the presence of difficulties in OCD patients with tasks where the goal is not clear, the information is incomplete or the parameters are ill-defined.
authors.affiliation: Department of Experimental Biomedicine and Clinical Neuroscience, University of Palermo, Italy.
authors.forename: Filippo
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: la Paglia
authors.affiliation: Department of Experimental Biomedicine and Clinical Neuroscience, University of Palermo, Italy.
authors.forename: Caterina
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: la Cascia
authors.affiliation: Department of Experimental Biomedicine and Clinical Neuroscience, University of Palermo, Italy.
authors.forename: Rosalinda
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Rizzo
authors.affiliation: Applied Technology for Neuro-Psychology Lab, Istituto Auxologico Italiano, Milan, Italy.
authors.forename: Giuseppe
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Riva
authors.affiliation: Department of Experimental Biomedicine and Clinical Neuroscience, University of Palermo, Italy.
authors.forename: Daniele
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: la Barbera
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001288:Attention; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D003071:Cognition; D003657:Decision Making; D056344:Executive Function; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009771:Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder / Q000523:psychology*; D014584:User-Computer Interface