title: Script generation and the dysexecutive syndrome in patients with brain injury.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The authors investigated whether patients with brain injury suffering from dysexecutive symptoms had difficulties with script generation.
  
  
  METHODS
  Forty-eight patients with brain injury of various etiology with complaints of executive dysfunctioning and deficient scores on executive tests were included in this study. They were compared with 99 healthy control subjects in a script-generation task. Participants were asked to describe how they would perform eight everyday activities. The script items were manipulated so that they varied in structure (open-ended vs. closed) and in frequency of performing (high vs. low).
  
  
  RESULTS
  Patients and control subjects evoked an equal number of actions, but patientsproduced significantly more irrelevant actions and made significantly more perseverative errors. Their most pronounced problems were found in open-ended and low-frequency scripts.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This investigation shows that not only patients with prefrontal damage are impaired in script generation. The consequences for treatment are discussed.
authors: Sint Maartenskliniek Research, Development & Education, Nijmegen, The Netherlands. d.boelen@maartenskliniek.nl
authors: Danielle H E
authors: DH
authors: Boelen
authors: Philippe
authors: P
authors: Allain
authors: Jacoba M
authors: JM
authors: Spikman
authors: Luciano
authors: L
authors: Fasotti
mesh_terms: D000203:Activities of Daily Living; D001930:Brain Injuries / Q000503:physiopathology* / Q000523:psychology / Q000534:rehabilitation; D003210:Concept Formation; D056344:Executive Function; D005625:Frontal Lobe / Q000503:physiopathology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D012660:Semantics; D013647:Task Performance and Analysis