Frontal lobes

Question 1

What functions are typically associated with the frontal lobes?

Answer 1

Executive functions - attention, shifting and focusing, planning ahead, decision making. Eg. last minute dinner party preparations

Question 2

How does frontal lobe injury affect intelligence?

Answer 2

It doesn’t affect convergent thinking, as measured by intelligence tests but affects divergent thinking.

Question 3

How does frontal lobe damage affect memory?

Answer 3

It has been found to affect temporal memory.

Question 4

Does frontal lobe damage affect social behavior and personality?

Answer 4

Yes.
After Blumer and Benson (1975),
1) pseudodepression (left lobe)
2) pseudopsychopathy (right lobe)

Question 5

What is the role of the frontal lobe?

Answer 5

To process visuomotor and object -recognition functions that originate in the occipital lobe.
It needs to select behaviors with respect to context and internalized knowledge.