ANAT 321 Lecture Notes - Lecture 11: Ventromedial Prefrontal Cortex, Somatic Marker Hypothesis, Amygdala
30 Aug 2016
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Test ventromedial prefrontal cortex in decision making (lesions lead to impaired social skills, make bad decisions, don"t learn from mistakes) 4 decks of cards, give people play money at beginning. Flip card over amount of money on card that you win or lose. If keep choosing decks a&b quickly run out of money; c&d slowly build up money. While doing test, hook up to physiological monitors: sweating, blood pressure, cardiac function. Physiological responses elicited by strong emotions (e. g. fear, anxiety) Normal subjects first selected a&b because won a lot but then caught on and quickly selected more c&d, figured it out. Physiological responses (associated w/increase in anxiety, fear, cautiousness) changed before conscious decisions changed; physiological responses told subjects that a&b were bad decks. Ventromedial prefrontal cortex damaged: kept choosing a&b run out of money, given more money keep choosing bad decks. Important link b/w visceral responses associated w/feelings & emotions and decisions made. If don"t have physiological markers don"t learn.
