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This page is an AI-assisted Turkish summary of the study presented at the 26th World Congress of Psychiatry. The study belongs to the presenting authors; please refer to the original source when citing it.

EV0364

Aging, depression, and decision-making in adults living with HIV: Behavioral and computational evidence from the Iowa Gambling Task

AGEING, DEPRESSION, AND DECISION-MAKING IN ADULTS LIVING WITH HIV: BEHAVIOURAL AND COMPUTATIONAL EVIDENCE FROM THE IOWA GAMBLING TASK

Although conventional Iowa Gambling Task performance is relatively similar, computational modeling indicates differences in latent decision-making processes in adults living with HIV.

The study aimed to examine subtle changes in decision-making under uncertainty in adults living with HIV (ALWH), taking into account the contributions of aging and depressive symptoms. Healthy controls and ALWH were compared using the Iowa Gambling Task (IGT); in addition to standard behavioral measures (net score and final balance), latent parameters of the Value-Plus-Sequential-Exploration (VSE) computational model were estimated: value sensitivity (theta), decay of exploitation weights (Delta), exploration learning (alpha), exploration bonus (phi), and choice consistency (C). The sample comprised 13 participants: 7 controls and 6 ALWH. The mean age was 25 in the control group and 47 in the ALWH group, while Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) scores were below 2 in controls and above 13 in the ALWH group. At the behavioral level, the mean IGT net score was -0.57 in controls and was lower in the ALWH group; the mean final balance was 1771.43 in controls and 2395.83 in the ALWH group. The VSE profile showed lower theta and choice consistency C, and higher Delta, alpha, and phi in the ALWH group. According to the authors, this profile suggests changes in latent decision-making processes that conventional IGT scores do not capture, with these changes observed in the context of older age and a greater burden of depressive symptoms. Given the small sample (N=13), the findings are preliminary; the authors recommend larger groups matched for age and mood, along with the inclusion of clinical covariates to disentangle the effects associated with HIV, aging, and depression.

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