Damage to the Ventromedial Prefrontal Cortex Impairs Learning from Observed Outcomes

Dharshan Kumaran; David E Warren; Daniel Tranel

doi:10.1093/cercor/bhv080

Back

Damage to the Ventromedial Prefrontal Cortex Impairs Learning from Observed Outcomes

Journal article

Open access

Peer reviewed

Damage to the Ventromedial Prefrontal Cortex Impairs Learning from Observed Outcomes

Dharshan Kumaran, David E Warren and Daniel Tranel

Cerebral cortex (New York, N.Y. 1991), Vol.25(11), pp.4504-4518

11/2015

DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhv080

PMCID: PMC4810001

PMID: 25911415

Files and links (1)

url

https://doi.org/10.1093/cercor/bhv080View

Published (Version of record) Open Access

Abstract

Individuals learn both from the outcomes of their own internally generated actions ("experiential learning") and from the observation of the consequences of externally generated actions ("observational learning"). While neuroscience research has focused principally on the neural mechanisms by which brain structures such as the ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC) support experiential learning, relatively less is known regarding how learning proceeds through passive observation. We explored the necessity of the vmPFC for observational learning by testing a group of patients with damage to the vmPFC as well as demographically matched normal comparison and brain-damaged comparison groups--and a single patient with bilateral dorsal prefrontal damage--using several value-learning tasks that required learning from direct experience, observational learning, or both. We found a specific impairment in observational learning in patients with vmPFC damage manifest in the reduced influence of previously observed rewards on current choices, despite a relatively intact capacity for experiential learning. The current study provides evidence that the vmPFC plays a critical role in observational learning, suggests that there are dissociable neural circuits for experiential and observational learning, and offers an important new extension of how the vmPFC contributes to learning and memory.

Humans

Probability

Brain Injuries - complications

Logistic Models

Male

Learning Disorders - etiology

Prefrontal Cortex - pathology

Neuropsychological Tests

Magnetic Resonance Imaging

Analysis of Variance

Observation

Adult

Female

Details

Title: Subtitle: Damage to the Ventromedial Prefrontal Cortex Impairs Learning from Observed Outcomes
Creators: Dharshan Kumaran - Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, University College London, London, UK
David E Warren - Department of Neurology, Carver College of Medicine
Daniel Tranel - Department of Neurology, Carver College of Medicine Department of Psychology, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA, USA
Resource Type: Journal article
Publication Details: Cerebral cortex (New York, N.Y. 1991), Vol.25(11), pp.4504-4518
DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhv080
PMID: 25911415
PMCID: PMC4810001
NLM abbreviation: Cereb Cortex
ISSN: 1047-3211
eISSN: 1460-2199
Publisher: United States
Grant note: Wellcome Trust NIDA R01 DA022549 / PHS HHS NINDS P01 NS19632 / NINDS NIH HHS
Language: English
Date published: 11/2015
Academic Unit: Neurology; Psychological and Brain Sciences; Iowa Neuroscience Institute
Record Identifier: 9984002373002771

Metrics

17 Record Views

12 Times Cited - Web of Science