Disrupted latent decision processes in medication-free pediatric OCD patients

- We investigated latent decision processes of non-medicated pediatric OCD patients.
- OCD patients were less efficient than controls in evidence accumulation.
- OCD patients exhibited a tendency for more cautious decisions.
- Both groups showed slower evidence accumulation in trials after errors.
- After errors, OCD group became more, controls became less cautious.

BackgroundDecision-making in Obsessive Compulsive Disorder has typically been investigated in the adult population. Computational approaches have recently started to get integrated into these studies. However, decision-making research in pediatric OCD populations is scarce.MethodsWe investigated latent decision processes in 21 medication-free pediatric OCD patients and 23 healthy control participants. We hypothesized that OCD patients would be more cautious and less efficient in evidence accumulation than controls in a two alternative forced choice (2AFC) task.ResultsPediatric OCD patients were less efficient than controls in accumulating perceptual evidence and showed a tendency to be more cautious. In comparison to post-correct decisions, OCD patients increased decision thresholds after erroneous decisions, whereas healthy controls decreased decision thresholds. These changes were coupled with weaker evidence accumulation after errors in both groups.LimitationsThe small sample size limited the power of the study.ConclusionsOur results demonstrate poorer decision-making performance in pediatric OCD patients at the level of latent processes, specifically in terms of evidence accumulation.