From premature to protracted decision-making: Neural mechanisms underlying transdiagnostic biases in deliberation

01/02/2026 to 31/01/2031

For people with mental health conditions like schizophrenia and obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), decision-making can become a major struggle. Some decide too quickly based on little evidence—a pattern known as “jumping to conclusions.” Others become stuck in doubt, unable to decide at all.
This project is the largest study to date on these patterns. Using functional MRI, 150 people with schizophrenia and 150 with OCD will be scanned to explore what happens in the brain when decisions go wrong. A key focus will be dopamine, a brain chemical that plays a crucial role in how we gather and process information before deciding.
The ultimate goal is to create better treatments that directly address the way people with schizophrenia and OCD make decisions.