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Failure to Learn from Repeated Mistakes: Persistent Decision-Making Impairment as Measured by the Iowa Gambling Task in Patients with Ventromedial Prefrontal Cortex Lesions

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  29 May 2012

Samantha M. Waters-Wood ,
Lin Xiao ,
Natalie L. Denburg ,
Michael Hernandez  and
Antoine Bechara
Samantha M. Waters-Wood*
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California
Lin Xiao
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California
Natalie L. Denburg
Affiliation:
Department of Neurology, University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa
Michael Hernandez
Affiliation:
Department of Neurology, University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa
Antoine Bechara
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California Department of Neurology, University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa Clinical Research Division, Douglas Mental Health University Institute, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
*
Correspondence and reprint requests to: Samantha M. Waters-Wood, SGM 501, USC Department of Psychology, 3620 McClintock Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90089-2520. E-mail: samantha.waters@usc.edu
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Abstract

Although frontal patients show impaired decision-making on the Iowa Gambling Task (IGT), there has been no follow-up study to date to determine whether there is recovery of function over time. We examined neurological participants’ performance on repeated administrations of the IGT over the course of 6 years. We found that, while non-neurological participants showed considerable improvement due to practice effects on the IGT, patients with ventromedial prefrontal cortex (VMPFC) damage persisted in showing impaired performance on each retest. These results validate the clinical observations that VMPFC dysfunction does not appear to be subject to autonomous recovery over time in real-life. (JINS, 2012, 18, 1–4)

Keywords

Decision makingPrefrontal cortexNeuropsychological testsClinical psychologyDiagnosisReliabilityChoice behavior
Type
Brief Communication
Information
Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society , Volume 18 , Issue 5 , September 2012 , pp. 927 - 930
Copyright
Copyright © The International Neuropsychological Society 2012

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