title: Imitative response tendencies in patients with frontal brain lesions.
abstract: It is widely accepted that patients with frontal lesions have problems inhibiting automatic response tendencies. Whereas inhibition deficits of overlearned responses have been extensively investigated using interference tasks like the Stroop task (J. R. Stroop, 1935), it is controversial whether patients with frontal brain lesions also have problems inhibiting imitative responses. Using an interference paradigm, the present study investigated imitative response tendencies in patients with frontal lesions. In addition, it tested whether patients deficient in the inhibition of imitative responses correspondingly have problems inhibiting overlearned responses. It was found that the group with frontal lesions displayed significantly stronger imitative response tendencies than the group with nonfrontal lesions. Furthermore, it was shown that the inhibition of imitative responses is functionally unrelated to Stroop interference.
authors.affiliation: Max Planck Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, Leipzig, Germany. brass@cns.mpg.de
authors.forename: Marcel
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Brass
authors.forename: Jan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Derrfuss
authors.forename: Gabriele
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Matthes-von Cramon
authors.forename: D Yves
authors.initials: DY
authors.lastname: von Cramon
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001930:Brain Injuries / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D005625:Frontal Lobe / Q000293:injuries*; D006801:Humans; D007100:Imitative Behavior; D007360:Intelligence / Q000502:physiology; D007361:Intelligence Tests; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D011597:Psychomotor Performance / Q000502:physiology