The human ventromedial prefrontal cortex is critical for transitive inference

Timothy R Koscik; Daniel Tranel

doi:10.1162/jocn_a_00203

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The human ventromedial prefrontal cortex is critical for transitive inference

Journal article

Open access

Peer reviewed

The human ventromedial prefrontal cortex is critical for transitive inference

Timothy R Koscik and Daniel Tranel

Journal of cognitive neuroscience, Vol.24(5), pp.1191-1204

05/2012

DOI: 10.1162/jocn_a_00203

PMCID: PMC3626083

PMID: 22288395

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https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/3626083View

Open Access

Abstract

We hypothesized that the ventromedial pFC (vmPFC) is critical for making transitive inferences (e.g., the logical operation that if A > B and B > C, then A > C). To test this, participants with focal vmPFC damage, brain-damaged comparison participants, and neurologically normal participants completed a transitive inference task consisting an ordered set of arbitrary patterns. Participants first learned through trial-and-error the relationships of the patterns (e.g., Pattern A > Pattern B, Pattern B > Pattern C). After initial learning, participants were presented with novel pairings, some of which required transitive inference (e.g., Pattern A > Pattern C from the relationship above). We observed that vmPFC damage led to a specific deficit in transitive inference, suggesting that an intact vmPFC is necessary for making normal transitive inferences. Given the usefulness of transitivity in inferring social relationships, this deficit may be one of the basic features of social conduct problems associated with vmPFC damage.

Follow-Up Studies

Concept Formation - physiology

Humans

Middle Aged

Prefrontal Cortex - physiopathology

Reinforcement (Psychology)

Male

Reaction Time

Tomography, X-Ray Computed

Statistics as Topic

Functional Laterality

Pattern Recognition, Visual - physiology

Executive Function - physiology

Magnetic Resonance Imaging

Brain Injuries - diagnostic imaging

Analysis of Variance

Adult

Female

Aged

Photic Stimulation

Brain Injuries - pathology

Prefrontal Cortex - physiology

Transfer (Psychology) - physiology

Details

Title: Subtitle: The human ventromedial prefrontal cortex is critical for transitive inference
Creators: Timothy R Koscik - University of Iowa College of Medicine, IA, USA. t.koscik@utoronto.ca
Daniel Tranel
Resource Type: Journal article
Publication Details: Journal of cognitive neuroscience, Vol.24(5), pp.1191-1204
DOI: 10.1162/jocn_a_00203
PMID: 22288395
PMCID: PMC3626083
NLM abbreviation: J Cogn Neurosci
ISSN: 0898-929X
eISSN: 1530-8898
Publisher: United States
Grant note: P50 NS019632 / NINDS NIH HHS R01 DA022549 / NIDA NIH HHS P50 NS19632 / NINDS NIH HHS
Language: English
Date published: 05/2012
Academic Unit: Neurology; Psychiatry; Psychological and Brain Sciences; Iowa Neuroscience Institute
Record Identifier: 9984002468702771

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