Executive Function Flashcards
Frontal lobe is ___% brain volume?
30
3 types of subdivision for frontal lobe?
- cytoarchitecture (Brodmann’s)
- thalamic connection (efferent v. afferent)
- functional properties
Why was Phineas Gage famous?
dramatic change in personality with relative intellectual ability
Anterior unit in Luria’s functional system is for?
planning executing/verifying behaviour
what does executive function mean
inter-related processes responsible for goal directed, purposeful behaviour
3 functional subdivisions of pre-frontal cortex
lateral
orbital
medial
dorsolateral pre-frontal cortex supplied by which artery?
middle cerebral artery
lack of insight means?
ppl don’t think anything is wrong with them
medial PFC function? blood supply
emotional/motivational interface
anterior cerebral artery
what is akinetic mutism?
physically able to do things: lack motivation
orbitofrontal pre-frontal cortex main functions?
inhibition (emo, cog, social)
impulsivity
connected to limbic areas
orbitofrontal pre-frontal cortex blood supply?
anterior and middle cerebral artery
when does frontal lobe develop/degenerate compared to other lobes?
last to develop
first to degenerate in aging
what is a positive process for neural development?
neuronal proliferation
what is a negative process for neural development?
pruning/rearranging
executive dysfunction is different from frontal lobe how?
you can get executive dysfunction without frontal lobe lesion, it’s a SYSTEM, any disruption in system can cause problems
executive dysfunction positive vs. negative symptoms, which easier to miss?
negative symptoms
difference between executive function and prefrontal cortex function?
prefrontal acts as ‘coordinator’ of executive function system
formal neuropsych testing most sensitive to what lesions?
dorsolateral prefrontal cortex lesions
7 common causes of executive dysfunction?
- closed head injury
- stroke
- psychiatric conditions
- dementias
- focal lesions
- inflammatory
- developmental
