ABSTRACT
Earlier chapters have looked at deficits of specific cognitive processes such as language, perception and memory. Thinking can involve all of these cognitive processes, although this depends on its definition. As noted in Chapter 6, thinking is seen as comprising a great range of cognitive activities, only some of which are goal directed such as problem-solving and reasoning. It is not surprising then that there is no single deficit of thinking equivalent to aphasia, agnosia or amnesia. Increasingly, however, reference is made to ‘executive’ deficits and to the ‘executive’ function of the frontal lobes. This chapter will consider the important contribution of the frontal lobes to the organisation of cognitive skills in everyday problem-solving. A major section will outline research looking at the effects of frontal lobe damage, showing that such patients display impairments in tests involving attention, abstract and conceptual thinking, cognitive estimation and strategy formation. Section 7.2 will therefore focus on the frontal lobes and consider early clinical and experimental work with reference to the notion of a frontal lobe syndrome.
