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Psychiatric Symptom Dimensions Are Associated With Dissociable Shifts in Metacognition but Not Task Performance.

Rouault, M; Seow, T; Gillan, CM; Fleming, SM; (2018) Psychiatric Symptom Dimensions Are Associated With Dissociable Shifts in Metacognition but Not Task Performance. Biological Psychiatry , 84 (6) pp. 443-451. 10.1016/j.biopsych.2017.12.017. Green open access

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Abstract

BACKGROUND: Distortions in metacognition-the ability to reflect on and control other cognitive processes-are thought to be characteristic of poor mental health. However, it remains unknown whether such shifts in self-evaluation are due to specific alterations in metacognition and/or a downstream consequence of changes in decision-making processes. METHODS: Using perceptual decision making as a model system, we employed a computational psychiatry approach to relate parameters governing both decision formation and metacognitive evaluation to self-reported transdiagnostic symptom dimensions in a large general population sample (N = 995). RESULTS: Variability in psychopathology was unrelated to either speed or accuracy of decision formation. In contrast, leveraging a dimensional approach, we revealed independent relationships between psychopathology and metacognition: a symptom dimension related to anxiety and depression was associated with lower confidence and heightened metacognitive efficiency, whereas a dimension characterizing compulsive behavior and intrusive thoughts was associated with higher confidence and lower metacognitive efficiency. Furthermore, we obtained a robust double dissociation-whereas psychiatric symptoms predicted changes in metacognition but not decision performance, age predicted changes in decision performance but not metacognition. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings indicate a specific and pervasive link between metacognition and mental health. Our study bridges a gap between an emerging neuroscience of decision making and an understanding of metacognitive alterations in psychopathology.

Type: Article
Title: Psychiatric Symptom Dimensions Are Associated With Dissociable Shifts in Metacognition but Not Task Performance.
Location: United States
Open access status: An open access version is available from UCL Discovery
DOI: 10.1016/j.biopsych.2017.12.017
Publisher version: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biopsych.2017.12.017
Language: English
Additional information: © 2018 Society of Biological Psychiatry. This is an open access article under the CC BY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
Keywords: Cognitive neuroscience, Computational psychiatry, Confidence, Decision making, Metacognition, Psychopathology
UCL classification: UCL
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Brain Sciences
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Brain Sciences > Div of Psychology and Lang Sciences
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Brain Sciences > Div of Psychology and Lang Sciences > Experimental Psychology
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Brain Sciences > UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Brain Sciences > UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology > Imaging Neuroscience
URI: https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10044954
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