Jacus JP, Gély-Nargeot MC, Bayard S. Ecological relevance of the Iowa gambling task in patients with Alzheimer's disease and mild cognitive impairment.
Rev Neurol (Paris) 2018;
174:327-36. [PMID:
29706297 DOI:
10.1016/j.neurol.2017.08.003]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/06/2017] [Revised: 07/31/2017] [Accepted: 08/24/2017] [Indexed: 11/23/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND
In spite of their extensive use, the ecological relevance of tasks dedicated to assessing real-world decision-making in a laboratory setting remains unclear.
OBJECTIVES
Our study aimed to evaluate the relationship between decision-making and behavioral competency and awareness of limitations.
METHODS
A total of 20 patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD), 20 with amnestic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI) and 20 healthy controls (HC) were assessed for decision-making using the Iowa Gambling Task (IGT). Behavioral competency was evaluated by the Patient Competency Rating Scale (PCRS), which requires each participant and a relative to answer the same 30 questions on participant's competency and to rate each item, while awareness of limitations was evaluated by subtracting the self-rated score from the relative-rated score.
RESULTS
Using the median-split approach, the proportion of disadvantageous decision-makers was higher in both the MCI and AD groups than in HC (P=0.02 and P=0.03, respectively), with no differences between clinical groups. The percentage of participants with poorer behavioral competency was also higher in the MCI and AD than in the HC (self-rated: P=0.025 and P=0.01, respectively; relative-rated: P=0.008 and P=0.008, respectively), again with no differences between MCI and AD. All groups were comparable in awareness. For all participants, disadvantageous decision-making was associated with both reduced behavioral competency and poor awareness of limitations (OR: 3.47, P=0.03 and OR: 5.4, P=0.004, respectively).
CONCLUSION
Our findings support the ecological relevance of the IGT. Behavioral competency integrity and awareness of limitations are both associated with advantageous decision-making profiles.
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