Lecture 10- – Assessing and Training Executive Control

Question 1

What are some challenges in assessing executive functions of the frontal lobe?

Answer 1

1. Performance being affected by non-frontal dysfunctions,
2. Tests must be complex to reveal deficits
3. Examiner/testing situation can act as the ‘frontal lobes’ of the patient which can influence the behaviour of the patient either masking or exaggerating their symptoms
   4.Variability in performance makes it challenging to assess frontal lobe damage accurately.

Question 2

Frontal Lobe Deficit: Working (short-term) memory

Answer 2

Difficulty retaining information (concentrating) or managing multiple tasks at once.

Question 3

What are some sample assessments for working (short-term) memory deficits related to frontal lobe functions?

Answer 3

1. Digit Span: Tests concentration by having you remember and repeat sequences of numbers either forwards or backwards.
2. • Alphaspan: Assesses memory under multiple demands by requiring you to hold items in mind and rearrange them alphabetically.

Question 4

EF Assessments: e.g., Digit Span Forward demonstrates?

Answer 4

Storage/rehearsal in working memory (Your ability to remember and repeat a sequence of numbers in the same order they were presented)

Question 5

EF Assessments: Digit Span Backward demonstrates

Answer 5

Storage/rehearsal + manipulation in working memory (the ability to recall and reverse a sequence of numbers)

Question 6

Frontal Lobe Deficit: What is Control of Action/Flexibility

Answer 6

The ability to flexibly alter behavior based on changing contingencies, such as shifting tasks.

Question 7

What is a sample assessment for control of Action/Flexibility

Answer 7

Wisconsin Card Sort Task: participant must sort cards according to 3 categories (not known initially)
– Sorting criteria changes without warning

Question 8

Frontal Lobe Deficit: Task Switching / Mental Flexibility and Inhibition:

Answer 8

Already know task switching
Inhibiton: Resisting the urge to do a habitual action or respond to a distracting event.

Question 9

What two assessments are used to measure Task Switching / Mental Flexibility and Inhibition?

Answer 9

1. Trail-Making Test (Mental flexibility):
2. Stroop Colour-Word Interference Task
   (Inhibition)

Question 10

What does the Trail-Making Test (TMT-A) assess?

Answer 10

The Trail-Making Test (TMT-A) is used to assess the speed of attention and visual search by connect numbers in order as quickly as possible

Question 11

How does the Trail-Making Test (TMT-B) differ from TMT-A?

Answer 11

TMT-B is used to assess task switching and mental flexibility, adding complexity to the task by alternating between numbers and letters.

Question 12

What do the Colour Naming and Interference sections of the Stroop Test measure?

Answer 12

The Color Naming section tests how quickly you can name colors, measuring reaction time. The Interference section tests your ability to ignore the word and say the color of the ink, measuring inhibition control.

Question 13

Assessing Functions of the Frontal
Lobe – ‘real-world’ tasks”: Poor decision-making/risk-taking, what assessment is used to measure this?

Answer 13

Iowa Gambling Task

Question 14

How do control subjects and patients with OFC/vmPFC damage differ in their performance on the Iowa Gambling Task?

Answer 14

Control subjects tend to choose more advantageously and develop anticipatory skin conductance responses, while patients with OFC/vmPFC damage tend to make disadvantageous choices and do not develop these anticipatory emotional responses.

Question 15

What is suggested about the role of the OFC/vmPFC in decision-making?

Answer 15

The OFC/vmPFC is important for emotional responses that are necessary for making appropriate decisions in tasks that simulate real-life situations.

Question 16

What did the study by Bechara et al., 1997) suggest?

Answer 16

Non-conscious biases (e.g emotional responses measured by skin conductance)
guide behaviour before conscious
knowledge. Without biases, overt knowledge is not
sufficient to ensure advantageous behaviour

Question 17

Assessing Functions of the Frontal
Lobe – ‘real-world’ task: * Loss of goal directed behaviour, what are some sample assessments used to measure this?

Answer 17

1. Tower of London
2. Multiple Errands / Six elements test (Subtest of the behavioural assessment of the dysexecutive
   syndrome - BADS)

Question 18

What is the Multiple Errands Task (MET) and what does it involve?

Answer 18

The MET assesses executive functions by having patients complete real-world errands like shopping and information gathering. Patients are given a list of items to buy, information to collect, and tasks to complete, but they must plan and problem-solve to figure out how to accomplish them.