Department of Neurology and Neurosurgery, McGill University, Montreal Neurological Institute, Montreal, Quebec H3A 2B4, Canada.
J Neurosci. 2011 May 18;31(20):7527-32. doi: 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.6527-10.2011.
Recent work in neuroeconomics has shown that regions in orbitofrontal and medial prefrontal cortex encode the subjective value of different options during choice. However, these electrophysiological and neuroimaging studies cannot demonstrate whether such signals are necessary for value-maximizing choices. Here we used a paradigm developed in experimental economics to empirically measure and quantify violations of utility theory in humans with damage to the ventromedial frontal lobe (VMF). We show that people with such damage are more likely to make choices that violate the generalized axiom of revealed preference, which is the one necessary and sufficient condition for choices to be consistent with value maximization. These results demonstrate that the VMF plays a critical role in value-maximizing choice.
神经经济学的最新研究表明，眶额皮质和内侧前额皮质的区域在选择过程中对不同选项的主观价值进行编码。然而，这些电生理学和神经影像学研究不能证明这些信号是否对最大化价值的选择是必要的。在这里，我们使用实验经济学中开发的范式，通过对腹内侧前额叶（VMF）损伤的人类进行实证测量和量化，来违反效用理论。我们表明，有这种损伤的人更有可能做出违反显示偏好的一般公理的选择，这是选择与价值最大化一致的必要且充分条件。这些结果表明，VMF 在最大化价值的选择中起着关键作用。
