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Cited by 310Neural and Behavioral Psychology StudiesDecision-Making and Behavioral EconomicsHistorical and Modern Theater Studies

The ability to decide advantageously declines prematurely in some normal older persons

Denburg, N.L., Tranel, D., Bechara, A.·2005·Neuropsychologia
DOI 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2004.09.012
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Abstract

The prefrontal region of the brain, including the ventromedial sector which supports reasoning and decision-making, may undergo disproportionate aging in some older persons, but the empirical evidence is decidedly mixed. To help resolve this, we tested 80 neurologically and psychiatrically healthy Younger (aged 26-55) and Older (aged 56-85) adults on a "Gambling Task", which provides a close analog to real-world decision-making by factoring in reward, punishment, and unpredictability, yielding a sensitive index of ventromedial prefrontal function. A subset of the Older group manifested a decision-making impairment on the Gambling Task, in spite of otherwise intact cognitive functioning. This finding raises the possibility of disproportionate aging of the ventromedial prefrontal cortex in these individuals. Our finding has important societal and public policy implications (e.g., choosing medical care, allocating personal wealth), and may also help explain why many older individuals are targeted by and susceptible to fraudulent advertising.

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Crossref · 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2004.09.012

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  • Among the younger group, 37 out of 40 participants eventually picked from the advantaged deck; among the older group, only 15 out of 40 showed this same "unimpaired" pattern.

    “When examining individual responses, the authors reported that among the younger group, 37 out of 40 participants eventually picked from the advantaged deck; among the older group, only 15 out of 40 showed this same “unimpaired” pattern.”

    From More than a feeling: A unified view of stress measurement for population science (2018) · cites this paper as Denburg et al., 2005

  • In an extension with older adults, they did not show preferences for the advantageous decks across five trials (or 100 cards).

    “In the extension of this earlier study with older adults, similar to the studies on patients with VM lesions, they did not show preferences for the advantageous decks across five trials (or 100 cards; Denburg et al., 2005).”

    From More than a feeling: A unified view of stress measurement for population science (2018) · cites this paper as Denburg et al., 2005

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Authors
Denburg, N. L., Tranel, D., & Bechara, A.
Affiliations
University of Iowa (US)
Corresponding author
Denburg, N.L.
ORCID
Venue
Neuropsychologia
Publisher
Elsevier BV
Published
2005-01
Volume
43
Issue
7
Pages
1099-1106
ISSN
0028-3932 (ISSN-L)
DOI
10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2004.09.012
OpenAlex
W1984128842
Cited by
310
References
38
Citations by year
2026: 3 · 2025: 6 · 2024: 4 · 2023: 4 · 2022: 7 · 2021: 15 · 2020: 10 · 2019: 9 · 2018: 21 · 2017: 10 · 2016: 17 · 2015: 18 · 2014: 19 · 2013: 21 · 2012: 31
FWCI
3.86
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
closed
Licence
www.elsevier.com/tdm/userlicense/1.0/ (tdm)
Locations
  • Neuropsychologia (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
Funders
  • National Institute on Aging (K01AG022033)
  • National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (P01 NS19632, P01NS019632)
Topics
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Neural and Behavioral Psychology Studies
  • Social Sciences › Decision Sciences › General Decision Sciences › Decision-Making and Behavioral Economics
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Historical and Modern Theater Studies
Keywords
decision-making, ventromedial prefrontal cortex, brain aging, older adults, gambling task, cognitive aging, reward and punishment, fraud susceptibility, normal aging
MeSH terms
Adult, Aged, Aged, 80 and over, Aging, Analysis of Variance, Cognition, Decision Making, Female, Gambling, Games, Experimental, Humans, Male, Middle Aged, Reference Values, Prefrontal Cortex

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