Abstract
While it is well accepted that the left prefrontal cortex plays a critical role in planning and problem-solving tasks, very little is known about the role of the right prefrontal cortex. We addressed this issue by testing five neurological patients with focal lesions to right prefrontal cortex on a real-world travel planning task, and compared their performance with the performance of five neurological patients with focal lesions to left prefrontal cortex, five neurological patients with posterior lesions, and five normal controls. Only patients with lesions to right prefrontal cortex generated substandard solutions compared to normal controls. Examination of the underlying cognitive processes and strategies revealed that patients with lesions to right prefrontal cortex approached the task at an excessively precise, concrete level compared to normal controls, and very early locked themselves into substandard solutions relative to the comparison group. In contrast, the behavior of normal controls was characterized by a judicious interplay of concrete and abstract levels/modes of representations. We suggest that damage to the right prefrontal system impairs the encoding and processing of more abstract and vague representations that facilitate lateral transformations, resulting in premature commitment to precise concrete patterns, and hasty albeit substandard conclusions (because the space of possibilities has not been properly explored).
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 713-724 |
| Number of pages | 12 |
| Journal | Neuropsychologia |
| Volume | 51 |
| Issue number | 4 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - Mar 2013 |
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Keywords
- Planning
- Right prefrontal cortex
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Behavioral Neuroscience
- Cognitive Neuroscience
- Experimental and Cognitive Psychology
- Arts and Humanities (miscellaneous)
Cite this
Lesions to right prefrontal cortex impair real-world planning through prematurecommitments. / Goel, Vinod; Vartanian, Oshin; Bartolo, Angela; Hakim, Lila; Maria Ferraro, Anna; Isella, Valeria; Appollonio, Ildebrando; Drei, Silvia; Nichelli, Paolo.
In: Neuropsychologia, Vol. 51, No. 4, 03.2013, p. 713-724.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article
}
TY - JOUR
T1 - Lesions to right prefrontal cortex impair real-world planning through prematurecommitments
AU - Goel, Vinod
AU - Vartanian, Oshin
AU - Bartolo, Angela
AU - Hakim, Lila
AU - Maria Ferraro, Anna
AU - Isella, Valeria
AU - Appollonio, Ildebrando
AU - Drei, Silvia
AU - Nichelli, Paolo
PY - 2013/3
Y1 - 2013/3
N2 - While it is well accepted that the left prefrontal cortex plays a critical role in planning and problem-solving tasks, very little is known about the role of the right prefrontal cortex. We addressed this issue by testing five neurological patients with focal lesions to right prefrontal cortex on a real-world travel planning task, and compared their performance with the performance of five neurological patients with focal lesions to left prefrontal cortex, five neurological patients with posterior lesions, and five normal controls. Only patients with lesions to right prefrontal cortex generated substandard solutions compared to normal controls. Examination of the underlying cognitive processes and strategies revealed that patients with lesions to right prefrontal cortex approached the task at an excessively precise, concrete level compared to normal controls, and very early locked themselves into substandard solutions relative to the comparison group. In contrast, the behavior of normal controls was characterized by a judicious interplay of concrete and abstract levels/modes of representations. We suggest that damage to the right prefrontal system impairs the encoding and processing of more abstract and vague representations that facilitate lateral transformations, resulting in premature commitment to precise concrete patterns, and hasty albeit substandard conclusions (because the space of possibilities has not been properly explored).
AB - While it is well accepted that the left prefrontal cortex plays a critical role in planning and problem-solving tasks, very little is known about the role of the right prefrontal cortex. We addressed this issue by testing five neurological patients with focal lesions to right prefrontal cortex on a real-world travel planning task, and compared their performance with the performance of five neurological patients with focal lesions to left prefrontal cortex, five neurological patients with posterior lesions, and five normal controls. Only patients with lesions to right prefrontal cortex generated substandard solutions compared to normal controls. Examination of the underlying cognitive processes and strategies revealed that patients with lesions to right prefrontal cortex approached the task at an excessively precise, concrete level compared to normal controls, and very early locked themselves into substandard solutions relative to the comparison group. In contrast, the behavior of normal controls was characterized by a judicious interplay of concrete and abstract levels/modes of representations. We suggest that damage to the right prefrontal system impairs the encoding and processing of more abstract and vague representations that facilitate lateral transformations, resulting in premature commitment to precise concrete patterns, and hasty albeit substandard conclusions (because the space of possibilities has not been properly explored).
KW - Planning
KW - Right prefrontal cortex
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U2 - 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2012.11.029
DO - 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2012.11.029
M3 - Article
VL - 51
SP - 713
EP - 724
JO - Neuropsychologia
JF - Neuropsychologia
SN - 0028-3932
IS - 4
ER -