"This project uses a novel paradigm that maximizes certainty and uncertainty in two different conditions, thereby providing a means of comparing the brain regions involved in these two states," said Danielle Farrar, a Doctor of Medicine and of Philosophy (MD/PhD) candidate at the Boston University School of Medicine. "By providing baseline activity, we can compare the impact of the brain regions involved in these states to better understand why decision-making is impaired in disease states."
Farrar and colleagues enrolled 19 healthy subjects ages 18 to 35 and asked them to complete a decision-making card-matching task while undergoing a 3-tesla MRI scan (Philips Healthcare). The subjects were given two scenarios: In one test, they knew the rule to apply to match the cards, while they were uncertain of the rule in the second test.
fMRI comparisons of the subjects' performances between the first and second tests revealed clusters in the insula region of the brain that extend into the boundary of the parietal and temporal lobes, as well as a medial frontal cluster.
The degree of activity in several other key brain regions helped researchers detail the network that is involved in certain and uncertain decision-making conditions, which, in turn, could extend to pathological diseases.
"While this currently doesn't impact patient care, decision-making is affected in many pathological states, including schizophrenia, Alzheimer's disease, dementia, and major depressive disorder," Farrar told AuntMinnie.com.
