Agent-Centered Decision Making in Normal and Abnormal Cognition

Abstract

Much of human cognition is “agent-centered,” subjective, and in that sense relative, directed at deciding, “What is best for me”. This is very different from “veridical” cognition, directed at finding an objectively correct solution inherent in the task and independent of the agent. The frontal lobes in particular are central to agent-centered decision making. Yet very little is available in the arsenal of cognitive paradigms used in the cognitive neuroscience research and in clinical neuropsychology test design to examine “agent-centered” decision making. Current paradigms and tests used to measure decision making clinically and experimentally are veridical in nature and as such miss the essence of “agent-centered” cognition. The dearth of “agent-centered” cognitive paradigms severely limits our ability to understand fully the function and dysfunction of the frontal lobes. The Cognitive Bias Task (CBT) is an agent-centered paradigm designed to fill this gap. CBT has been used as a cognitive activation task in fMRI, SPECT, and EEG, as well as in studies of normal development, addiction, dementia, focal lesions, and schizophrenia. This resulted in a range of findings that eluded more traditional “veridical” paradigms and are reviewed here.

Keywords

• Decision Making
• Cognitive Bias Task
• Cognition