Deficient programming in spatial learning after frontal lobe damage.
Patients with anterior or posterior brain damage and control subjects performed a spatial sequence learning task in which the score obtained depended on the subject's ability to set sub-goals appropriate for his learning capacity. The anterior group obtained lower scores and more frequently set inadequate sub-goals than the posterior group. No anterior vs posterior difference was found on a similar learning task in which another sequence was learnt by predetermined sub-goals. The result supported the hypothesis that frontal lobe lesions disturb programming or goal-based search for action structure on spatial learning.
Department of Neurosurgery, University Central Hospital, Helsinki, Finland.
J
J
Vilkki
P
P
Holst
D000328:Adult; D001925:Brain Damage, Chronic / Q000503:physiopathology*; D001931:Brain Mapping; D001932:Brain Neoplasms / Q000601:surgery*; D002540:Cerebral Cortex / Q000503:physiopathology; D005260:Female; D005625:Frontal Lobe / Q000503:physiopathology*; D006040:Goals; D006801:Humans; D002538:Intracranial Arteriovenous Malformations / Q000601:surgery*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009042:Motivation / Q000502:physiology; D011183:Postoperative Complications / Q000503:physiopathology*; D011597:Psychomotor Performance / Q000502:physiology*; D012691:Serial Learning / Q000502:physiology*