Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-r5fsc Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-25T07:21:16.207Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Sensitivity to Fairness and Intentions of Others in the Ultimatum Game in Patients with Ventromedial Prefontal Lesions

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  16 November 2012

Simone G. Shamay-Tsoory ,
Ramzi Suleiman ,
Judith Aharon-Peretz ,
Ravit Gohary  and
Gilad Hirschberger
Simone G. Shamay-Tsoory*
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, University of Haifa, Haifa, Israel
Ramzi Suleiman
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, University of Haifa, Haifa, Israel
Judith Aharon-Peretz
Affiliation:
Cognitive Neurology Unit, Rambam Medical Center, Haifa, Israel
Ravit Gohary
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, University of Haifa, Haifa, Israel
Gilad Hirschberger
Affiliation:
School of Psychology, Interdisciplinary Center (IDC), Herzliya, Israel
*
Correspondence and reprint requests to: Simone G. Shamay-Tsoory, Department of Psychology, University of Haifa, Haifa 31905 Israel. E-mail: [email protected]
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

This study aimed to examine the relationship between perspective-taking and impaired decision-making in patients with ventromedial prefrontal (VM) lesions, using the Ultimatum Game (UG). In the UG, two players split a sum of money and one player proposes a division while the other can accept or reject this. Eight patients with VM damage and 18 healthy controls participated as responders in a modified version of the UG, in which identical offers can generate different rejection rates depending on the other offers available to the proposer. Participants had to either accept or reject offers of 2:8 NIS (2NIS for them and 8 NIS for the proposer), which were paired with one of four different possible offers (5:5, 4:6, 2:8, 8:2). Results indicate that the controls more often rejected offers of 2:8 when the alternative was 4:6 (a greedy alternative) than when the alternative was 5:5 (fair alternative), whereas the VM patients showed the opposite pattern of decision-making. Additionally, the overall rejection rates were higher in patients as compared to controls. Furthermore, scores on a perspective-taking scale were negatively correlated with rejection rates in the patient group, suggesting that perspective-taking deficits may account for impaired decision-making in VM patients. (JINS, 2012, 18, 952–961)

Keywords

Ventromedial prefrontal cortexUltimatum gameDecision-makingPerspective-takingTheory of mindfairness
Type
Symposia
Information
Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society , Volume 18 , Issue 6 , November 2012 , pp. 952 - 961
Copyright
Copyright © The International Neuropsychological Society 2012

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Anderson, S.W., Barrash, J., Bechara, A., Tranel, D. (2006). Impairments of emotion and real-world complex behavior following childhood- or adult-onset damage to ventromedial prefrontal cortex. Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society, 12(2), 224–235.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Bechara, A., Damasio, H., Tranel, D., Anderson, S.W. (1998). Dissociation of working memory from decision-making within the human prefrontal cortex. The Journal of Neuroscience, 18(1), 428–437.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Berlin, H.A., Rolls, E.T., Kischka, U. (2004). Impulsivity, time perception, emotion and reinforcement sensitivity in patients with orbitofrontal cortex lesions. Brain, 127(5), 1108–1126. doi:10.1093/brain/awh135CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Bolton, G.E., Zwick, R. (1995). Anonymity versus punishment in ultimatum bargaining. Games and Economic Behavior, 10(1), 95–121. doi:10.1006/game.1995.1026CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Burgess, P.W., Wood, R.LI. (1990). Neuropsychology of behaviour disorders following brain injury. In R.Ll. Wood (Ed.), Neurobehavioural sequelae of traumatic brain injury (pp. 110–133). London: Taylor & Franci.Google Scholar
Camerer, C., Thaler, R.H. (1995). Anomalies: Ultimatums, dictators and manners. The Journal of Economic Perspectives, 9(2), 209–219.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Camille, N., Coricelli, G., Sallet, J., Pradat-Diehl, P., Duhamel, J., Sirigu, A. (2004). The involvement of the orbitofrontal cortex in the experience of regret. Science, 304(5674), 1167–1170. doi:10.1126/science.1094550CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Camille, N., Griffiths, C.A., Vo, K., Fellows, L.K., Kable, J.W. (2011). Ventromedial frontal lobe damage disrupts value maximization in humans. J Neurosci, 31(20), 7527–7532.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Crockett, M.J., Clark, L., Tabibnia, G., Lieberman, M.D., Robbins, T.W. (2008). Serotonin modulates behavioral reactions to unfairness. Science, 320(5884), 1739. doi:10.1126/science.1155577CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Danziger, N., Faillenot, I., Peyron, R. (2009). Can we share a pain we never felt? neural correlates of empathy in patients with congenital insensitivity to pain. Neuron, 61(2), 203–212. doi:10.1016/j.neuron.2008.11.023CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Davis, M. (1980). A multidimensional approach to individual differences in empathy. JSAS Catalog of Selected Documents in Psychology, 10(85).Google Scholar
Decety, J., Jackson, P.L. (2004). The functional architecture of human empathy. Behavioral and Cognitive Neuroscience Reviews, 3(2), 406–412. doi:10.1177/1534582304267187CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Diekhof, E.K., Geier, K., Falkai, P., Gruber, O. (2011). Fear is only as deep as the mind allows: A coordinate-based meta-analysis of neuroimaging studies on the regulation of negative affect. Neuroimage, 58(1), 275–285. doi:10.1016/j.neuroimage.2011.05.073CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Falk, A., Fehr, E., Fischbacher, U. (2003). On the nature of fair behavior. Economic Inquiry, 41(1), 20–26. doi:10.1093/ei/41.1.20CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fellows, L.K. (2004). The cognitive neuroscience of human decision-making: A review and conceptual framework. Behavioral and Cognitive Neuroscience Reviews, 3(3), 159–172. doi:10.1177/1534582304273251CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Fellows, L.K. (2006). Deciding how to decide: Ventromedial frontal lobe damage affects information acquisition in multi-attribute decision-making. Brain, 129, 944–952.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Fellows, L.K., Farah, M.J. (2007). The role of ventromedial prefrontal cortex in decision-making: Judgment under uncertainty or judgment per se? Cerebral Cortex, 17(11), 2669–2674. doi:10.1093/cercor/bhl176CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Gallagher, H.L., Frith, C.D. (2003). Functional imaging of ‘theory of mind’. Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 7(2), 77–83. doi:10.1016/S1364-6613(02)00025-6CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Grafman, J., Jonas, B., Salazar, A. (1990). Wisconsin card sorting test performance based on location and size of neuroanatomical lesion in Vietnam veterans with penetrating head injury. Perceptual and Motor Skills, 71(3), 1120–1122. doi:10.2466/PMS.71.8.1120-1122CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Grafman, J., Schwab, K., Warden, D., Pridgen, A. (1996). Frontal lobe injuries, violence, and aggression: A report of the Vietnam head injury study. Neurology, 46(5), 1231–1238.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Grattan, L.M., Eslinger, P.J. (1989). Higher cognition and social behavior: Changes in cognitive flexibility and empathy after cerebral lesions. Neuropsychology, 3(3), 175–185. doi:10.1037/h0091764Google Scholar
Gregory, C., Lough, S., Stone, V., Erzinclioglu, S., Martin, L., Baron-Cohen, S., Hodges, J.R. (2002). Theory of mind in patients with frontal variant frontotemporal dementia and Alzheimer's disease: Theoretical and practical implications. Brain, 125(4), 752–764. doi:10.1093/brain/awf079CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Güth, W., Schmittberger, R., Schwarze, B. (1982). An experimental analysis of ultimatum bargaining. Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, 3(4), 367–388. doi:10.1016/0167-2681(82)90011-7CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Happaney, K., Zelazo, P.D., Stuss, D.T. (2004). Development of orbitofrontal function: Current themes and future directions. Brain and Cognition, 55(1), 1–10. doi:10.1016/j.bandc.2004.01.001CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Henri-Bhargava, A., Simioni, A., Fellows, L.K. (2012). Ventromedial frontal lobe damage disrupts the accuracy, but not the speed, of value-based preference judgments. Neuropsychologia, 50(7), 1536–1542. doi:10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2012.03.006CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Koenigs, M., Tranel, D. (2007). Irrational economic decision-making after ventromedial prefrontal damage: Evidence from the ultimatum game. The Journal of Neuroscience, 27(4), 951–956. doi:10.1523/JNEUROSCI.4606-06.2007CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Koenigs, M., Young, L., Adolphs, R., Tranel, D., Cushman, F., Hauser, M., Damasio, A. (2007). Damage to the prefontal cortex increases utilitarian moral judgements. Nature, 446(7138), 908–911. doi:10.1038/nature05631CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Krawczyk, D.C. (2002). Contributions of the prefrontal cortex to the neural basis of human decision-making. Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews, 26(6), 631–664. doi:10.1016/S0149-7634(02)00021-0CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Larquet, M., Coricelli, G., Opolczynski, G., Thibaut, F. (2010). Impaired decision-making in schizophrenia and orbitofrontal cortex lesion patients. Schizophrenia Research, 116(2-3), 266–273. doi:10.1016/j.schres.2009.11.010CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Lough, S., Kipps, C.M., Treise, C., Watson, P., Blair, J.R., Hodges, J.R. (2006). Social reasoning, emotion and empathy in frontotemporal dementia. Neuropsychologia, 44(6), 950–958. doi:10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2005.08.009CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Manes, F., Sahakian, B., Clark, L., Rogers, R., Antoun, N., Aitken, M., Robbins, T. (2002). Decision-making processes following damage to the prefrontal cortex. Brain, 125(3), 624–639. doi:10.1093/brain/awf049CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Pillutla, M.M., Murnighan, J.K. (1996). Unfairness, anger, and spite: Emotional rejections of ultimatum offers. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 68(3), 208–224. doi:10.1006/obhd.1996.0100CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ragozzino, M.E., Detrick, S., Kesner, R.P. (1999). Involvement of the prelimbic–infralimbic areas of the rodent prefrontal cortex in behavioral flexibility for place and response learning. The Journal of Neuroscience, 19(11), 4585–4594.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Rankin, K.P., Gorno-Tempini, M.L., Allison, S.C., Stanley, C.M., Glenn, S., Weiner, M.W., Miller, B.L. (2006). Structural anatomy of empathy in neurodegenerative disease. Brain, 129(11), 2945–2956. doi:10.1093/brain/awl254CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Robinson, A.L., Heaton, R.K., Lehman, R.A., Stilson, D.W. (1980). The utility of the Wisconsin card sorting test in detecting and localizing frontal lobe lesions. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 48(5), 605–614. doi:10.1037/0022-006X.48.5.605CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Rowe, A.D., Bullock, P.R., Polkey, C.E., Morris, R.G. (2001). ‘Theory of mind’ impairments and their relationship to executive functioning following frontal lobe excisions. Brain, 124(3), 600–616. doi:10.1093/brain/124.3.600CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Rushworth, M.F.S., Behrens, T.E.J. (2008). Choice, uncertainty and value in prefrontal and cingulate cortex. Nature Neuroscience, 11(4), 389–397. doi:10.1038/nn2066CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Sanfey, A.G., Rilling, J.K., Aronson, J.A., Nystrom, L.E., Cohen, J.D. (2003). The neural basis of economic decision-making in the ultimatum game. Science, 300(5626), 1755–1758. doi:10.1126/science.1082976CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Sebastian, C.L., Fontaine, N.M., Bird, G., Blakemore, S.J., De Brito, S.A., McCrory, E.J., Viding, E. (2011). Neural processing associated with cognitive and affective theory of mind in adolescents and adults. Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience, doi:10.1093/scan/nsr023Google ScholarPubMed
Shamay-Tsoory, S., Tomer, R., Berger, B.D., Aharon-Peretz, J. (2003). Characterization of empathy deficits following prefrontal brain damage: The role of the right ventromedial prefrontal cortex. Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience, 15(3), 324–337. doi:10.1162/089892903321593063CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Shamay-Tsoory, S.G., Aharon-Peretz, J., Levkovitz, Y. (2007). The neuroanatomical basis of affective mentalizing in schizophrenia: Comparison of patients with schizophrenia and patients with localized prefrontal lesions. Schizophrenia Research, 90(1-3), 274–283. doi:10.1016/j.schres.2006.09.020CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Shamay-Tsoory, S.G., Harari, H., Aharon-Peretz, J., Levkovitz, Y. (2010). The role of the orbitofrontal cortex in affective theory of mind deficits in criminal offenders with psychopathic tendencies. Cortex, 46(5), 668–677. doi:10.1016/j.cortex.2009.04.008CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Stone, V.E., Baron-Cohen, S., Knight, R.T. (1998). Frontal lobe contributions to theory of mind. Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience, 10(5), 640–656. doi:10.1162/089892998562942CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Stuss, D.T., Gallup, G.G. Jr., Alexander, M.P. (2001). The frontal lobes are necessary for ‘theory of mind’. Brain, 124(Pt 2), 279–286.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Sugrue, L.P., Corrado, G.S., Newsome, W.T. (2005). Choosing the greater of two goods: Neural currencies for valuation and decision-making. Nature Reviews. Neuroscience, 6(5), 363–375.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Tranel, D., Bechara, A., Denburg, N.L. (2002). Asymmetric functional roles of right and left ventromedial prefrontal cortices in social conduct, decision-making, and emotional processing. Cortex, 38(4), 589–612. doi:10.1016/S0010-9452(08)70024-8CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Wechsler, D. (1981). Wechsler adult intelligence scale revised manual. New York, NY: The Psychological Corporation.Google Scholar