Dysexecutive Syndrome

Question 1

What are the main regions of the cortex?

Answer 1

Frontal lobe, central sulcus, parietal lobe, occipital lobe, cerebellum, temporal lobe, sylvian fissure.

Question 2

Name the sub-regions of the frontal lobes

Answer 2

Primary motor cortex, premotor cortex, anterior premotor cortex, dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, lateral frontopolar cortex, ventrolateral prefrontal cortex, ventral anterior premotor cortex

Question 3

What is the function of the premotor cortex?

Answer 3

Planning, preparation, selection, and correction of voluntary movements.

Question 4

What is the primary motor cortex responsible for?

Answer 4

Initiation and execution of skilled complex voluntary movements, such as sequences.

Question 5

What role does the prefrontal cortex play in cognition?

Answer 5

Controlled behavior, including executive functions like planning, inhibition, switching, and working memory.

Question 6

What is the function of the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (dIPFC)?

Answer 6

Planning, inhibition, switching, and working memory.

Question 7

What is the function of the ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vIPFC/vmPFC)?

Answer 7

Emotional control and regulation.

Question 8

What cognitive abilities are associated with the lateral frontopolar cortex (FPC)?

Answer 8

The most abstract forms of human cognition.

Question 9

What consensus exists about the role of the prefrontal cortex?

Answer 9

It mediates higher cognitive functions and coordinates the strategic use of cognitive resources.

Question 10

What are executive functions?

Answer 10

Skills like organizing, planning, prioritizing, attention deployment, problem-solving, working memory, future thinking, decision-making, and emotional regulation.

Question 11

What syndrome results from damage to the prefrontal cortex?

Answer 11

Dis-executive syndrome

Question 12

Who was Phineas Gage, and why is he significant?

Answer 12

A railroad foreman who survived a prefrontal cortex injury, becoming a landmark case in understanding its role in personality and executive function.

Question 13

What changes did Phineas Gage experience after his accident?

Answer 13

Personality changes, lack of impulse control, short-sighted behavior, inability to plan, and idiosyncratic behavior.

Question 14

What are symptoms of executive dysfunction?

Answer 14

Inability to organize, plan, inhibit responses, shift focus, solve complex problems, or make farsighted decisions.

Question 15

What does the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (WCST) assess?

Answer 15

Set-shifting, rule abstraction, and flexible thinking.

Question 16

What behavior is observed in individuals with prefrontal damage during the WCST?

Answer 16

Perseveration, or continuing to sort by a rule even when it is incorrect.

Question 17

What does the Stroop Test measure?

Answer 17

Selective attention and response inhibition.

Question 18

What is tested by the Hayling Test?

Answer 18

Response inhibition and strategy generation.

Question 19

Why do individuals with prefrontal damage struggle with the Stroop and Hayling tests?

Answer 19

They cannot inhibit automatic responses or generate effective strategies.

Question 20

What is the Multiple Errands Test (MET)?

Answer 20

A real-world test assessing planning, problem-solving, and strategy thinking through tasks performed in a shopping precinct.

Question 21

What errors are common in individuals with prefrontal damage during the MET?

Answer 21

Poor plan formulation, failure to follow instructions, and inappropriate goal articulation.

Question 22

What is the Supervisory Attentional System (SAS)?

Answer 22

A model proposing two types of actions: automatic (condition-led) and controlled (SAS-led).

Question 23

What tasks require the SAS?

Answer 23

Novel, complex, dangerous tasks or those requiring inhibition of habitual responses.

Question 24

What happens when the SAS is impaired?

Answer 24

Perseveration, distractibility, and failure to inhibit responses.

Question 25

Who was EVR, and what was his condition?

Answer 25

A successful accountant who exhibited severe decision-making deficits after ventromedial prefrontal cortex damage.

Question 26

What deficits did EVR demonstrate?

Answer 26

Difficulty in decision-making, impulsivity, and inability to plan effectively despite high IQ.

Question 27

What is the Somatic Marker Hypothesis?

Answer 27

A theory that the ventromedial prefrontal cortex links emotional states to past experiences, guiding decision-making through “gut feelings.”

Question 28

How does damage to the ventromedial prefrontal cortex affect decision-making?

Answer 28

Individuals fail to use emotional markers, leading to poor decisions

Question 29

What is the Iowa Gambling Task?

Answer 29

A test where participants must learn to prefer “good decks” with low rewards and punishments over “bad decks” with high rewards and punishments.

Question 30

What behavior is observed in prefrontal cortex-damaged individuals on the Iowa Gambling Task?

Answer 30

They fail to develop anticipatory emotional responses to bad decks, impairing their decision-making.

Question 31

What is the role of the prefrontal cortex?

Answer 31

It supports executive functions, decision-making, and emotional regulation.

Question 32

What theories explain executive dysfunction?

Answer 32

The Supervisory Attentional System (Norman & Shallice, 1986) and the Somatic Marker Hypothesis (Damasio, 1996).

Question 33

where in the brain does dysexecutive syndrome happen?

Answer 33

frontal lobe (damage to)