A study of the performance of patients with frontal lobe lesions in a financial planning task - PubMed (original) (raw)
A study of the performance of patients with frontal lobe lesions in a financial planning task
V Goel et al. Brain. 1997 Oct.
Abstract
It has long been argued that patients with lesions in the prefrontal cortex have difficulties in decision making and problem solving in real-world, ill-structured situations, particularly problem types involving planning and look-ahead components. Recently, several researchers have questioned our ability to capture and characterize these deficits adequately using just the standard neuropsychological test batteries, and have called for tests that reflect real-world task requirements more accurately. We present data from 10 patients with focal lesions to the prefrontal cortex and 10 normal control subjects engaged in a real-world financial planning task. We also introduce a theoretical framework and methodology developed in the cognitive science literature for quantifying and analysing the complex data generated by problem-solving tasks. Our findings indicate that patient performance is impoverished at a global level but not at the local level. Patients have difficulty in organizing and structuring their problem space. Once they begin problem solving, they have difficulty in allocating adequate effort to each problem-solving phase. Patients also have difficulty dealing with the fact that there are no right or wrong answers nor official termination points in real-world planning problems. They also find it problematic to generate their own feedback. They invariably terminate the session before the details are fleshed out and all the goals satisfied. Finally, patients do not take full advantage of the fact that constraints on real-world problems are negotiable. However, it is not necessary to postulate a 'planning' deficit. It is possible to understand the patients' difficulties in real world planning tasks in terms of the following four accepted deficits: inadequate access to 'structured event complexes', difficulty in generalizing from particulars, failure to shift between 'mental sets', and poor judgment regarding adequacy and completeness of a plan.
Similar articles
- The effects of frontal lobe lesions on goal achievement in the water jug task.
Colvin MK, Dunbar K, Grafman J. Colvin MK, et al. J Cogn Neurosci. 2001 Nov 15;13(8):1129-47. doi: 10.1162/089892901753294419. J Cogn Neurosci. 2001. PMID: 11784450 - Right BA 10 lesions impair performance on real-world planning but are not sensitive to problem novelty or tower tasks.
Goel V, Gossai D, Smith KW, Goel N, Raymont V, Krueger F, Grafman J. Goel V, et al. Cortex. 2023 Dec;169:353-373. doi: 10.1016/j.cortex.2023.09.016. Epub 2023 Nov 2. Cortex. 2023. PMID: 37984254 - Patients with right frontal lesions are unable to assess and use advice to make predictive judgments.
Gomez-Beldarrain M, Harries C, Garcia-Monco JC, Ballus E, Grafman J. Gomez-Beldarrain M, et al. J Cogn Neurosci. 2004 Jan-Feb;16(1):74-89. doi: 10.1162/089892904322755575. J Cogn Neurosci. 2004. PMID: 15006038 Clinical Trial. - Strategy application disorder: the role of the frontal lobes in human multitasking.
Burgess PW. Burgess PW. Psychol Res. 2000;63(3-4):279-88. doi: 10.1007/s004269900006. Psychol Res. 2000. PMID: 11004881 Review.
Cited by
- Neural Correlates of Psychopathic Traits in Schizophrenia: fMRI Study of Response Inhibition in Persistently Violent Patients.
Krakowski MI, Hoptman MJ, Czobor P. Krakowski MI, et al. Schizophr Bull Open. 2023 Mar 23;4(1):sgad009. doi: 10.1093/schizbullopen/sgad009. eCollection 2023 Jan. Schizophr Bull Open. 2023. PMID: 39145336 Free PMC article. - Behavioral consequences of second-person pronouns in written communications between authors and reviewers of scientific papers.
Sun Z, Cao CC, Liu S, Li Y, Ma C. Sun Z, et al. Nat Commun. 2024 Jan 2;15(1):152. doi: 10.1038/s41467-023-44515-1. Nat Commun. 2024. PMID: 38167747 Free PMC article. - Psychometric Calibration of a Tool Based on 360 Degree Videos for the Assessment of Executive Functions.
Borgnis F, Borghesi F, Rossetto F, Pedroli E, Lavorgna L, Riva G, Baglio F, Cipresso P. Borgnis F, et al. J Clin Med. 2023 Feb 18;12(4):1645. doi: 10.3390/jcm12041645. J Clin Med. 2023. PMID: 36836179 Free PMC article. - Available Virtual Reality-Based Tools for Executive Functions: A Systematic Review.
Borgnis F, Baglio F, Pedroli E, Rossetto F, Uccellatore L, Oliveira JAG, Riva G, Cipresso P. Borgnis F, et al. Front Psychol. 2022 Apr 11;13:833136. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2022.833136. eCollection 2022. Front Psychol. 2022. PMID: 35478738 Free PMC article. - A Simple and Effective Way to Study Executive Functions by Using 360° Videos.
Borgnis F, Baglio F, Pedroli E, Rossetto F, Riva G, Cipresso P. Borgnis F, et al. Front Neurosci. 2021 Apr 12;15:622095. doi: 10.3389/fnins.2021.622095. eCollection 2021. Front Neurosci. 2021. PMID: 33912001 Free PMC article.
Publication types
MeSH terms
LinkOut - more resources
Full Text Sources