Highly logical and non-emotional decisions in both risky and social contexts: understanding decision making in autism spectrum disorder through computational modeling.

In risky contexts, autism spectrum disorder (ASD) individuals exhibit more logical consistency and non-emotional decisions than do typical adults (TAs). This way of deciding could be also prevailing in social contexts, leading to maladaptive decisions. This evidence is scarce and inconsistent, and further research is needed. Recent developments in computational modeling allow analysis of decisional subcomponents that could provide valuable information to understand the decision-making and help address inconsistencies. Twenty-seven individuals with ASD and 25 TAs were submitted to a framing-task and the ultimatum game (UG). The Rescorla-Wagner computational model was used to analyze UG decisions. Results showed that in the UG, the ASD group exhibited a higher utilitarianism, characterized by lower aversion to unfairness and higher acceptance of offers. Moreover, this way of deciding was predicted by the higher economic rationality found in the framing task, where people with ASD did not manifest emotional biases such as framing effect. These results could suggest an atypical decision making, highly logical and non-emotional, as a robust feature of ASD.

What is the role of adherence to 24-hour movement guidelines in relation to physical fitness components among adolescents?

BACKGROUND: Physical inactivity, excessive sedentary time, and lack of sleep time have been independently associated with lower health-related physical fitness. However, little is known about the combined association between 24-h movement guidelines (i.e., physical activity, recreational screen time, and sleep duration) and components of physical fitness. OBJECTIVE: The main aim was to examine the likelihood of having high/very high levels on different components of physical fitness based on meeting with 24-h movement guidelines. METHODS: In this cross-sectional study, 1276 Spanish youths (13.07 ± 0.86; 55.88% boys), aged 11-16 years, completed self-reported questionnaires on physical activity, recreational screen time, and sleep duration. Physical fitness components were assessed by 20-m shuttle-run test, standing long jump test, handgrip strength test, and 4 × 10-m shuttle-run test. Meeting 24-h movement guidelines was defined as: 9-11 h/day (children aged 5-13) or 8-10 h/day (adolescents aged 14-17) of sleep, ≤2 h/day of recreational screen time and at least 60 min/day of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity. The probability of having a high/very high score for each physical fitness components (i.e., ≥60th centile according to the normative cut-off points for European adolescents) in relation to adherence to 24-h movement guidelines was analyzed using a series of binary logistic regressions. RESULTS: Participants who met the three 24-h movement guidelines were more likely to have high/very high for cardiorespiratory fitness (OR = 3.31; 95% CI: 1.79, 6.14; p < 0.001), standing long jump (OR = 1.91; 95% CI: 1.06, 3.45; p = 0.031), muscular fitness (OR = 2.05; 95% CI: 1.09, 3.86; p = 0.048) and physical fitness (OR = 1.99; 95% CI: 1.08, 3.66; p = 0.012), but not for handgrip strength (OR = 1.15; 95% CI: 0.64, 2.01; p = 0.636) and speed/agility (OR = 1.65; 95% CI: 0.92, 2.96; p = 0.093), compared to those who did not meet all three recommendations. CONCLUSION: Since meeting the three 24-h movement guidelines increased the likelihood of having higher levels in most physical fitness components, it seems necessary to promote these movement behaviors early in life, as they could serve as a gateway for improving health-related fitness in future generations.

Factors affecting the benefit of glasses alone in treating childhood amblyopia: an analysis of PEDIG data.

BACKGROUND: To evaluate factors associated with better outcomes from optical treatment alone in amblyopic children from 3 up to 7 years. METHODS: Data extracted from two studies with similar protocols, Amblyopic Treatment Studies 5 (n = 152) and 13 (n = 128) from the Pediatric Eye Disease Investigator Group database, were used to determine by regression analysis the factors associated with improvements in visual acuity in the amblyopic eye, inter-ocular visual acuity difference and stereoacuity. Input variables were aetiology of amblyopia (anisometropic, strabismic and combined-mechanism amblyopia), treatment compliance, visual acuity, interocular visual acuity difference, stereoacuity, tropia size at distance and near, age and refractive error at baseline. RESULTS: Despite the range of clinical factors considered, our models explain only a modest proportion of the variance in optical treatment outcomes. The better predictors of the degree of optical treatment success in amblyopic children are visual acuity of the amblyopic eye, interocular visual acuity difference, stereoacuity, treatment compliance and the amblyopic eye spherical-equivalent refractive error. While the aetiology of the amblyopia does not exert a major influence upon treatment outcome, combined-mechanism amblyopes experience the smallest improvement in visual acuity, tropia and stereoacuity and may need longer optical treatment periods. CONCLUSIONS: While results identify the factors influencing optical treatment outcome in amblyopic children, clinicians will be unable to predict accurately the benefits of optical treatment in individual patients. Whether this is because relevant clinical or non-clinical factors (e.g. nature and volume of daily activities undertaken) influences the outcomes from optical treatment has not yet been identified and remains to be discovered.

COVID-19 stressor reduces risk taking: the role of trait interoception.

The Framing Effect (FE) demonstrated that the way two alternatives are displayed affects people's inclination to make a specific choice, showing a risk aversion when alternatives are displayed on positive frames and risk seeking in negative frames. Risk seeking in negative frames is closely linked to loss aversion. Moreover, classical research and the salience-of-losses hypothesis argues that stress may enhance the FE and loss aversion. Recent studies also suggest that the trait interoception and alexithymia could interact and moderate the framing susceptibility. However, experimental paradigms on stress could ignore variables such as threat perception. In this sense, COVID-19 pandemic has become a powerful real-life stressor in many countries. We aimed to study how real-life stressors influence decision-making under risk. A total of 97 participants were divided into a control (n = 48) and an experimental group (n = 49). The experimental group were exposed to a stressor manipulation, a 5 min COVID-19 lockdown documentary. Our results show that COVID-19-related stressors significantly decreased bet acceptance regardless of the frame, also reducing loss aversion. Moreover, interoception was a significant predictor of loss aversion under stress conditions. Our results do not support classical research on stress and FE.

Skipping breakfast and excess weight among young people: the moderator role of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity.

The present study aimed to test whether the daily minutes of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) engaged moderate the relationship between breakfast status and excess weight (i.e., overweight and/or obesity) in a Spanish sample of young people. A cross-sectional study involving a total sample of 2890 Spanish schoolchildren (46% girls) aged 6-17 years (M = 12.3 ± 2.6) was conducted. To determine the habit of having breakfast, a dichotomous item about breakfast status (yes/no) from the Mediterranean Diet Quality Index for children and teenagers (KIDMED) was used. Physical Activity Questionnaire for Older Children and the Physical Activity Questionnaire for Adolescents were fulfilled to offer an estimation of the minutes of MVPA that individuals had in the last seven days. Body mass index (BMI) was converted into z-scores and, therefore, excess weight status (i.e., overweight and/or obesity) was established according to World Health Organization criteria for sex and age. Skipping breakfast was positively related with BMI (z-score) and excess weight. Moderation analyses suggested that daily MVPA minutes moderated the association between skipping breakfast and BMI (boys: ß = - 0.175; girls: ß = - 0.073) or the excess weight (boys: OR = 1.10; CI 95%, 1.02 to 1.07; girls: OR = 1.14; CI 95%, 1.04 to 1.24), meaning that physical activity of sufficient intensity seems to reduce the effect of skipping breakfast on the body weight status of young people. CONCLUSION: Our results indicate that promotion of having breakfast should be accompanied by daily MVPA, as young participants who have breakfast and with higher daily MVPA seem to be more likely to have no excess weight. WHAT IS KNOWN: • Some of the well-studied factors associated with childhood obesity have been skipping breakfast and insufficient physical activity. • Some studies have pointed out the association between having breakfast and both body mass index and physical activity level, in isolation. WHAT IS NEW: • Daily minutes of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity moderate the association between skipping breakfast and excess weight. • Breakfast promotion as a healthy eating habit should be accompanied by increases in moderate-to-vigorous physical activity, since participants who have breakfast and with higher moderate-to-vigorous physical activity seem to be more likely to have no excess weight.

School and non-school day screen time profiles and their differences in health and educational indicators in adolescents.

Sedentary behavior and screen-based devices in particular have been negatively associated with a wide range of health and educational indicators. However, few have examined these relationships separately for school days and non-school days, and none have used a person-centered approach. This study aimed to identify school and non-school day screen time profiles, as well as examine possible differences in health indicators (physical fitness, fatness, physical activity, sleep duration, and Mediterranean diet) and academic performance. This study involved the participation of 1573 Spanish adolescents aged 12-16 years (54.73% girls). Academic performance was measured through grades in Mathematics, Language, English, and Physical Education. Physical fitness was measured through a battery of tests (cardiorespiratory fitness was measured using the 20 m shuttle run test, and muscular strength with both handgrip and standing long jump tests), while fatness (skinfold thicknesses) was assessed with calipers. Finally, physical activity, screen time, sleep duration, and adherence to the Mediterranean diet were measured using self-reported questionnaires. Hierarchical cluster analyses based on square Euclidian distances and Ward's method were performed based on daily minutes of screen time recorded on school and non-school days. We identified four clusters labeled and described as: (1) "High-high": highest screen time on school and non-school days; (2) "High-low": high screen time on school days and low screen time on non-school days; (3) "Low-high": low screen time on school days and high screen time on non-school days; (4) "Low-low": lowest screen time on school and non-school days. Adolescents who belonged to the "High-high" profile had worse health-related behaviors (i.e., physical activity, sleep duration, and adherence to Mediterranean diet) and academic performance than most other profiles, while adolescents who belonged to "Low-low" profile showed the opposite pattern. Adolescents in the "Low-high" profile had a higher sleep duration on school days and better academic performance than those in the "High-low" profile. No differences in body fat, cardiorespiratory fitness, and muscular strength were found between the four different profiles. The results suggest that adolescents who accumulated a large amount of screen time on school and non-school days reported worse health-related behaviors and academic performance. Moreover, adolescents who had high screen time on school days reported only a short sleep duration on school days and worse academic performance than on non-school days. Conducting interventions to reduce screen time in these four profiles, particularly in the groups of students with more screen time on school days, becomes essential to improving adolescents' healthy lifestyles and academic performance.

Sedentary behaviours and their relationship with academic performance in adolescents: A mediation analysis.

The present research aims to examine the relationship between the four dimensions of sedentary behaviours and academic performance, as well as to test the association between sedentary behaviours and academic performance in boys and girls in a sample of Spanish adolescents. A total of 2,216 adolescents aged 11 to 16 years old, both males (13.30 ± 0.92) and females (13.06 ± 0.86), participated. Sleep duration, physical activity, and sedentary behaviours were measured through questionnaires. Academic performance was assessed with students´ marks. Potential confounders such as sex, age, socioeconomic status, and cardiorespiratory fitness were also measured. Descriptive analysis, correlation analysis, analysis of differences, and multiple mediation analysis were conducted. It was observed that girls spend more time on sedentary educational or social behaviours, while boys spend much more time on screen time. Sedentary behaviours such as educational time, screen time, and relaxing time were associated with academic performance. Specifically, educational time appears to be positively related to academic performance. Nevertheless, screen time and relaxing time were negatively associated with academic performance. The multiple mediation analysis revealed that screen time was the most negative behaviour on academic performance. The outcomes are discussed to improve knowledge about sedentary behaviours and academic performance.

Emotional stress & decision-making: an emotional stressor significantly reduces loss aversion.

Stress influences loss aversion, the principle that losses loom larger than gains, although the nature of this relationship is unclear. Studies show that stress reduces loss aversion; however, stress response has been only studied by means of physiological measures, but the stressor emotional impact remained unclear. Since emotions can modify stress response and increase the activity of the loss aversion neural substrates, it could be expected that an emotional stressor may produce the opposite effect, i.e. loss aversion increase. 69 participants were divided into experimental and control group. The first one was exposed to emotional stress through a 5-minutes video, and control group viewed a match-length distractor video. Physiological stress response was assessed by means of electrodermal activity (EDA), and both perceived stress, and negative affect (i.e. psychological stress response) were registered through questionnaires. Both groups performed a mixed gamble task, which allowed the extraction of loss aversion through a Bayesian-computational model. During and after video, experimental group had higher electrodermal activity, perceived stress, and negative affect than controls, suggesting that emotional stress induction was effective. However, rather than increasing, loss aversion of stressed participants was lower. These results constitute a new evidence of emotional stress influencing loss aversion and highlight that stress, regardless of its emotional impact, can reduce this phenomenon. These results should be considered when predicting risky decisions.

Validation of the body image dimensional assessment in adolescents from Spanish high school.

INTRODUCTION: There are not many valid instruments to quickly and easily identify body dissatisfaction in adolescents. Most studies have used the Stunkard Rating Scale to assess body image. Nevertheless, this scale has been described as too abrupt and crude for adolescents. AIM: Was to validate the body image dimensional assessment (BIDA) questionnaire in a sample of adolescents from Secondary schools of Spain. METHOD: The BIDA consists of four items to answer with reference to a series of four silhouettes using a numeric scale that allows the quantification of the degree of body dissatisfaction (BD), sexual body dissatisfaction (SxBD), comparative body dissatisfaction (CBD) and the calculation of the final body dissatisfaction index (BDIndex). The sample included 2059 adolescents, 1132 males and 929 females aged 13.10 ± 0.89. Participants answered the BIDA and then their anthropometrics measurements were taken. RESULTS: Reliability test, a convergent test and confirmatory factorial analysis were conducted to validate BIDA instrument. A single factor structure emerged from confirmatory factorial analysis; the BIDA demonstrated adequate internal consistency in adolescents: (CFI > 0.90, TLI > 0.90, α > 0.80). Significant correlations (p < 0.001) emerged between the BIDA indices and all the anthropometric measures. CONCLUSIONS: The BIDA questionnaire is a valid and reliable instrument to evaluate body dissatisfaction in Spanish adolescents. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: Level V, descriptive study.

Technical Report: Repeatability of Contrast Sensitivity Test in Children.

Contrast sensitivity (CS) in children is not routinely measured in the clinical setting, although CS losses have been found in amblyopic and premature children. Thus simple visual acuity measurements do not completely assess their quality of vision. To evaluate contrast sensitivity in children, a reliable and easy test, sampling the entire spatial frequency range, is necessary. PURPOSE: This study aimed to evaluate the repeatability and normal range of the contrast sensitivity function measured using the Topcon CC-100 instrument, in children aged between 4 and 9 years, for use as a diagnostic tool. METHODS: Contrast sensitivity was measured in 25 children, 11 boys and 14 girls, with normal or corrected-to-normal visual acuity, normal binocular function, and stereopsis. Two measurements were performed, 3 months apart, with a Topcon CC-100 device using achromatic sinusoidal gratings of 1.5, 3, 6, 12, and 18 cycles per degree (cpd) with random orientation in a circular window with sharp edges. RESULTS: The normal range in the first visit is wider than in the second. Coefficients of variation are better for the middle-range spatial frequencies (6.6 and 7.8% at 3 and 6 cpd, respectively) and worst at 18 cpd (18.2%), with intermediate values at 1.5 cpd (11.3%) and 12 cpd (13.7%), and better for older than for younger children. No significant sex differences were found (P > .05, Mann-Whitney U test). CONCLUSIONS: Repeatability measured by the coefficient of variation is better for the middle frequency range (3 and 6 cpd) than for low (1.5 cpd) and high frequencies (12 and 18 cpd). The variability of the differences between the first and second measurements suggests that the participants were not able to maintain a stable response criterion. The test seems to be subject to a learning effect, and the standard normality range may not be adequate for children.

The Role of Perceived Control in the Psychophysiological Responses to Disgust of Subclinical OCD Women.

Obsessive‒compulsive disorder (OCD), and especially contamination obsessions and washing compulsions, has been related to disgust. However, when its cardiovascular correlates have been studied, contradictory results have been found, including heart rate accelerations and decelerations. The aim of this study is to analyze emotional, cognitive, and cardiovascular responses in nonclinical (control) and subclinical participants with obsessive‒compulsive contamination/washing symptoms when confronted with a disgusting stimulus. Twenty-seven participants (14 subclinical OCD) completed a behavioral avoidance task with a contamination-based stimulus while their heart rate and subjective variables were measured. Results showed heart rate reductions in both samples, whereas subjective measures reflected higher disgust, anxiety, dirtiness, and emotional valence in the subclinical sample. However, at the same time, the sense of dominance was lower in the control group. In conclusion, our results support a heart rate deceleration during exposure to a disgusting stimulus dissociated from the subjective experience.

Good decision-making is associated with an adaptive cardiovascular response to social competitive stress.

Competition elicits different psychological and cardiovascular responses depending on a person's skills. Decision-making has been considered a distal factor that influences competition, but there are no studies analyzing this relationship. Our objective was to analyze whether decision-making affects the response to competition. Specifically, we aimed to test whether good performers on a decision-making test, the Iowa Gambling Task (IGT), showed an adaptive cardiovascular response to competition. In all, 116 participants (44 women) performed the IGT and were classified into Good or Poor decision-makers. Subsequently, they were exposed to a stress task in two different conditions: a face-to-face competition (winners/losers) or a control condition, while an electrocardiogram was recorded. In the competition group, good decision-makers increased their high-frequency respect to the total heart rate variability (HF/HRV) levels during the task, compared to Poor decision-makers. Again, competition group good decision-makers, showed lower LF and higher HF/HRV reactivity than the control group, which represents lower HRV stress pattern. Moreover, in the group of losers, good decision-makers had a decline in low frequency (LF) during the task and faster recovery than poor decision-makers. In conclusion, good decision-makers have a more adaptive stress response and higher levels of mental effort, based on total HRV interpretation. Decision-making skills could be a factor in a more adaptive cardiovascular response to competition.

[Retrospective analysis to evaluate efficacy and safety of stereotactic radiosurgery in Cushing's disease: 24 cases and a review]. / Estudio retrospectivo para evaluar la eficacia y la seguridad de la radiocirugía en enfermedad de Cushing: 24 casos y revisión.

BACKGROUND: In the past few years, stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) has been suggested as a good alternative, second line therapy for the management of patients with ACTH-secreting pituitary adenomas. A retrospective study has been conducted in order to evaluate the efficacy and safety of this treatment in these patients. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Data were collected on all patients treated with SRS for an ACTH-secreting pituitary adenoma between 1996 and 2008, and with at least one year of follow-up. An analysis was carried out by analysing the return to normal of the hormone levels and clinical improvement rates (including Cushing signs, arterial hypertension), as well as adverse effects, and disease relapse. A return to normal of the 24 hour urinary free cortisol (24-UFC) levels (<100 µg/day) without any ACTH-secretion suppressor drug treatment, was considered as cure or improvement. RESULTS: A total of 30 patients were treated with SRS, of which 24 were included in the analysis. They all had high 24-UFC levels before the treatment. Cure was achieved in 12 (50%) in a mean of 28 months, and in other 3 patients 24-UFC levels returned to normal with treatment with ketoconazole after the SRS. Cushing signs improved in all cases, as well as arterial hypertension in 13 out of 14 cases. There were relapses after cure consolidation. As far as adverse effects, it should be mentioned that there were 9 cases of new pituitary hormonal dysfunction (the most frequent being hypothyroidism), one radionecrosis, and one case of visual field defect impairment. Radiation-related neoplasm was not detected in any of the cases. CONCLUSIONS: SRS is an effective treatment for those patients with ACTH-secreting pituitary adenoma in whom surgery has failed, or in those that are not good candidates for it. It showed good rates of hormone levels returning to normal, as well as clinical disease control and a low level of adverse effects.

Patterns of use and dosing of tocilizumab in the treatment of patients with rheumatoid arthritis in routine clinical practice: the ACT-LIFE study.

The aim of the study was to identify and describe the patterns of use of tocilizumab in clinical practice to ensure safety and optimal management of rheumatoid arthritis (RA). This is a 12-month prospective observational study in patients with moderate or severe RA of ≥6 months' duration who have started tocilizumab after failure of at least one previous disease-modifying antirheumatic drug (DMARD) including TNF inhibitors. For some analyses, patients were categorized by the use of tocilizumab as monotherapy or in combination, and by previous use of biological therapy. Overall, 379 were evaluable (84.4 % received tocilizumab after prior biologics and 78.4 % in combination with classic DMARDs). Tocilizumab was discontinued in 68/379 (17.9 %) patients after a median of 6.7 (3.7-10.4) months, mainly due to a lack of efficacy (24/379, 6.3 %) and adverse events (23/379, 6.1 %). Of 131 temporary interruptions of tocilizumab required in 101/379 (26.6 %) patients, 81/131 (61.8 %) were related to adverse events, and in 120/131 (91.6 %) cases, tocilizumab was reintroduced at 8 mg/kg. Thirty-six tocilizumab dose reductions occurred in 34/379 (9 %) patients due to abnormal laboratory values in 20/34 (55.6 %) cases. DAS28-ESR scores decreased from baseline (5.6 ± 1.0) to week 24 (3.0 ± 1.4) and week 52 (2.7 ± 1.3). DAS28 response differed between biologics-naive and biologics-experienced patients, both at weeks 24 and 52. In clinical practice, tocilizumab is effective in RA while retaining the expected safety and tolerability profile. Tocilizumab seems to be more effective for biologics-naive patients than for biologics-experienced patients, while it proves to be similarly effective when used in combination or monotherapy.

Differences in Cold and Hot Decision-Making between Gambling and Other Addictions.

Behavioral and biological addictions can impair decision-making processes, mainly by means of a dysfunction in brain regions associated with reward and frontal areas that may lead to disadvantageous choices. Understanding these differences helps establish appropriate terminology and enhances our ability to recognize, prevent, and treat these disorders effectively. Thus, while behavioral and biological addictions share some common elements, their underlying mechanisms and impact on decision-making vary significantly. Moreover, decision-making can be measured through questionnaires (stable or "cold" measures) or dynamic tasks (hot decisions) such as the Iowa Gambling Task (IGT), which can reflect different dimensions of this process. The aim of this study was to compare decision-making from different perspectives-stable and dynamic measures-in patients with gambling addiction (GA) (n = 42) and patients with biological addictions (BA) (n = 43). Decision-making was assessed using GDMS (Decisional Styles) and the LCT (Loss Aversion), as cold decision-making measures, as well as a hot or situational task called the IGT (Iowa Gambling Task). The results revealed that GA patients exhibited lower rational style scores compared to BA patients. Additionally, GA patients showed greater loss aversion according to the LCT questionnaire. On the other hand, when analyzing the IGT results, no differences were observed between groups in the overall IG index, learning curves, or the loss aversion parameter. However, GA patients showed higher sensitivity to feedback and less consistency in their decisions. These findings highlight the differences between different types of addictions and highlight the importance of considering the type of measure used to evaluate decision-making.

An ecological assessment of decision-making under risk and ambiguity through the virtual serious game Kalliste Decision Task.

Traditional methods for evaluating decision-making provide valuable insights yet may fall short in capturing the complexity of this cognitive capacity, often providing insufficient for the multifaceted nature of decisions. The Kalliste Decision Task (KDT) is introduced as a comprehensive, ecologically valid tool aimed at bridging this gap, offering a holistic perspective on decision-making. In our study, 81 participants completed KDT alongside established tasks and questionnaires, including the Mixed Gamble Task (MGT), Iowa Gambling Task (IGT), and Stimulating & Instrumental Risk Questionnaire (S&IRQ). They also completed the User Satisfaction Evaluation Questionnaire (USEQ). The results showed excellent usability, with high USEQ scores, highlighting the user-friendliness of KDT. Importantly, KDT outcomes showed significant correlations with classical decision-making variables, shedding light on participants' risk attitudes (S&IRQ), rule-based decision-making (MGT), and performance in ambiguous contexts (IGT). Moreover, hierarchical clustering analysis of KDT scores categorized participants into three distinct profiles, revealing significant differences between them on classical measures. The findings highlight KDT as a valuable tool for assessing decision-making, addressing limitations of traditional methods, and offering a comprehensive, ecologically valid approach that aligns with the complexity and heterogeneity of real-world decision-making, advancing research and providing insights for understanding and assessing decision-making across multiple domains.

Do Decision-Making Styles Predict Vagal Control? The Role of Resting Heart Rate Variability.

Decision-making styles are a habit-based propensity that drive behavior and affect daily life. Rational and intuitive decision-making styles have been associated with good mental health. However, the underlying mechanisms are not clear. In the last decade, high basal levels of heart rate variability (HRV) have been proposed as an index of health and emotional control, and this could be one of the variables involved in the effects of decision making on health. Therefore, the aim of this study is to analyze the capability of decision-making styles to predict resting HRV. A cross-sectional study was conducted in a sample of 199 (119 women) young university students, and a resting ECG was recorded to extract frequency domain HRV variables. Subsequently, participants completed sociodemographic data and the General Decision-Making Style questionnaire (GDMS). Results showed that the intuitive style predicted high-frequency HRV, while the avoidant style predicted less low-frequency HRV. This study presents new data on the relationship between decision-making style and HRV, suggesting that the intuitive style has a cardioprotective effect, while the avoidant style is related to lower HRV, which has been associated with health vulnerability. In conclusion, this study contributes to the understanding of HRV and its potential as a biomarker for cognitive styles that may improve health.