The Self and Self-Knowledge after Prefrontal Neurosurgical lesions
Research type
Research Study
Full title
The Self and Self-Knowledge after Prefrontal Neurosurgical lesions
IRAS ID
217694
Contact name
Laura Brown
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
KCL
Duration of Study in the UK
1 years, 3 months, 29 days
Research summary
The project has three aims: First, it will explore specifically, whether people with prefrontal lobe lesions (FLL group) fail to update their self-understanding estimating their current abilities and behaviour using pre-injury self-representations. This will be done by exploring the relative correlations between the FLL groups’ rating of their cognition and behaviour regarding their current functioning with an informant rating of their pre-illness functioning. Second, the study will explore, whether people with frontal lobe lesions have a ‘surrogate’ understanding of their current behaviour, i.e. whether participants with prefrontal lesions are able to acknowledge changes in themselves when these are viewed from third-person (informant) perspective. When exploring people’s ability to acknowledge and detect altered behaviour in themselves, either freely (self-report) or when exposed to evidence from a third person perspective (surrogate-self), it appears sensible to assess for whether they can detect and make accurate judgment of atypical behaviour more generally. Thus, third, self-knowledge will be compared to generic knowledge of atypical behaviour through the use of vignettes to establish a third person perspective on atypical behaviour. The study will investigate people with prefrontal surgical lesions as treatment for brain tumours, in pairs with a partner or other relative. We will aim to recruit 20 people with frontal lobe lesions and an informant for each from the Neuro-oncology clinics at King’s College Hospital (KCH). We will also aim to recruit 20 healthy control-informant dyads. Those agreeing to participate will complete one three-hour session (with appropriate breaks) including the experimental questionnaires and vignette task as well as a brief battery of cognitive tests. In addition to advancing our understanding of patient insight following frontal lobe damage, knowledge from the study will help understand this specific patient group and to aid in their advice, management and treatment.
REC name
London - Central Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
17/LO/0531
Date of REC Opinion
17 May 2017
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion