Cognitive structure of executive deficits in patients with frontal lesions performing activities of daily living.
OBJECTIVE
Executive function in activities of daily living (ADL) were investigated in 10 patients with excised frontal lobe tumours.


METHODS
The patients with frontal lesions were compared to 10 normal controls with a neuropsychological test battery, a script generation task and a realistic implementation of complex multi-task ADL (planning and preparing a meal).


RESULTS
The patients manifested numerous basic executive deficits on the paper-pencil tests, were unimpaired on the script generation task despite an aberrant semantic structure and manifested marked anomalies in the meal preparation task.


CONCLUSIONS
Frontal lobe deficits in lengthy complex multi-task ADL can be explained by impairment of several executive functions, generalized slowness of performance and paucity of behaviour.
Godbout
L
L
Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières, Département de psychologie, Laboratoire de neuropsychologie expérimentale et comparée, Québec, Canada.
Grenier
M C
MC
Braun
C M J
CM
Gagnon
S
S
D000203:Activities of Daily Living / Q000523:psychology*; D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D001254:Astrocytoma / Q000150:complications / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000523:psychology; D001288:Attention; D001932:Brain Neoplasms / Q000150:complications / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000523:psychology*; D003072:Cognition Disorders / Q000209:etiology / Q000523:psychology*; D004522:Educational Status; D005260:Female; D005625:Frontal Lobe / Q000503:physiopathology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D012737:Sex Factors; D013997:Time Factors