Iowa Gambling Task Impairment Is Not Specific To Ventromedial Prefrontal Lesions

Abstract

Prior research suggests that the Iowa Gambling task is performed poorly by individuals with lesions in the ventromedial prefrontal cortex (VMPFC). The current study investigated whether impaired performance in individuals with frontal lobe damage is determined by the existence of VMPFC lesions. A total of 14 participants with VMPFC lesions and 6 participants with frontal lesions not involving the VMPFC region were compared. Both the VMPFC and non-VMPFC groups made significantly more disadvantageous card selections than healthy comparison participants. While these findings suggest that frontal lesions impair Iowa Gambling task performance, they do not support the claim of a specific association between Iowa Gambling task impairment and VMPFC lesions.