The Lower Quadrant Leucotomy

1952 ◽  
Vol 98 (412) ◽  
pp. 389-400 ◽  
Author(s):  
F. T. Thorpe ◽  
James Hardman
Keyword(s):  
Frontal Lobe ◽  
Human Subjects ◽  
Frontal Lobes ◽  
Lower Quadrant ◽  
Pathological Lesions ◽  
Abstract Thought ◽  
Frontal Lobe Damage ◽  
Complex Planning ◽  
Frontal Lobectomy

In recent years efforts have been made to analyse the part played by the frontal lobes in the integration of personality. The pioneer work of Bianchi (1922) based on pathological lesions in human subjects, and on experimental bilateral ablations in monkeys, dogs and foxes, still appears to be as true to-day as when originally enunciated. Sherrington (1901) also described the changes following destruction of the frontal lobes. It was noted that such animals lost the power to learn and to enjoy themselves. They had no curiosity, but became restless, hyperactive and easily distracted. Brickner (1936) studied over many years a patient with bilateral frontal lobectomy who showed a diminished ability to synthesize abstract thoughts. Goldstein (1941) found that patients with frontal lobe damage lose their power for abstract thought and this is replaced by concrete behaviour, as shown by object grouping tests and their use of words. Similarly Penfield and Hebb (1940), in a case of extensive lobectomy for an infiltrating oligodendroglioma in an intelligent housewife, described a lack of ability for complex planning, such as is necessary for preparing a meal of several courses. Jefferson (1937) was unable to find any deficiency in cases of unilateral lobectomy. Rylander (1939), on the contrary, after lobectomy for tumours was able to detect changes similar to those found by Goldstein, and in cases with frontal lobe injury he found a lack of social sense. These patients were embarrassingly outspoken, and sometimes showed excessive activity or fatigue. Hebb (1945) concluded that studies on pathological lesions of the frontal lobes were not very helpful, owing to the lack of precision of the lesions due to the uncertain extent of the pathology.

Psychiatry and the Frontal Lobes

1990 ◽  
Vol 24 (1) ◽  
pp. 113-132 ◽  
Author(s):  
Janice D. Russell ◽  
Milton G. Roxanas
Keyword(s):  
Frontal Lobe ◽  
Psychiatric Symptoms ◽  
Brain Area ◽  
Neuropsychological Testing ◽  
Frontal Lobes ◽  
Biological Data ◽  
Frontal Lobe Damage ◽  
Psychiatric Conditions ◽  
The Brain

The frontal lobes of the brain have long been regarded as enigmatic in their function and perhaps should be considered even more so in states of dysfunction. Observed associations between structural lesions and psychiatric symptoms and the demonstration of disturbed function and morphology in the frontal lobes of individuals suffering from major psychiatric disorders have led to increased interest in this brain area. Psychiatrists have been particularly concerned with seeking the aetiogenesis of common diagnostic entities and this article attempts to synthesize the available facts. A brief overview of relevant biological data precedes a description of methods of neuropsychological testing and the clinical features arising from frontal lobe damage. A discussion of the role of the frontal lobes in some aspects of personality function follows. Neuropsychiatric features associated with known frontal lobe pathology are described, prefacing a discussion of those psychiatric conditions where an aetiological role for frontal lobe dysfunction has been proposed.

Psychopathology of early frontal lobe damage: Dependence on cycles of development

1994 ◽  
Vol 6 (4) ◽  
pp. 565-596 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert W. Thatcher
Keyword(s):  
Frontal Lobe ◽  
Repetitive Sequences ◽  
Brain Structures ◽  
Frontal Lobes ◽  
Postnatal Period ◽  
Eeg Coherence ◽  
Frontal Lobe Damage ◽  
Convergence Process ◽  
Cortical Regions ◽  
And Function

AbstractA new theory of frontal lobe development is presented in which the role of the human frontal lobes during normal development and the psychopathological consequences of early frontal lobe injury are explored. Analyses of the development of human electroencephalograph (EEG) coherence indicate that there are oscillations and cyclic growth processes along the mediolateral and anterior-posterior planes of the brain. The cycles of EEG coherence are interpreted as repetitive sequences of increasing and decreasing synaptic effectiveness that reflects a convergence process that narrows the disparity between structure and function by slowly sculpting and reshaping the brain's microanatomy. This process is modeled as a developmental spiral staircase in which brain structures are periodically revisited resulting in stepwise increases in differentiation and integration. The frontal lobes play a crucial role because they are largely responsible for the selection and pruning of synaptic contacts throughout the postnatal period. A mathematical model of cycles of synaptic effectiveness is presented in which the frontal lobes behave as gentle synaptic “predators” whereas posterior cortical regions behave as synaptic “prey” in a periodic reorganization process. The psychopathological consequences of early frontal lobe damage are discussed in the context of this model.

scholarly journals Brenda Milner: Pioneer of the Study of the Human Frontal Lobes

2022 ◽  
Vol 15 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bryan Kolb
Keyword(s):  
Frontal Lobe ◽  
Intractable Epilepsy ◽  
Human Memory ◽  
Frontal Lobes ◽  
Montreal Neurological Institute ◽  
Frontal Lobe Function ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
And Function ◽  
And Behavior ◽  
Frontal Lobectomy

Although the behavioral effects of damage to the frontal lobes date back to at least the late 19th century even midway through the 20th century very little was known about human frontal lobe function and there was a general consensus that the frontal lobe did not play a key role in cognition. This all changed when Brenda Milner published a chapter in a 1964 volume entitled: The Frontal Granular Cortex and Behavior. Milner’s chapter, “Some effects of frontal lobectomy in man,” was the first systematic study of the effect of frontal lobe excisions on cognition in human patients. Milner had access to a unique population of frontal excision patients at the Montreal Neurological Institute that were being treated by Wilder Penfield and his associates for a wide range of neurological disorders, including intractable epilepsy. Milner and her colleagues engaged in a more than 50-year study that has had a formidable impact on our understanding of frontal lobe function. Paralleling studies of frontal lobe function in non-humans they influence on understanding the evolution and function of the prefrontal cortex of mammals. Thus, although Brenda Milner is best known for her studies of human memory, she has had an equally important contribution to our understanding of the frontal lobes.

scholarly journals Errors on the Trail Making Test Are Associated with Right Hemispheric Frontal Lobe Damage in Stroke Patients

2015 ◽  
Vol 2015 ◽  
pp. 1-10 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bruno Kopp ◽  
Nina Rösser ◽  
Sandra Tabeling ◽  
Hans Jörg Stürenburg ◽  
Bianca de Haan ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Frontal Lobe ◽  
Cognitive Flexibility ◽  
Completion Time ◽  
Frontal Lobes ◽  
Behavioral Measure ◽  
Trail Making Test ◽  
Left Frontal Lobe ◽  
Frontal Lobe Damage ◽  
Trail Making ◽  
Frontal Lesions

Measures of performance on theTrail Making Test (TMT)are among the most popular neuropsychological assessment techniques. Completion time onTMT-Ais considered to provide a measure of processing speed, whereas completion time onTMT-Bis considered to constitute a behavioral measure of the ability to shift between cognitive sets (cognitive flexibility), commonly attributed to the frontal lobes. However, empirical evidence linking performance on theTMT-Bto localized frontal lesions is mostly lacking. Here, we examined the association of frontal lesions following stroke withTMT-Bperformance measures (i.e., completion time and completion accuracy measures) using voxel-based lesion-behavior mapping, with a focus on right hemispheric frontal lobe lesions. Our results suggest that the number of errors, but not completion time on theTMT-B, is associated with right hemispheric frontal lesions. This finding contradicts common clinical practice—the use of completion time on theTMT-Bto measure cognitive flexibility, and it underscores the need for additional research on the association between cognitive flexibility and the frontal lobes. Further work in a larger sample, including left frontal lobe damage and with more power to detect effects of right posterior brain injury, is necessary to determine whether our observation is specific for right frontal lesions.

scholarly journals Social and emotional functions in three patients with medial frontal lobe damage including the anterior cingulate cortex

2006 ◽  
Vol 11 (4) ◽  
pp. 369-388 ◽  
Author(s):  
Amee Baird ◽  
Bonnie‐Kate Dewar ◽  
Hugo Critchley ◽  
Ray Dolan ◽  
Tim Shallice ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Anterior Cingulate Cortex ◽  
Frontal Lobe ◽  
Cingulate Cortex ◽  
Anterior Cingulate ◽  
Social And Emotional ◽  
Frontal Lobe Damage

Comparison of set-shifting ability in patients with chronic schizophrenia and frontal lobe damage

1999 ◽  
Vol 37 (3) ◽  
pp. 251-270 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christos Pantelis ◽  
Fiona Z Barber ◽  
Thomas R.E Barnes ◽  
Hazel E Nelson ◽  
Adrian M Owen ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Frontal Lobe ◽  
Chronic Schizophrenia ◽  
Set Shifting ◽  
Frontal Lobe Damage

Disinhibition of sequential actions following right frontal lobe damage

2009 ◽  
Vol 26 (3) ◽  
pp. 266-285 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chiharu Niki ◽  
Takashi Maruyama ◽  
Yoshihiro Muragaki ◽  
Takatsune Kumada
Keyword(s):  
Frontal Lobe ◽  
Frontal Lobe Damage

Human Frontal Lobe Function Revealed

2001 ◽  
Vol 7 (5) ◽  
pp. 649-649
Author(s):  
D.S. Knopman
Keyword(s):  
Frontal Lobe ◽  
Neurological Diseases ◽  
Frontal Lobes ◽  
Psychiatric Diseases ◽  
Frontal Lobe Function ◽  
Human Disorders

All you ever wanted to know about the human frontal lobes seems to be contained in this multiauthored text, at least up to 1996 or 1997. The editors, Miller and Cummings, are acknowledged experts on the topic of human disorders of the frontal lobes. They have done a monumental job of collecting 53 authors and 34 chapters. The book is divided into five sections, frontal lobe neuroanatomy, frontal lobe neurochemistry and neurophysiology, frontal lobe neuropsychology, neurological diseases involving the frontal lobes, and psychiatric diseases involving the frontal lobes.

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