Skip to main content

Main menu

  • HOME
  • CONTENT
    • Early Release
    • Featured
    • Current Issue
    • Issue Archive
    • Collections
    • Podcast
  • ALERTS
  • FOR AUTHORS
    • Information for Authors
    • Fees
    • Journal Clubs
    • eLetters
    • Submit
  • EDITORIAL BOARD
  • ABOUT
    • Overview
    • Advertise
    • For the Media
    • Rights and Permissions
    • Privacy Policy
    • Feedback
  • SUBSCRIBE

User menu

  • Log in
  • My Cart

Search

  • Advanced search
Journal of Neuroscience
  • Log in
  • My Cart
Journal of Neuroscience

Advanced Search

Submit a Manuscript
  • HOME
  • CONTENT
    • Early Release
    • Featured
    • Current Issue
    • Issue Archive
    • Collections
    • Podcast
  • ALERTS
  • FOR AUTHORS
    • Information for Authors
    • Fees
    • Journal Clubs
    • eLetters
    • Submit
  • EDITORIAL BOARD
  • ABOUT
    • Overview
    • Advertise
    • For the Media
    • Rights and Permissions
    • Privacy Policy
    • Feedback
  • SUBSCRIBE
PreviousNext
ARTICLE

Different Contributions of the Human Amygdala and Ventromedial Prefrontal Cortex to Decision-Making

Antoine Bechara, Hanna Damasio, Antonio R. Damasio and Gregory P. Lee
Journal of Neuroscience 1 July 1999, 19 (13) 5473-5481; DOI: https://doi.org/10.1523/JNEUROSCI.19-13-05473.1999
Antoine Bechara
1Departments of Neurology and
2Anatomy and Cell Biology, University of Iowa College of Medicine, Iowa City, Iowa 52242,
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
Hanna Damasio
1Departments of Neurology and
3The Salk Institute of Biological Studies, La Jolla, California 92186, and
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
Antonio R. Damasio
1Departments of Neurology and
3The Salk Institute of Biological Studies, La Jolla, California 92186, and
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
Gregory P. Lee
4Section of Neurosurgery, Medical College of Georgia, Augusta, Georgia 30912
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
  • Article
  • Figures & Data
  • Info & Metrics
  • eLetters
  • PDF
Loading

Abstract

The somatic marker hypothesis proposes that decision-making is a process that depends on emotion. Studies have shown that damage of the ventromedial prefrontal (VMF) cortex precludes the ability to use somatic (emotional) signals that are necessary for guiding decisions in the advantageous direction. However, given the role of the amygdala in emotional processing, we asked whether amygdala damage also would interfere with decision-making. Furthermore, we asked whether there might be a difference between the roles that the amygdala and VMF cortex play in decision-making. To address these two questions, we studied a group of patients with bilateral amygdala, but not VMF, damage and a group of patients with bilateral VMF, but not amygdala, damage. We used the “gambling task” to measure decision-making performance and electrodermal activity (skin conductance responses, SCR) as an index of somatic state activation. Allpatients, those with amygdala damage as well as those with VMF damage, were (1) impaired on the gambling task and (2) unable to develop anticipatory SCRs while they pondered risky choices. However, VMF patients were able to generate SCRs when they received a reward or a punishment (play money), whereas amygdala patients failed to do so. In a Pavlovian conditioning experiment the VMF patients acquired a conditioned SCR to visual stimuli paired with an aversive loud sound, whereas amygdala patients failed to do so. The results suggest that amygdala damage is associated with impairment in decision-making and that the roles played by the amygdala and VMF in decision-making are different.

  • decision-making
  • conditioning
  • gambling task
  • skin conductance
  • emotion
  • amygdala
  • prefrontal cortex
View Full Text
Back to top

In this issue

The Journal of Neuroscience: 19 (13)
Journal of Neuroscience
Vol. 19, Issue 13
1 Jul 1999
  • Table of Contents
  • Index by author
Email

Thank you for sharing this Journal of Neuroscience article.

NOTE: We request your email address only to inform the recipient that it was you who recommended this article, and that it is not junk mail. We do not retain these email addresses.

Enter multiple addresses on separate lines or separate them with commas.
Different Contributions of the Human Amygdala and Ventromedial Prefrontal Cortex to Decision-Making
(Your Name) has forwarded a page to you from Journal of Neuroscience
(Your Name) thought you would be interested in this article in Journal of Neuroscience.
CAPTCHA
This question is for testing whether or not you are a human visitor and to prevent automated spam submissions.
Print
View Full Page PDF
Citation Tools
Different Contributions of the Human Amygdala and Ventromedial Prefrontal Cortex to Decision-Making
Antoine Bechara, Hanna Damasio, Antonio R. Damasio, Gregory P. Lee
Journal of Neuroscience 1 July 1999, 19 (13) 5473-5481; DOI: 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.19-13-05473.1999

Citation Manager Formats

  • BibTeX
  • Bookends
  • EasyBib
  • EndNote (tagged)
  • EndNote 8 (xml)
  • Medlars
  • Mendeley
  • Papers
  • RefWorks Tagged
  • Ref Manager
  • RIS
  • Zotero
Respond to this article
Request Permissions
Share
Different Contributions of the Human Amygdala and Ventromedial Prefrontal Cortex to Decision-Making
Antoine Bechara, Hanna Damasio, Antonio R. Damasio, Gregory P. Lee
Journal of Neuroscience 1 July 1999, 19 (13) 5473-5481; DOI: 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.19-13-05473.1999
Reddit logo Twitter logo Facebook logo Mendeley logo
  • Tweet Widget
  • Facebook Like
  • Google Plus One

Jump to section

  • Article
    • Abstract
    • MATERIALS AND METHODS
    • RESULTS
    • DISCUSSION
    • Footnotes
    • REFERENCES
  • Figures & Data
  • Info & Metrics
  • eLetters
  • PDF

Keywords

  • decision-making
  • conditioning
  • gambling task
  • skin conductance
  • emotion
  • amygdala
  • prefrontal cortex

Responses to this article

Respond to this article

Jump to comment:

No eLetters have been published for this article.

Related Articles

Cited By...

More in this TOC Section

  • Calcium Influx via L- and N-Type Calcium Channels Activates a Transient Large-Conductance Ca2+-Activated K+Current in Mouse Neocortical Pyramidal Neurons
  • Electrophysiological Imaging of Functional Architecture in the Cortical Middle Temporal Visual Area of Cebus apella Monkey
  • The Role of the Hyperpolarization-Activated Cationic CurrentIh in the Timing of Interictal Bursts in the Neonatal Hippocampus
Show more ARTICLE
  • Home
  • Alerts
  • Visit Society for Neuroscience on Facebook
  • Follow Society for Neuroscience on Twitter
  • Follow Society for Neuroscience on LinkedIn
  • Visit Society for Neuroscience on Youtube
  • Follow our RSS feeds

Content

  • Early Release
  • Current Issue
  • Issue Archive
  • Collections

Information

  • For Authors
  • For Advertisers
  • For the Media
  • For Subscribers

About

  • About the Journal
  • Editorial Board
  • Privacy Policy
  • Contact
(JNeurosci logo)
(SfN logo)

Copyright © 2023 by the Society for Neuroscience.
JNeurosci Online ISSN: 1529-2401

The ideas and opinions expressed in JNeurosci do not necessarily reflect those of SfN or the JNeurosci Editorial Board. Publication of an advertisement or other product mention in JNeurosci should not be construed as an endorsement of the manufacturer’s claims. SfN does not assume any responsibility for any injury and/or damage to persons or property arising from or related to any use of any material contained in JNeurosci.