Frontal Lobe

The front part of frontal lobe is involved in planning, organizing, problem solving, selective attention, personality and a variety of executive functions or “higher cognitive functions” including behavior and emotions

The back of the frontal lobe (pre-motor and motor areas) contains nerve cells that produce and modify movement consists of the premotor and motor areas

Motor Function Disturbances

• Loss of fine movement
• Loss of speed and strength in hand & limb movement
• Poor programming of movements
• Poor voluntary eye gaze
• Broca's Aphasia

Loss of Divergent Thinking - Guilford proposes two types of thinking; convergent (one correct answer) and divergent (multiple correct answers). Frontal lobe damage shows a loss of divergent thinking in various forms

• Loss of spontaneous behavior, e.g., speaking & verbal fluency, graphic designs & doodling, overall behavioral output (lethargy, initiation of daily routines
• Impaired strategy formation & planning, especially in response to novel situations

Environmental Control of Behavior - Difficulties using cues and information from the environment by which to direct, control or change personal behaviour

• Ability to inhibit responses impaired. This leads to perseveration
• Breaking rules and taking risks - not following task instructions
• Gambling

Temporal Memory Impairment

• Short-term (working) memory impairment
• Judgments about recency

Impaired Interpersonal Behaviors - Social & Sexual

• Social & sexual behavior inappropriate or altered from previous form-levels
• Pseudodepression
• Pseudopsychopathy

References

Kolb & Whishaw (2003), pp. 500-518