Comparing Influence of Depression and Negative Affect on Decision Making

The current study aimed to explore differential value-based decision-making patterns across three groups—individuals diagnosed with mild-to-moderate depression, a healthy matched control group, and a negative mood induction group. In the current study, drug- and therapy-naïve individuals diagnosed with first episode of mild-to-moderate depression ( n = 40), healthy individuals matched on age, gender, and education ( n = 40), and healthy individuals with no current, past, or family history of any psychiatric conditions in a negative mood-induced state ( n = 40) were administered the IOWA Gambling Task (IGT) and the Balloon Analog Risk Task (BART). Results indicated that individuals with depression showed heightened punishment sensitivity on both the IGT and the BART ( p < 0.05 on the BART and p < 0.05 on the IGT), and performed poorly on the IGT indicating poor and slow learning ( p < 0.01). A similar, less severe, pattern was observed in the negative mood induction group. Individuals with mild-to-moderate depression performed poorly on tasks of value-based decision making. The significance of process factors in decision making, such as reward and punishment sensitivity, valuation of outcomes and learning, was highlighted in this study. The study also demonstrated how a negative affective state, without the other clusters of depressive symptomatology, can also lead to a less severe, but impaired decision making.