Neuropsychology of mental programming: an approach for the evaluation of frontal lobe dysfunction.
Patients with frontal lobe lesions tend to have poor psychosocial recovery, yet they may perform well on common cognitive tests. Their habitual cognitive skills seem to be preserved, whereas the purposeful utilization of skills in novel situations is impaired. This paper reviews neuropsychological disorders and models of mental programming. An approach for the evaluation of programming deficits is presented and some implications of the conception are considered. Programming is defined as the subjective optimization of subgoals for the achievement of the overall goal with available skills. It is posited that programming is critically dependent on prefrontal functions. Measures of programming were found to be sensitive to the effects of frontal lesions and closed-head injuries, as well as, to predict subsequent social recovery. Programming can be seen as an intermediate process between performance and motivation, the subjective optimization of subgoals integrates motivation and skills (operational resources) to purposeful activity.
Vilkki
J
J
Department of Neurosurgery, Helsinki University Central Hospital, Finland.