Social economics in HD
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Social economics and herding in pre-manifest and early Huntington’s disease
IRAS ID
191536
Contact name
Roger Barker
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Cambridge University Hospital NHS foundation Trust and University of Cambridge
Duration of Study in the UK
4 years, 0 months, 1 days
Research summary
Huntington's disease is associated with a characteristic cognitive profile that reflect a loss of functional integrity in the networks that link the basal ganglia to the frontal lobe regions (the frontostriatal networks). This manifests in symptoms such as impairments in psychomotor processing speed, verbal fluency and working memory, and behaviourally by problems with impulsivity, poor risk assessment and an inability to reverse a poor course of action. Such abnormalities can often be detected in very early disease and even in some case prior to the onset of motor symptoms. These early changes occur around the same time as the patients functional performance begins to decline; patients can begin to experience difficulty with occupational performance and very quickly will lose the ability to manage their own finances without help. Not only does this make it very difficult for HD patients to live independently but it also makes them very vulnerable to financial manipulation and scams.
Very few studies have directly looked at the factors which contribute to the HD patient’s inability to manage their own money. Is it due to problems with planning, problem solving, working memory and task flexibility (executive functions), or is it because money no longer elicits the same reward profile as before the disease started (reward processing)? Maybe there are changes in the way HD patients comply with social norms that affect the way they deal with money (social cognition)? The current study aims to use a comprehensive battery of cognitive tests to determine the processes which influence an HD patients ability to make socioeconomic decision.
REC name
East of England - Cambridge Central Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
16/EE/0001
Date of REC Opinion
21 Mar 2016
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion