The Brain - Frontal Lobe Damage

Frontal Lobe Damage

The frontal regions of the brain are called the "executive" regions of the brain because they are involved in rational planning, recognizing consequences of behavior, long-term memory, inhibiting behavior (such as unacceptable social behavior), impulse control and are also strongly involved with attention and concentration. These regions allow us to "step back" emotionally from situations to evaluate them intellectually and make rational decisions about what to do and how to do it. These regions are the "high road" that ensure we are not driven just by emotional reactions, the "low road".

The inability to inhibit unacceptable social behavior is a well-known possible consequence of frontal lobe damage.

Here are some links that may help people learn more:

Here is some information about a classic early case in neuropsychology about a man called Phineas Gage who had a frontal lobe injury. Here are some links about him:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phineas_Gage

http://www.smithsonianmag.com/history-archaeology/Phineas-Gage-Neurosciences-Most-Famous-Patient.html

http://lecerveau.mcgill.ca/flash/capsules/articles_pdf/phyneas_gage.pdf

Here are some Google searches on "frontal lobe injury"

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frontal_lobe

http://www.neuroskills.com/tbi/bfrontal.shtml