Koenigs and Tranel (2007) used the ultimatum game (UG) to study the responses of patients with ventromedial prefrontal cortex (VMPC) damage. Since VMPC have been previously been shown to affect emotion regulation, Koenigs and Tranel hypothesized that patients with VMPC damage would be likely to “irrationally” reject an unfair offer in the UG because they lack the emotional regulation necessary to “rationally” accept. To test their hypothesis, Koenigs and Tranel recruited VMPC patients (n=7), normal adults as the controls (NC, n=14), and patients with no damage in the VMPC as the brain-damaged comparison group (BDC, n=14); assigned them to play the UG; and recorded their responses to the pre-determined offers. They found that the VMPC group (n=7) only accepted 31% of all classified unfair offers (i.e., $3, $2, $1 offers), which was a significantly lower rate compared to 58% from normal adults and 62% from the.
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Alternative (1) is addressed by the general intelligence, memory, and executive function measures, where the VMPC group’s results did not differ significantly from the BDC group. Alternative (2) is plausible but Koenigs and Tranel argue that two previous studies by Bechara et al. (1996) and Camille et al. (2004) showed VMPC patients react normally towards financial consequences. As a result, Koenig and Tranel conclude alternative (3) is the more likely explanation for their
Alternative (1) is addressed by the general intelligence, memory, and executive function measures, where the VMPC group’s results did not differ significantly from the BDC group. Alternative (2) is plausible but Koenigs and Tranel argue that two previous studies by Bechara et al. (1996) and Camille et al. (2004) showed VMPC patients react normally towards financial consequences. As a result, Koenig and Tranel conclude alternative (3) is the more likely explanation for their