An answer, it seems, is because a specific area of the brain has deteriorated or is damaged<\/strong>, according to researchers at the University of Iowa. By examining patients with various forms of brain damage, the researchers report they\u2019ve pinpointed the precise location in the human brain, called the ventromedial prefrontal cortex, that controls belief and doubt<\/strong>, and which explains why some of us are more gullible than others.<\/p>\n \u201cThe current study provides the first direct evidence beyond anecdotal reports that damage to the vmPFC (ventromedial prefrontal cortex) increases credulity<\/strong>. Indeed, this specific deficit may explain why highly intelligent vmPFC patients can fall victim to seemingly obvious fraud schemes,\u201d the researchers wrote in the paper published in a special issue of the journal Frontiers in Neuroscience<\/em>.<\/p>\n A study conducted for the National Institute of Justice in 2009 concluded that nearly 12 percent of Americans 60 and older had been exploited financially by a family member or a stranger. And, a report last year by insurer MetLife Inc. estimated the annual loss by victims of elder financial abuse at $2.9 billion.<\/p>\n The authors point out their research can explain why the elderly are vulnerable.<\/p>\n \u201cIn our theory, the more effortful process of disbelief (to items initially believed) is mediated by the vmPFC, which, in old age, tends to disproportionately lose structural integrity and associated functionality,\u201d they wrote. \u201cThus, we suggest that vulnerability to misleading information, outright deception and fraud in older adults is the specific result of a deficit in the doubt process that is mediated by the vmPFC<\/strong>.\u201d<\/p>\n The ventromedial prefrontal cortex is an oval-shaped lobe about the size of a softball lodged in the front of the human head, right above the eyes. It\u2019s part of a larger area known to scientists since the extraordinary case of Phineas Gage that controls a range of emotions and behaviors, from impulsivity to poor planning. But brain scientists have struggled to identify which regions of the prefrontal cortex govern specific emotions and behaviors, including the cognitive seesaw between belief and doubt.<\/p>\n The UI team drew from its Neurological Patient Registry, which was established in 1982 and has more than 500 active members with various forms of damage to one or more regions in the brain. From that pool, the researchers chose 18 patients with damage to the ventromedial prefrontal cortex and 21 patients with damage outside the prefrontal cortex. Those patients, along with people with no brain damage, were shown advertisements mimicking ones flagged as misleading by the Federal Trade Commission to test how much they believed or doubted the ads. The deception in the ads was subtle; for example, an ad for \u201cLegacy Luggage\u201d that trumpets the gear as \u201cAmerican Quality\u201d turned on the consumer\u2019s ability to distinguish whether the luggage was manufactured in the United States versus inspected in the country.<\/p>\n Each participant was asked to gauge how much he or she believed the deceptive ad and how likely he or she would buy the item if it were available. The researchers found that the patients with damage to the ventromedial prefrontal cortex were roughly twice as likely to believe a given ad, even when given disclaimer information pointing out it was misleading. And, they were more likely to buy the item, regardless of whether misleading information had been corrected.<\/p>\n \u201cBehaviorally, they fail the test to the greatest extent,\u201d says Natalie Denburg, assistant professor in neurology who devised the ad tests. \u201cThey believe the ads the most, and they demonstrate the highest purchase intention. Taken together, it makes them the most vulnerable to being deceived.” She added the sample size is small and further studies are warranted.<\/p>\n Apart from being damaged, the ventromedial prefrontal cortex begins to deteriorate as people reach age 60 and older, although the onset and the pace of deterioration varies, says Daniel Tranel, neurology and psychology professor at the UI and corresponding author on the paper. He thinks the finding will enable doctors, caregivers, and relatives to be more understanding of decision making by the elderly.<\/p>\n \u201cAnd maybe protective,\u201d Tranel adds. \u201cInstead of saying, \u2018How would you do something silly and transparently stupid,\u2019 people may have a better appreciation of the fact that older people have lost the biological mechanism that allows them to see the disadvantageous nature of their decisions.\u201d<\/p>\n The finding corroborates an idea studied by the paper\u2019s first author, Erik Asp, who wondered why damage to the prefrontal cortex would impair the ability to doubt but not the initial belief as well. Asp created a model, which he called the False Tagging Theory<\/strong>, to separate the two notions and confirm that doubt is housed in the prefrontal cortex.<\/p>\n \u201cThis study is strong empirical evidence suggesting that the False Tagging Theory is correct,\u201d says Asp, who earned his doctorate in neuroscience from the UI in May and is now at the University of Chicago.<\/p>\n Kenneth Manzel, Bryan Koestner, and Catherine Cole from the UI are contributing authors on the paper. The National Institute on Aging and the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke funded the research.<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" From the University of Iowa press release by Richard C. Lewis: Everyone knows the adage: \u201cIf something sounds too good to be true, then it probably is.\u201d So, why, then,… Read more »<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[6],"tags":[42,12],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/therapytoronto.ca\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5624"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/therapytoronto.ca\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/therapytoronto.ca\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/therapytoronto.ca\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/therapytoronto.ca\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5624"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/therapytoronto.ca\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5624\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5625,"href":"https:\/\/therapytoronto.ca\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5624\/revisions\/5625"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/therapytoronto.ca\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5624"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/therapytoronto.ca\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5624"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/therapytoronto.ca\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5624"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"\"](\"http:\/\/therapytoronto.ca\/images\/blogpics\/Suspicion3.jpg\" "\\"activating")
Everyone knows the adage: \u201cIf something sounds too good to be true, then it probably is.\u201d So, why, then, do some people fall for scams<\/strong> and why are older folks especially prone to being duped?<\/p>\n