Handout: Frontal Lobe Lesions: Behavioral Deficits

	PSY 448 Clinical Neuropsychology	Last revised: Sept 24, 2021
Frontal Lobe Lesions: Behavioral Deficits

Material in this handout summarizes materials from Kolb & Whishaw (2003), pp. 500-518.
It is representative, rather than comprehensive in coverage.

Motor Function Disturbances

Loss of fine movement

Loss of speed and strength in hand & limb movement

Poor programming of movements

Poor voluntary eye gaze
Primary Motor Cortex

• Broca's aphasia (YouTube)
Area 44

Loss of Divergent Thinking

J. P. Guilford proposes two types of thinking: convergent (one correct answer) and divergent (multiple correct answers).

What was the main cause for the terrorist attack on 9/11? [convergent]

How would the United States be different if the attack on 9/11 never happened? [divergent]

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

Tests: (a) How many uses can you think of for a paper clip (you have 2 minutes)

(b) Here are three examples, each with three words. Think of a fourth word which ties each group of three words together:

Falling, Actor, Dust

Widow, Bite, Monkey

Manners, Round, Tennis

Environmental Control of Behavior

Difficulties using cues and information from the environment by which to direct, control, or change personal behavior.

Ability to inhibit responses impaired. This leads to perseveration (YouTube 10.22)

Breaking rules and taking risks: not following task instructions

Impulsive gambling

Temporal Memory Impairment

Short-term (working) memory impairment

Judgments about recency

Impaired Interpersonal Behaviors: Social & Sexual

Phineas Gage
(1823-1860)

Phineas Gage Page
(U Akron)

Phineas Gage [Wikipedia]

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

Pseudodepression

Pseudopsychopathy

	Motor Function Disturbances
	Loss of fine movement Loss of speed and strength in hand & limb movement Poor programming of movements Poor voluntary eye gaze	Primary Motor Cortex
	• Broca's aphasia (YouTube)	Area 44
	Loss of Divergent Thinking
	J. P. Guilford proposes two types of thinking: convergent (one correct answer) and divergent (multiple correct answers). What was the main cause for the terrorist attack on 9/11? [convergent] How would the United States be different if the attack on 9/11 never happened? [divergent] 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 Tests: (a) How many uses can you think of for a paper clip (you have 2 minutes) (b) Here are three examples, each with three words. Think of a fourth word which ties each group of three words together: Falling, Actor, Dust Widow, Bite, Monkey Manners, Round, Tennis
	Environmental Control of Behavior
	Difficulties using cues and information from the environment by which to direct, control, or change personal behavior. Ability to inhibit responses impaired. This leads to perseveration (YouTube 10.22) Breaking rules and taking risks: not following task instructions Impulsive gambling
	Temporal Memory Impairment
	Short-term (working) memory impairment Judgments about recency
	Impaired Interpersonal Behaviors: Social & Sexual
Phineas Gage (1823-1860) Phineas Gage Page (U Akron) Phineas Gage [Wikipedia]	Social & sexual behavior inappropriate or altered from previous form-levels Pseudodepression Pseudopsychopathy