dysexecutive syndrome Flashcards
What is the role of the premotor cortex?
The premotor cortex is involved in planning, preparation, selection, and correction of voluntary movements.
What is the function of the primary motor cortex?
The primary motor cortex is responsible for the initiation and execution of skilled complex voluntary movements (e.g., sequences).
What are the functions of the prefrontal cortex?
The prefrontal cortex controls behavior and includes:
- dlPFC: planning, inhibition, switching, working memory
- vlPFC/vmPFC: emotional control/regulation
- FPC: abstract cognition
What are some examples of executive functions mediated by the frontal lobes?
Examples include organizing, planning, prioritizing, monitoring performance, multi-tasking, task switching, inhibition, problem-solving, abstract thinking, decision-making, and emotional regulation.
What is dysexecutive syndrome?
Dysexecutive syndrome refers to cognitive and behavioral impairments caused by frontal lobe damage, such as difficulties in planning, decision-making, and emotion regulation.
Who was Phineas Gage and why is his case significant?
Phineas Gage was the first case of prefrontal cortex damage. After an accident, he exhibited drastic personality changes, including irritability, impulsivity, and poor decision-making, which helped establish the role of the prefrontal cortex in personality and behavior.
What were the effects of Phineas Gage’s brain injury on his behavior?
After his injury, Gage became impulsive, rude, irritable, and was unable to hold a job, showcasing how damage to the ventromedial prefrontal cortex can affect personality and decision-making.
What is utilization behavior?
Utilization behavior refers to the tendency to use objects inappropriately or impulsively when presented, often seen in individuals with prefrontal damage.
What is imitation behavior?
Imitation behavior involves copying the gestures or behaviors of others, often inappropriately, even when explicitly instructed not to.
What is Environmental Dependency Syndrome?
This syndrome involves over-reliance on environmental cues to complete tasks or achieve goals, often observed in individuals with prefrontal damage.
What are some common executive dysfunctions?
These include inability to organize, plan, inhibit responses, shift focus, solve complex problems, make farsighted decisions, or respond appropriately to the context.
What does the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (WCST) assess?
The WCST assesses set-shifting, rule abstraction, and flexible thinking.
What is perseveration in the context of the WCST?
Perseveration is when individuals with prefrontal damage continue sorting by an incorrect rule despite being told it is wrong.
What does the Stroop Test measure?
The Stroop Test measures selective attention and response inhibition.
How do individuals with prefrontal damage perform on the Stroop Test?
They struggle to inhibit the automatic response of reading the word, even when instructed to name the ink color.
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What is the Hayling Test designed to assess?
The Hayling Test assesses response inhibition and strategy generation.
How do individuals with prefrontal damage perform on the Hayling Test?
They struggle to inhibit automatic responses and fail to generate strategies for completing sentences with unrelated words.
Why are ecologically valid tests important in assessing executive functions?
Ecologically valid tests simulate real-world tasks, requiring multi-tasking and planning, providing a better prediction of how individuals function outside the lab.
What is the Multiple Errands Test (MET) used to assess?
The MET assesses planning, strategy thinking, and problem-solving in real-world situations.
How does the Multiple Errands Test (MET) work?
Participants must perform a series of tasks in a shopping precinct, while following specific rules, such as spending as little money and time as possible and not revisiting shops.
What are some errors individuals with prefrontal damage make in the MET?
Errors include going out of bounds, failing to keep track of money, and abandoning tasks before completion.
What is the Supervisory Attentional System (SAS)?
The SAS is a controlled mechanism that guides behavior and decision-making, helping to plan, troubleshoot, and inhibit habitual responses.
How do problems with the SAS result in executive dysfunction?
Dysfunction in the SAS leads to perseveration, distractibility, and difficulties with task shifting, inhibition, and generating new strategies.
What does the Somatic Marker Hypothesis propose?
The hypothesis suggests that the ventromedial prefrontal cortex uses emotional signals (somatic markers) to guide decision-making by linking situations with past emotional experiences.
How is the Iowa Gambling Task used to test decision-making?
In the Iowa Gambling Task, participants must choose cards from decks with different reward/punishment schedules. People with prefrontal damage fail to learn to avoid risky decks with high punishments.
How do individuals with prefrontal damage perform on the Iowa Gambling Task?
They do not learn to avoid the bad decks (A and B) and fail to activate the somatic markers that would normally guide their decisions.
What is the fundamental deficit in the case of EVR (Elliot)?
EVR’s fundamental deficit was in decision-making, despite having normal IQ and performance on traditional tests of executive function.
What does dysexecutive syndrome suggest about frontal lobe function?
Dysexecutive syndrome indicates that the prefrontal cortex is crucial for executive functions, and damage to this area leads to significant problems in behavior, cognition, and decision-making.
